Washing nappies etc prior to first use

[LaRockera]

I know there are many links and threads and articles on the topic, and I've done my homework, I really have. But since this is the first time I'm using cloth nappies, and since I've already spent a small fortune on them, I want to make sure I do everything right.

So my stash is consisted of fitteds, pockets and AIOs. Here are 'a few' questions:

1. Do I wash all fitteds together regardless of colour? They're bamboo, cotton and microfabric, most of them cream/white, and a handful of purples. Can I squeeze my bamboo + fleece boosters in there too?

2. I have two wraps that are bright colours (lime green and orangy red) and a couple of whites. Shall I wash them altogether or will the colour leak? Shall I do 30,40 or a cold wash?

3. Shall I put all my pockets/ AIOs in one load, regardless of colour? I've got quite a few patterned ones and a few in pastel colours. Or shall I separate them?

4. What's a good temperature to wash?

5. My machine has a cold wash option, and then a rinse and spin option. I can reduce the spin option in half. Shall I do that, or spinning speed doesn't matter?

6. Do I wash my nappies buttoned/fastened/snapped etc, or open/loose?

7. I've got the simply pure tablets, which are wrapped in thin plastic (the way dishwasher tablets are). I plan to cut them into two. Do I put them in the drawer or the drum straight away wrapped/unwrapped?

8. Do I need to do extra rinses after each wash, or do a couple in the end?

I know some of these questions are a bit impossible but I'd rather humiliate myself than *** up.

Eternally indebted to everyone that answers my questions.

 

[mommyof3co]

I can't answer all of your questions because I'm in the US so we have different products.

I wash my prefolds, hemp or anything that would have natural oils in it on it's own a few times. But things like my fitteds that are OBV and cotton velour and then any pockets AIO all get washed with everything else even on first time through. Never had any issues at all. I wash everything, including wipes, covers..really everything all together every time.

I do a cold rinse (though I don't if I'm washing a load of all new stuff), then wash on hot with detergent (We use tide powder) and then an extra rinse after that full cycle is done. Then I dry everything...even PUL stuff...on low heat for 2 cycles in the dryer.

I remove all inserts from pockets and wash everything opened.

In my experience fabrics are prewashed by the manufacturer to prevent shrinking so I've never had anything discolor my other diapers by washing all the colors together.

 

[Blah11]

I wash all my nappies and wipes together at 30 and dont have any colour issues but I was panicy about it too lol! I leave my nappies undone and the inserts left in and they always find their way out or unfold if its a snap in and sometimes the applix sticks again but it desnt seem to make any difference and they still get clean.
for a normal wash I do a rinse to get off pooey bits, a full wash at 30degrees with detergent, then another rinse and line dry on a clothes horse.
I wouldnt use those tablets hun. youre supposed to use them unwrapped and obv you dont want whatever the wrapper was made of disolving and getting onto your nappies

 

[Rachel_C]

1. I normally wash everything together for prewashing and normal washing, regardless of what type of nappy, fabric or colour. Some hand dyed nappies can leak a bit of dye at first, and some other nappies can leak (in particular I've heard of zinnia Flips/BGs leaking) although they never have for me, so wash them separately if you want.

2. They shouldn't leak but as above, wash them separately if you're concerned, or put a colour catcher in with them.

3. As above.

4. For normal washing I use 30 degrees with the odd 60 degree wash now and then. Prewashing can be any temperature as far as I know. I would wash anything preloved at 60 degrees, just in case, but new stuff should be fine at whatever as long as it's 60 or below.

5. I spin them at the highest speed possible (I think my machine's top speed is 1600rpm) - the more water you get out in the spin, the quicker they dry. I sometimes give them an extra spin at the end to get out even more.

6. I wash most things open but aplix should be fastened to the laundry tabs. If it doesn't have laundry tabs, fasten the nappy/wrap and turn it inside out, to prevent bobbling caused by it catching on stuff.

7. I honestly don't know about the tablets. I would contact the manufacturer actually, since I have no idea what the outer wrap stuff is made of. I imagine they would be fine wherever you're supposed to put them normally but I'm not sure. I normally don't put any detergent in direct contact with anything (nappies or otherwise), so if I'm not using a dispenser cup thing I put it in the drawer. It seems to me that it would be more evenly distributed throughout the wash if it gets diluted a bit before touching anything you're washing.

8. For prewashing, decent length rinses count as washes. Natural fabrics usually take at least 10 washes to be up to full absorbency so I would do a couple of extra rinses. Even if you only wash once but add two extra rinses, that means you've done quite a bit of prewashing really. Whenever you use any detergent other than soap nuts, it's a very good idea to add extra rinses to prevent build up. Even one wash without adequate rinsing can cause issues, so I'd go with caution and rinse rinse rinse!

 

[LaRockera]

Wow, guys, thank you ever so much. This is really, really helpful.

Rachel-you're my hero.

 

[iow_bird]

I wash everything on a warm wash with half the amount of my normal washing liquid/powder, seperate the inserts from the outers, then leave to dry in the sun.

Word of advice: put your liners in a buckets of plain water for 24-48hrs and just leave to soak before you wash them. I would also strip them with washing up liquid and then on a really long wash cycle with lots of rinses until the water runs clear. I was really frustrated with my cloth nappies until I did the above and since then they have been great!

 

[Blah11]

^ j/w why would/do you strip new nappies? I thought it was for detergent build up?

 

[iow_bird]

I know thats what I thought too, maybe something is put on the fabric during the manufacturing process that stripping removes?? It worked wonders on mine though, they were awful and leaky and I nearly gave up with them, stripped and they are perfect!

 

[Rachel_C]

Or it could be the half dose of detergent you washed them with first resulted in build up straight away, that's quite a lot for nappies

 

[LaRockera]

Hmm... Soaking the inserts, huh? I may just do it, got nothing to lose and the pail is here. Soak just with water, right? Just for a night?

I'm trying to find a good detergent powder free of all the blah blah stuff so that I won't have to cut the tablets in half. I'm eyeing this at the moment, although the 'natural lavender fragrance' makes me suspicious:

https://www.mothercare.com/Bambino-Mio-Miocare-Non-Bio-Washing/dp/B005GPBUBM?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_66&nodeId=42764041&sr=1-66&qid=1327053051

I know Little Lamb and BG do their own versions, too.

 

[Blah11]

I just use persil nonbio

 

[lindseymw]

I just use persil nonbio

Same, it was on offer at Sainsburys

 

[Rachel_C]

Hmm... Soaking the inserts, huh? I may just do it, got nothing to lose and the pail is here. Soak just with water, right? Just for a night?

I'm trying to find a good detergent powder free of all the blah blah stuff so that I won't have to cut the tablets in half. I'm eyeing this at the moment, although the 'natural lavender fragrance' makes me suspicious:

https://www.mothercare.com/Bambino-Mio-Miocare-Non-Bio-Washing/dp/B005GPBUBM?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_66&nodeId=42764041&sr=1-66&qid=1327053051

I know Little Lamb and BG do their own versions, too.

Yes soaking is good for natural fabrics. If you soak them overnight in plain water you will only need to do the first prewash and a soak and they should be pretty much up to full absorbency. It doesn't make any difference to microfibre though.

I really wouldn't think too hard about the detergent! I suspect that cloth manufacturers are keen to keep getting money out of you once you've bought the nappies (cos unlike sposies, you don't have to keep going back for more) which I think is why they make their own detergents, when normal ones will do just as well. It's more important to get the amount right, and you can go just as wrong with 'nappy detergents' as with normal ones.

 

[LaRockera]

Thank you so very much guys, it does make sense.

 

[iow_bird]

Maybe I'm using too much detergent?? I don't have a problem with them since I stripped them 6 months ago though? Weird! Most fabrics have a preservative type coating on them when you first buy them though to stop them going mouldy on the bolt and in the shop, I just assumed it was because of that. They felt different after I stripped them, figure it won't hurt as they get better with washing anyway. I always put my nappies on a long rinse cycle, so I don't think one wash in half the amount of laundry powder would cause that much of a build up!
How much do you recommend using, just out of interest?

 

[Blah11]

1/4 to 1/3 x

 

[mum22ttc#3]

Sorry to go O/T a little but my washer doesn't have an extra rinse option and now I'm worried that it could be this that is causing LO's nappy rash.
What should I do, it has a quick wash option though, would this be the same, it lasts for 30 minutes.

 

[LaRockera]

Sorry to go O/T a little but my washer doesn't have an extra rinse option and now I'm worried that it could be this that is causing LO's nappy rash.
What should I do, it has a quick wash option though, would this be the same, it lasts for 30 minutes.

Do you have a cold wash option? Or a prewash without detergent?

I've no idea though, I'm a newbie myself. Let's see what the gurus have to say.

 

[mum22ttc#3]

I have a cold wash option but no prewash setting.
Usually I do a cold wash which takes 60 minutes, then either a 30c or 40c wash (very occasionally a 60c though) but just leave it at that. I don't have a rinse cycle for at the end iykwim?

 

[Rachel_C]

I actually use just 1/7th of the recommended amount of detergent and I still need to strip occasionally, even though I do two rinses after the main wash and rinse. You can get away with a tiny amount. For me, it's 5ml (teaspoon) for around 16 nappies. I was surprised how little it was when I actually measured it! They're still perfectly clean with plenty of bubbles in the main wash.

If you don't have a rinse cycle, I would do another wash at the end with no detergent, maybe a normal one not a quick one. If you're not rinsing enough I would say it's a definite possiblity for the nappy rash cause, as bacteria gets trapped along with the detergent. I'd do a good strip wash and then start doing a detergent free wash afterwards. If you've rinsed/washed enough, you shouldn't see any bubbles towards the end of the wash before the spin starts.