Why put old ivy leaves in the washing machine

Recently, my sister went on a business trip for a week. On the weekend, she decided to walk around the city and accidentally got to the eco-festival. At such events, Irina is not a frequent guest, but she was very pleased. In addition, the sister met a woman who told about this wonderful trick.

Next to our house is a small barn, all covered with ivy. The sister picked the leaves from this plant and put them in the washing machine before washing.

My mom and I were shocked by her behavior. But when the washing process was completed, we saw the result of this trick and were just amazed, and Dad said that now he would definitely plant such a plant outside the window.





Garden Ivy Climbing, evergreen, thickly braiding the walls of buildings and tree trunks - garden ivy Everyone knows.

And although the poisonous fruit has created a bad reputation for it, this plant is actually a very affordable and environmentally friendly assistant in the household, due to its rich content of saponins.

Editorial "Site" I've prepared a beautiful one for you. detergentAnd for pennies.





Ivy in its properties resembles the Indian soap nut, or sapindus. However, the latter - the plant is not cheap. What is the cost of transporting soap nuts to our region!

Recently, the demand for soapwood It increased greatly, which led to a rise in the price of the fruits of the plant and in its homeland, in India.

In many poor areas, Indians can no longer afford sapindus. They are washed with chemical detergents, which, when they enter the groundwater, pollute the environment.





Soap nuts are high in saponins (up to 38%) - natural foaming agents. After washing, these solutions decompose completely in the environment without contaminating it.

Not many people know that ivy contains almost the same amount of saponins. At the same time, this climbing plant grows almost everywhere, and sometimes even considered undesirable in a carefully maintained garden.

No matter where you live, ivy is the perfect alternative and eco-friendly base of laundry cleaning products.





However, if you use only ivy leaves for washing, you will not get the softening components for water that are contained in chemical detergents.

To compensate for this, you can add some vinegar when washing. It depends on the model of your washing machine. Therefore, to achieve the best result, you will have to experiment a little with the correct dosage of vinegar.





To start washing in this environmentally friendly way, take a handful of ivy leaves and tear them apart in the middle. Then place them in a sock or laundry bag net.

Tie a sock or bag and throw it in the laundry car. After that, just run the washing machine and let the ivy leaves do their magic.





For washing, you need to use only old ivy leaves, which have a rich dark color. Young light greens are not suitable for this.

Also, to wash heavily contaminated clothes, you can add a little baking soda or cottage cheese soap to the washing machine.





Editorial Board
Pay attention! Ivy refers to poisonous plants, especially its fruits are poisonous. However, ivy has a huge number of varieties and forms. Poisonous ivy varieties It can cause a person significant harm. It is also worth distinguishing ivy from such a plant as poisonous sumac, they are very similar in appearance.



common ivy It won't hurt a person. Contact dermatitis will only threaten people with individual hypersensitivity to ivy.

Many gardeners are happy to keep at home several plants of this species, and they have no skin reactions. However, if you do not know how your body will react to contact with a plant, just use rubber gloves.


You can save money and clean clothes in an environmentally friendly way, thanks to just a few leaves of the plant, which many consider a weed. Well, your neighbors will be scratching their heads about why you pick off ivy leaves.

Tell us in the comments if you have your own secret to perfect laundry. And don’t forget to share this discovery with your friends on social media!