laundry advice

pebbles88

hi folks,

i need some advice, my nan is in hosp, and has been for sometime, suffering several recurrent water infections.

i have been doing her washing, and am daily getting full loads of laundry saturated in urine and/or covered in p**p, and i am not just talking sk**marks here either.

im managing to get the stains out, but the smell just wont come out, i have tried soaking them in dettol / biotex / and biological washing powder overnight and then washing on a good hot wash but even my washing machine is starting to smell now. i even tried bicarb of soda, nothing will shift it.

its at the point now where even our laundry is starting to pick up some of the smell from the machine. i have tried doing 90 deg washes!

does anyone know of any other methods i can try to erase the smell ???

fernliebee

I don't know if you can get it in this country but my mum used a nappy service and they gave her a bottle of american disinfectant called nilodour (sp?) and it was amazing!

hope your mum gets better soon.

Js_Other_Half

Napisan?
It gets the urine smell out of DS nappies, so I'd assume it'd help with your issue?
The other thing to consider is cleaning your washing machine regularly, as it might be that one load is contaminating the next?. Run it empty on a hot wash with a cup of vinegar in pre wash and main compartment of the drawer.

Pssst

Napisan?

Presumably she isnt wearing Agent provocatur so some packs of plain new flags (big knickers) wouldn't be too expensive?

wannabe_sybil

Also may be possible to try vinegar in the fabric conditioner draw. I always used it on cloth nappies as a softener. There was never any smell from them, nor washing machine. I also use a longer wash on a cooler setting and have found that very effective. I work on the very unscientific principle that a longer 'swishy' gives it more time to get 'yeurk' out.

The hospital must have come across this problem, which may be worse because your nan is poorly, can the nurses suggest anything or the people who do sheets in hospital?

Hope your nan is better soon.

wannabe_sybil

Also forgot - when little bear was in cloth nappies, I used tea tree oil instead of nappisan in the soaking bucket, and that meant that the nappies going in were not very whiffy at all. This may help.

My nappies always came out really well, and I have absolutely no idea why unless it is the tea tree and vinegar combination (plus persil non bio )

pebbles88

thanks for all the replies.

its not just the knickers that are getting covered, its literally everything on the bottom half on her. anything that is too soiled we are replacing, its working out at a pack of new knickers each week. we have also replaced clothing for the same problem.

i am cleaning the machine after each wash with dettol. but i will give vinegar a go, is it white vinegar that you have touse.

i will also give Napisan a go, hopefully it will work, but as her urine is so strong smelling due to the infection im not sure if it will, but i will try anything!!

the hosp are being pretty useless, when she does have soiled clothing, they put it in the bags they use that can be tied up and washed by putting the bag into the machine, but they never actually tie it so when they shove it at the bottom of the wardrobe it stinks all the clean clothes out too... the last washing they took of hers to clean has never actually come back and its been over a month since they took it!

thanks again for all the replies

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, just reading the post and my thoughts are !!!! To save all this washing I would take a trip to the medical shop and enquire about adult nappies. Look into the cost etc...
The other thought I have is to buy Pampers bed mats to sleep on.

My good wishes and merry christmas to your nan.

Mojisola

julie_d wrote: »

Hiya, just reading the post and my thoughts are !!!! To save all this washing I would take a trip to the medical shop and enquire about adult nappies. Look into the cost etc...

The hospital should have thought of this! My mum has pads provided by the district nurse and her problem is nowhere as bad as this.

MrsTinks

I have to say I agree! I can't believe they have not got her adult nappies! I know the name is very degrading but both my grandparents used them and they're not that bad! My nan passed away just under a week away and she was a very proud lady... I know she'd far rather have been wearing those nappies than soil herself, her bed and clothes! She'd have been mortified by that! My grandad bless him doesn't know what century it is so probably doesn't even realise he's been in them for about 9 years now...
Definitely look into them, they are VERY good and what hospital is your mum in? I'm amazed at the lack of care and consideration they are displaying I have to say!

dontone

Oh you poor thing having to deal with this, hope your nan gets better soon.

We have to deal with this type of thing where I work as we get in airflow mattress for repair that are always solied heavy and the urine smell is unbelievable. It isn't fair to you or your nan to put up with this.

White vinegar with lemon juice mixed in may help making your machine smell better.

What I would suggest to you is that you contact your nearest nursing/residental home who deal with this type of thing on a daily basis and ask them what they recommend. They may even be able to get you some small bottles of professional cleaning materials that can go in the wash will help neutralise the smell of urine.

Here is the link to find a nursing home near you that can help with advice in regards to cleaning and even getting adult pads etc.

http://www.ucarewecare.com/

In fact the NHS should be helping you with things like that.
The hospital are breaking all kinds of rules with not tying up laundry bags. Bags like that must be tied to prevent cross contamination, no wonder things are smelling.
Oh btw, a little off topic but is your nan bedridden? if so and she is lying in soiled/wet clothing she runs a higher risk of developing pressure sores. please watch out for those as they can take a long time to heal and are extremely painful.

I hope I have been a bit helpful. Good luck