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Manchester Evening News

National

Rachel Pugh

Woman says you can make laundry detergent for FREE for an entire year using conkers

McDonald

People have been blown away by one woman's tip for making a entire year's worth of laundry detergent for free using just conkers. She first shared the tip on Facebook back in 2019.

But with the cost of living crisis making us all tighten our purse strings more than ever, we thought it would be a good idea to bring the idea back to life. We're well into conker season, so as long as you have the time to go out and pick some, this could potentially save you hundreds of pounds over the next year.

Posting on her Facebook page 'The Watercress Queen' three years ago, Lucie Mann, who founded community interest company New Forest Aquaponics , explained: "As everyone is talking about conkers already I thought I would share my post about conkers and washing from last year. I have used nothing but conkers for over a year now. As a family we love it.

"No smells, no chemicals, no palm oil, no plastic. And best of all free other than my energy. I have used the four smaller tubs in the picture and have the largest tub left. I am now collecting conkers to prepare for this year and I hope to be able have enough to help others use conkers."

Lucie continued: "I make the liquid as I need it. If you need to keep the liquid pop it in the fridge (label the jar so nobody drinks it by mistake) and it will keep for around 7 days. Always stir the liquid before use to evenly distribute the "soap". The used conkers can then be added to your compost."

She added: "Please always say thank you to the trees for the gift of conkers and please plant some of the conkers for our biospheres future."

Clearly happy with the results, Lucie went on to write: "8 kilos of conkers - picked up from only three trees and we didn't pick them all up by a long way. We have planted 20 conkers as a thank you to the earth. This will give me 3 washes a day for a whole year. I have been using them for towels for a whole year already and nothing but conkers for 2 months now. Our clothes don't smell of anything and are super soft."

The detergent should only be used on linens, as it can break down synthetics and cause discolouration. It's also important to note that conkers are poisonous, so if you use anything which you plan to eat or drink from to make the detergent you should make sure it is washed and sanitised thoroughly before using it again.

How to make washing detergent for free by using using conkers:

Chop up small and dry the conkers till they are rock hard. I use a dehydrator for this but you can use an oven on a low heat.
Once totally dry they will keep until you need them.
Put 40grms of dried conkers in a 500ml jar.
Fill jar to top with boiling water and sock for at least 10 mins - 30 minutes is better.
You will get a lovely creamy feeling thick liquid.
Sieve into another jar.
Re-soak the conkers with more hot water - this time for at least an hour.
Sieve the liquid from the conkers again and re-soak for a 3rd time (this time for at least 2 hours or over night if you can).
Each soak the liquid gets "thinner". You can see when your conkers are "spent" they change from a yellow colour to white.
The liquid will have a lovely tree/soapy/woodland smell. This disappears by the 3rd soak.
Use the liquid from the first wash for your dirtiest washing. For very dirty clothes I would use the whole lot, for normal washing half the liquid per wash.
The liquid from the second wash I don't divide and use the whole lot for one wash.
The 3rd lot of liquid I use for towels and things that need a light wash.