One woman has shared a clever eco-friendly way to make laundry detergent using fallen autumn conkers.
With many laundry detergents harbouring hidden chemicals (and coming in single-use plastic bottles), this natural tip is a great way to be kind to the planet, while also saving some money.
Known as the Watercress Queen, the eco-brick trainer shared the homemade hack on her Facebook page, explaining that it's something she has been doing for many months.
'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,' she explains, encouraging others to also do the same.
How to make laundry detergent using conkers
Conkers are known for producing natural soap, which is often more visible after it rains and they have fallen to the ground. To make the detergent, there are a few steps to follow to ensure you get the right consistency.
First of all, make sure you collect plenty of conkers so that you can make a large amount.
The Watercress Queen explains: '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.
'Then, put 40g of dried conkers in a 500ml jar. Fill jar to top with boiling water and soak for at least 10 mins – 30 minutes is better. You will get a lovely creamy feeling thick liquid. Sieve into another jar,' she continues.
'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 two hours or overnight 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.'
For the full recipe, take a look at her Facebook post below:
Many have commented on the now-viral post explaining that it's something they haven't tried before. One said: 'So amazing who'd have thought? We've been brought up on a diet of formula milk, meat and detergent and we think these are the ONLY way yet so untrue! Thanks for sharing!'
Will you give this clever cleaning hack a go?