BumGenius Freetime (all in one) - Help!

[Chickensoup85]

Hello,

I have a small set of the BumGenius Freetime nappies and want to do the pre wash before I use them for the first time but have no idea where to start! The instructions say a hot wash but I need specifics, e.g, how hot? What type of detergent do I use? How much? Will the colours run?

I really want to get using them now my baby is big enough but have no idea where to start. The same goes for when they've been used; how do I wash them?

Thank you!

 

[sheldonsmommy]

What type of detergent do you use for your regular laundry? I use the same stuff but you can get a detergent meant for cloth diapers if you want. Try starting with half the recommended amount using a warm wash pre-use, hot wash for soiled diapers and usually 2 rinses works for me, until the bubbles are nearly gone. The colours shouldn't bleed.

 

[adrie]

Are they brand new nappies or used?

If used, i would suggest sanitizing them to kill of any infections that could be present prior to use on your LO. I can give you information about that if you want it.

Secondly, though manufacturer's recommend ONLY cloth safe diaper detergent and such small quantities of it, I would not suggest that route. Those detergents are way overpriced and weaker than mainstream detergents. And if you have any measure of hard water, they also don't contain any built in softeners to help with that either. The easiest and basic rule of thumb is that you can use ANY kind of detergent that doesn't contain any fabric softeners. Scent, optical brighteners, and enzymes are all okay. You can choose the CD detergent if you wish, just know that if you run into any issues in the future such as repelling, rashes, stink, ammonia, etc., the CD detergent or soap as well as too little quantity is probably the culprit. Properly cleaned diapers never require stripping; if you need to strip other than for used diapers, something is wrong with your routine.

Next, you want to solidify a good routine depending on how many diapers you wash, whether you have hard water or not, what kind of washer you have and the amount of detergent you use. Sparingly using detergent will not help here as you are cleaning heavily soiled diapers saturated in poop and pee.

In terms of your cycle, you want a stew-like consistency, rather than a soup like consistency. That is to say that the diapers and water ratio is such that agitation can occur and they aren't just swimming around loosely in too much water. You may or may not need a water softener; finding out your level of hard water is important here.

Also, it is suggested for people to do a quick pre rinse, soak or wash prior to the main wash cycle with detergent to help loosen all of the main gunk out of your diapers.

A typical cycle could look like this: (This is my routine)

Pre-rinse, soak or wash on warm with or without a bit of detergent as a booster for the main wash to help loosen and remove a lot of the yuckies.

Heavy soil cycle on hot with full amount of detergent and (water softener if required), as well as one extra rinse attached to the cycle.

Extra rinses on top of that are not necessary unless the diapers/inserts feel slimy or soapy. Mine never do, even with the full amount of detergent in a front loader HE! Additionally, extra rinses for those of us with hard water can actually redeposit hard minerals into the diapers and cause repelling, rashes, stink, and build up.

 

[Chickensoup85]

Thank you so much for your replies! It's exactly the sort of information I needed.

They are new nappies do will just do the hot wash before using them. Does hat require detergent?

Thank you for the advise regarding water hardness - we live in a very hard water area.

Thank you again for taking the time to give such a detailed reply.

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I would use detergent to get any of the manufacturer's chemicals out. Be aware that bamboo and other natural fiber inserts may require special preparation to get natural oils out in order to get them working to their full potential (I've never used them as I have microfiber, but I've read a little about it).

Eta- oops forgot they are all in ones, disregard

Also, many cloth diaper detergents are made with washing soda and/or borax, which act as water softeners, but I have to agree with Adrie on this one that they are somewhat of a racket (in my opinion) as they are so expensive.

 

[Rachel_C]

UK nappy detergents certainly contain water softeners, the same as more commercial brands.

When US people talk about a hot wash, I think they generally mean what we'd call a 60 degree wash in the UK. Don't wash any hotter than that as it could damage your nappies. Washing on cooler will make nappies last longer.

I don't agree with adrie's methods so perhaps do a little reading. If you want a good idea of how people wash in your local area, try looking for your local nappy library - they will know about the water you have and can give you some pointers.

You can rinse as many times as it takes to remove detergent from nappies. The idea that rinsing in cold water will deposit hard water minerals onto nappies is absolute codswallop IMO. You need to change the water temperature for it to release the mineral deposits.

My washing routine was always based around this:

Rinse to get rid of some of the poo and wee. It also gives you a good start at getting lots of water into the wash cycle.

Wash at up to 60 degrees with 1/4 or 1/3 dose of softener-free detergent (that's what I'd start with anyway, I needed less in my machine which washes well but doesn't seem to rinse very well) or use a full dose of nappy detergent.

Extra rinse on the end. Remove the nappies, sniff them. If they are not properly clean (that will be pretty obvious!), rewash with a bit more detergent and then increase the dose a bit next time. If they still smell of detergent or if there were detergent bubbles towards the end of your final rinse, do another rinse, and consider reducing the dose a little next time. It's a balancing act really - different water, different machines, different nappies mean there's no magic one answer that will work for everybody but it's not hard to work it out