Advice on washing cloth nappies

[Lu28]

I'm just about to do the first proper wash of my Flips and was looking for some advice - do you guys always do a prewash and then one at 60 degrees? The label says only to use 1/4 of the usual amount of detergent which seemed odd.

Thanks

 

[Rachel_C]

If there are a lot of dirty nappies, I put them in first (I keep them in a separate bucket) and do a rinse, then bung the rest in and wash them at 40 degrees. Then I do an extra rinse if I have time. You just need them to be rinsed well enough so that there are no bubbles still coming out near the end. Occasionally I wash them at 60 degrees and my machine has a 'super wash' button so I do that too sometimes.

The reason you only use 1/4 the detergent is because otherwise, it builds up in the nappies and makes them less absorbant. If that happens, then you have to rinse a million times to get it out (it's called stripping).

 

[kirsten1985]

I usually wash my nappies at 40 degrees, I have started rinsing them out by hand before washing them, this saves on water I think as the washer uses more and it gets them nicely rinsed, then I just do a quick wash at 40. Works well for us. I also use 1/4 of washing powder and sometimes a bit of white vinegar in the softener bit, gets rid of any wee smells!

 

[Lu28]

Cool thanks. I might just do a 40 degree wash then. I caught most of the poo on disposable liners so it was just the bit that crept off - hopefully it'll be ok. I also bought Napisan, presume it goes in the same drawer as the detergent? No vinegar in the house though, here's hoping they don't come out smelling of wee!!

 

[Shifter]

Yes, the Napisan goes in with the detergent

I do a "super wash" and extra rinse with every wash and wash at 40 degrees too.

 

[Monkeh]

I've got mine on at 60 degrees just now, but I've just been doing a 40 degree wash with extra rinse until now.

 

[CountingDown]

Sorry to crash your thread Lu (hope you dont mind) but what is Napisan? Also can you any detergent to wash the nappies in?

 

[Lu28]

Does everyone use an extra rinse cycle? My washing machine doesn't seem to have one

CD, Napisan is a stain remover and germ killer type thing, think you can get it in the laundry or baby aisle. Meant to keep the nappies white - I had a couple of pooey bits on my inserts and I've just checked them after the wash and they're perfect

I think you're meant to use non-bio powder, that's what I've been using anyway since Aisling was born.

 

[dippy dee]

I don't do an extra rinse every time but once a week i do an extra rinse on them, i have been swilling them through by hand for the past few weeks and then bung them in on a 40 wash and once a week a 60.

 

[indieknits]

I've been washing at 60 degrees but may switch to 40 if that's effective! I use Bio-D laundry liquid which I like because it's eco friendly and fragrance free. You can pick it up in Oxfam.

I'm going to buy their nappy sanitiser too but in the meantime I am also adding Napisan.

 

[mumnbean]

My washing machine service guy came out the other day as I was getting leaking after a load... and the machine is less than a year old! Turns out I was using top loader soap for my front loader.

Anyway, getting distracted... He gave me a few tips that I thought were very helpful, and thought I'd share!!!

1)He told me that using Napisan is quite corrosive for the machine, and better to use it as a pre-soak rather than in the machine wash.

2)He also mentioned that always using cold/40C wash setting will make you prone to getting mouldy stuff in the rubber seals etc of the machines, and can get smelly over time. He suggested either make last load you do as hot as possible to kill the bacteria that tend to grow in the machine, or run an empty cycle on hot at the end.

I just never thought of things from the machines point of view before...

 

[Rebaby]

Sorry to butt in here just reading this thread with interest as i am getting quite a lot of 'staining' on my BG's both the insert and outer too and although i know they are 'clean' they yellowey orange stains are still depressing me, especially considering we've only been using them a few weeks!

Not sure if i am washing correctly though, i just dry pail and then wash (with a small amount of fairy non bio) on a normal 40 degree wash.

Should i do something different? What exactly does a strip wash involve and how often would you recommend one? Those of you who use napisan- do you use it every wash?

Apologies again for crashing in- i just didn't want to start a whole new thread on a very similar issue

 

[Lu28]

I'm not sure hon, I'm only doing my third wash tonight! I'm using Napisan in every wash and they're all still perfectly white but I guess it's early days for us. Hope someone can give some better advice

 

[purple_socks]

I just came across this...thought i'd post it in here since its related:

https://www.borntolove.com/column8.html