A Great British Bake Off winner has shared a recipe for making “free” laundry detergent using conkers.
Nancy Birtwhistle, who won the fifth series of the show, revealed the eco-friendly tip as conker season begins, with the seeds from horse chestnut trees falling throughout September and October.
Ms Birtwhistle, a Sunday Times bestselling author from Hull, said: “As we enter in autumn, we are also entering the conker season.
“So, it is time to make free detergent.”
Sunday Times bestselling author Nancy Birtwhistle has revealed how to use conkers to create your own detergent right from the comfort of your own kitchen (Image: Kennedy News/@nancy.birtwhistle)
She recommends freezing the conkers before use to make them easier to work with and to prevent the finished detergent from separating.
Once frozen, the conkers should be sliced to remove their outer shells and cut into chunks.
Ms Birtwhistle advises placing the pieces in a jug, covering them with boiling water, and leaving them to soak.
The liquid can then be strained through a sieve into a bottle, leaving the conker pieces behind.
She said: “Now just a little tip if you freeze your conkers before using them, they are much easier to work with.
“And also, the detergent once it is made doesn’t freeze all that well. Well, it freezes but it separates and it does not look all that nice.
“So, I tend to freeze my conkers and then use them as I need them.”
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The remaining conker chunks can be blitzed with more boiling water using a hand blender until smooth, then strained again into the bottle.
A few drops of perfume can be added if desired.
Ms Birtwhistle recommends using around 10 conkers per litre of detergent.
For washing, pour 50ml of the homemade detergent into a cap and place it in the drum.
She suggests running a cold wash at 20 degrees.
The leftover conker pulp can be composted.
