Hi ladies,

My little chunk finally has a big enough bootie for her cloth nappies and I wanted to ask what everyone's routine for washing them is as Im a complete cloth nappy virgin!


Here are my questions:

Do you use, soap nuts, non bio?

Do you soak them, machine wash them or both?

What do you use to soak them in?



Basically, I need a difinitive guide or blow by blow!

Thank you for having the patience to reply.

Stacey xx

Do you use, soap nuts, non bio?
I use non-bio or Bold 2-1 ( you only use a third of the recommended detegent)

Do you soak them, machine wash them or both?
I put them in a mesh bag in a dry pale and put them all in the washing machine every 2-3 days.

What do you use to soak them in?
I dont soak dirty nappies just pop them in pale ( bucket with lid)
If i have new bamboo nappies or inserts i soak them in cold water for a few hours and do one full wash before using.


Basically:
1) if the nappy is soiled i pop the poop in the loo and if there any left on the nappy i shower it off.
2) i put the nappy and the inserts into the mesh bag in pale.
3) once the bin is full, which for me is every 2-3 days i pop them all in the wash, put a little detergent in and do a full wash on 60 degrees, i also always do an extra rinse to make sure theres no detergent left on nappy.
4) i take anything PUL out and pop on a clothes airer and put the rest in the tumble dryer or on the radiator.

Occassionally you might need to do whats called a strip wash where you use full detergent and a couple of rinses, this is only needed if they start to smell etc though.

Hope this helps hunni xx

Thats bang on!

Thank you ever so much, thats everything I needed to know!

I use the same non-bio I use for our clothes (Persil non-bio). Lots of people find soap nuts are great for nappies and clothes though. If you're using a standard detergent, I'd only use 1/4 the recommended amount or even less if you can get away with it. Less is more with nappies! If you want to use fabric softener (if you don't tumble dry, some nappies can feel a bit crispy), the only one that is suitable is Bold 2-in-1.

I used to soak pooey nappies but it was just gross (imagine a bucket with bits off poo floating in it, left for a couple of days!) and didn't seem to work much better than dry pailing really. I have 2 buckets, one for dirty nappies and one for wet nappies. When I'm ready to wash them, I put the dirty nappies in the machine first and do a rinse, then put the rest in and do a proper length wash with a tablespoon of Persil non-bio, followed by an extra rinse. Keep rinsing until no more detergent bubbles come out of the nappies. I only wash at 30 or 40 degrees normally. To dry them, I take out anything that can't be dried (PUL covers etc), the tumble dry the rest on low for an hour to soften them and start it off, then hang them for the rest.

If you do want to soak nappies, don't use a normal detergent. Get a special nappy soak. I wouldn't recommend it though!

just to add to that

i tend to do a cold rinse on my nappys before putting them on and wash at 40 unless the boys are ill then its 60 and make sure the extra rinse setting is on at the end

i use whatever non bio is on sale ( so long as there are no oxi agents in it ) and 1/4 -1/3 of reccomended wash amount

Do you use, soap nuts, non bio?
I use Bold 2 in 1. Altho it has a fabric softener in it, it's a clay based one which is safe for cloth nappies I usually use around a quarter of the recommended amount. Sometimes if it's a particularly nasty load of nappies then I'll put in some nappy sanitiser - Bambino Mio works well for us altho I've heard that Ecover Laundry Bleach is also very good.
I've heard good things about soap nuts but they may not work so well on particularly poopy nappies ... another product which is similar are Ecoballs which work in a similar way to Soapnuts.

Do you soak them, machine wash them or both?
I dry pail all my nappies, even poopy ones, altho I will rinse off as much as possible if it's a messy one. Lately they've all been like it because Evie has a cold and is teething! If it's just a fairly solid poo then I wont bother rinsing because I use fleece liners. Then I'll chuck them in the machine every third day, making sure I do a prewash first and I always add an extra rinse

What do you use to soak them in?
Nothing, I dont soak mine at all I find rinising poopy ones with a cold shower hose, then putting them in the pail ready for washing, then the pre wash, a wash at 40 degrees (60 if she's ill) and an extra rinse works really well.
If stains are left behind then I'll pop the nappies outside for the afternoon. Even if it's not sunny, the UV rays will still work their magic bleaching action, just a little slower!

Dry pail. Do a cold rinse first. Then wash in a long wash with eco balls, and a tablespoonful of Ecover laundry bleach. Use a 40ºC wash for everyday, and an occasional 60ºC wash, especially if your baby has a cold or tummy upset etc. With ecoballs there is no need to rinse, so you just need to do one rinse to remove any traces of the Ecover, and then hang to dry, preferably outside, even if it's cold. Bring them in once they've had a good dose of fresh air. I find a ceiling pulley is the best way to dry in winter, without having to resort to a tumble dryer.

Do you use, soap nuts, non bio?

We use soap nuts, I prefer them to bio and non-bio. I use 6-8 halves, and change them every 3-4 washes.

Do you soak them, machine wash them or both?

I rinse pooey nappies when I take them off, wring out and dry pail with the wet nappies, wipes and liners. Then I do a cold rinse and spin cycle in the machine, add the soap nuts and wash at 40 or 60C. I don't do an extra rinse at the end. I don't fuss too much about stains, they fade with time anyway; occasionally use a Vanish bar (and rinse well) before the prewash rinse cycle. I tumble dry everything except PUL wraps for 40 mins on medium, then finish on the radiators/racks next to the radiator for bamboo (which doesn't like direct heat). When we move house and I have a garden, I'll dry outside.

What do you use to soak them in?

A lidded pail.

hi sorry to drop in again, what are soap nuts?? xx

They're the shell of a kind of nut that's used for something or other that I can't remember, so they're essentially a by-product. When you use the soap nuts in the wash, they give out a natural soapy substance that's good as detergent. All natural and good and cheaper than other detergents. You use 6-8 half shells in a normal wash and can use them for at least a few washes, then just compost them.