RE: SOAPNUTS - Can they damage clothes?
Crikey ladies you are having some problems - been using eco balls for 4 years and never had a green spot on anything and there's nothing in them that might cause any staining - which balls do you have, i have only ever used the ecozone ones.
I have been using soapnuts for about 16 months - use nutsfor some washes and balls for others and my knickers are showing no sign of wobbly elastic - the worst culprit for damaging elastics is a tumble dryer but if you used too much essential oil this too might damage, it is pretty potent stuff and always needs adding to the load with some water which is why i add the drops to a small amount of water and add to the final rinse via the conditioner dispenser rather than adding to the bag of soapnuts which, i know a lot of people do.
Essential oils act like a paint stripper when used neat onto painted and varnished surfaces, some are worse than others, tea tree is particularly strong, it can damage plastics if applied onto dry plastic so always needs diluting before use.
xx