Horse chestnuts contain a lot of saponin - a natural cleaning and foaming agent. Saponin effectively removes grease, dirt, and soot from clothing.
To release saponin from chestnuts, you need to put in a bit of effort.
The main thing is to extract the chestnuts from their shells, and then it's easy. All you need to do is chop them up and soak them in hot water overnight: 1/2 cup of finely chopped chestnuts to 1 cup of boiling water. Strain it, and the infusion will be liquid soap. It won't remove stains, but you can trust chestnuts for general laundry, as well as for washing dishes, by the way. And this is absolutely eco-friendly soap!
Ground chestnuts can be dried in the oven and used as needed. The infusion lasts a week in the refrigerator, after which you need to make a fresh batch.
