fungus and cloth

[tokyo]

Just been to the gp and found out that the rash on lo's legs that the hv diagnosed as eczema is actually a fungal infection! So now wondering what I need to do to make sure that it's killed off in her nappies? Its not on her nappy area, only at the top where the fabric meets her legs but I want it gone!

 

[Bonnie11]

Tea tree oil is good for antibacterial properties

 

[Rachel_C]

Tea tree oil might not work in low concentration, I think you need it to be 4% of the mix to be effective (it can apparently be counter productive if not strong enough), so a few drops in a washing machine won't do anything but a lot in a bucket of water might work.

You could run some vinegar through the wash or use something like BioD Nappy Fresh - that should kill anything lurking, plus wash at 60 degrees. Anything plain cotton like flats and any plain microfibre inserts can be boiled - you can either put them in a big pan and boil for 10 minutes making sure nothing catches or do a boil wash in your washing machine. Things like vinegar and nappy soaks aren't good for PUL or elastic really but used once or twice, if rinsed thoroughly, they should be fine.

ETA - I'm glad it's not eczema. Okay it's not nice but at least it's something you can get rid of

 

[tokyo]

Ok, so I can wash all my cotton terries and prefolds at 90 which will kill anything in them? And I should be ok to wash my bamboo and pul at 60 with some vinegar and rinse several times? How much vinegar do you need to be effective? And am I best off treating all nappies, then using sposies until the infection has cleared?

 

[Rachel_C]

Ok, so I can wash all my cotton terries and prefolds at 90 which will kill anything in them? And I should be ok to wash my bamboo and pul at 60 with some vinegar and rinse several times? How much vinegar do you need to be effective? And am I best off treating all nappies, then using sposies until the infection has cleared?

Yep, plain cotton can be boiled. I think hospitals wash at 60 degrees and they must have some nasty stuff on their sheets!

Bamboo and PUL are fine at 60 (so is the cotton but you can play it even safer at 90 if you want). I think a cup of vinegar is the standard amount recommended in the washing machine. Or, you could try bleach - bumGenius recommend using 1/4 cup once a month (https://www.bumgenius.com/help.php - Q8, they also say no vinegar!). I think they just mean regular thin bleach although I am not sure what that would do to dyed stuff.

I've never had to deal with thrush or anything so I don't speak from personal experience but I would probably treat everything once, then keep washing at 60 degrees until it is cleared up, maybe add some sanitiser to each wash too. You could use disposables if you prefer though, or maybe stick to cotton flats and boil them once a week.