Cleaning cloth nappies

arwenelf

Hi all,
Just after a bit of advice on the cloth nappy front if you don't mind . My 28 month son is still in cloth nappies and they are starting to look a bit grubby and stained at the moment. I really would like to have them looking a bit more presentable as I also use them on my 6 week old son. My washing machine has been playing up for the last few weeks which I think has a lot to do with the staining and grubbiness of the nappies. Usually I drypail the nappies, then wash them on a 40 wash with non bio powder (asda own brand - sensitive) and then they are line dried - weather permitting. As I have two in nappies the bucket gets full very quickly - I forgot how much little ones wee and poo :eek: so the nappies are not usually in the bucket for more than two days. Any advice very gratefully received

npsmama

Sounds like you're doing all the rights things.
Sunshine gets poo stains out.
The other thing I thought of was to either do a rinse cycle on COLD before washing them with detergent on your usual cycle. Or sluice the pooey nappies in the loo straight after changing your little one.

funfairprincess

Bicarb of soda in some water and soak them for a wee while then wash at 40.(don't do a hot wash after otherwise the nappies will rot). Line dry is best. I always stuck a couple of drops of tea tree oil in the softener part of the drawer as it has antibacterial properties. I used to wash everyday but you will have lots more than I had with two in nappies. Do you use fleece or paper liners?

arwenelf

Thanks for your replies. Pooey nappies are sluiced straight away but there are still stains on the nappies, they just need a general brightening up if you see what I mean. Sunshine is a brilliant stain remover - when we see it :rolleyes: I will try the bicarb of soda tip see if that helps and will try the cold rinse when we get a new washing machine - current one is really fussy about which programmes it works on at the moment. I tend to use paper liners but thinking of switching to fleece for a while as the eldest has bad nappy rash due to teething (back molars) so I thought that may keep him more comfortable and dry. Will try fleece liners with the youngest as well because I don't tend to use liners at the moment because he is breastfed and has liquid poo so nothing for the paper ones to catch!

Any other tips and advice most welcome

funfairprincess

I would give the fleece liners a go. I found them much better than paper ones. None of mine had nappy rash, unless they were teething. I never had any problems with runs or anything and I breast fed. You might want to try fleece wraps at night too plenty of air circulation and I never had any leeks or anything using them. I used these ones but I'm sure there will be others on the market.

gemmaj

hmmm... can't beat sun. Maybe take the nappies on holiday with you somewhere sunny? :-)

psso

Loved the sight of nappies blowing on the line in the sun -many moons ago - I used to pop them in a pail with a solution of napisan (don`t know if it`s still available?) when wet / soiled and washed them in the machine the next day. Maybe some Oxy...........whatever it is (stain remover) would do the same thing ?

edit; just googled napisan and it IS still available and it is non bio, so good for little bottoms.

[Deleted User]

psso wrote: »

Loved the sight of nappies blowing on the line in the sun -many moons ago - I used to pop them in a pail with a solution of napisan (don`t know if it`s still available?) when wet / soiled and washed them in the machine the next day. Maybe some Oxy...........whatever it is (stain remover) would do the same thing ?

edit; just googled napisan and it IS still available and it is non bio, so good for little bottoms.

That brought back many memories of the Nappisan bucket from the 1960s.I had a Baby Burco that they got boiled in then hung out to dry on the pulley line, but before that they went into a very large black pot on the cooker for a 10 minute boil.nappi-liners were just coming in when my youngest was born in 1969 and my friend and I blessed their invention.I still have about 6 of my Harrisons nappies left, and I use them as dusters now.They are very soft, and getting rather old-a bit like me really-:rotfl::rotfl:but they make smashing polishing cloths

funfairprincess

psso wrote: »

Loved the sight of nappies blowing on the line in the sun -many moons ago - I used to pop them in a pail with a solution of napisan (don`t know if it`s still available?) when wet / soiled and washed them in the machine the next day. Maybe some Oxy...........whatever it is (stain remover) would do the same thing ?

edit; just googled napisan and it IS still available and it is non bio, so good for little bottoms.

You can still get it in some of the bigger supermarkets and chemists. Boots do their own make in a blue packet much like nappisan. The only thing is it contains bicarb and that with a hot wash rots the terrys. If it's not used too often and as the OP says she uses it 40 wash it will be fine. I think it was more of a problem when it was the old twin tubs and it was a boil wash people gave them. Now washing machines are better a lower temp. wash does the same job.

I miss my nappies out on the line, mine weren't all white though I had greens, yellows, pinks and blue as well. And I'm not having any more weans just to look at them blowing on the line!:rotfl::rotfl:

cuca

psso wrote: »

Loved the sight of nappies blowing on the line in the sun -many moons ago - I used to pop them in a pail with a solution of napisan (don`t know if it`s still available?) when wet / soiled and washed them in the machine the next day. Maybe some Oxy...........whatever it is (stain remover) would do the same thing ?

edit; just googled napisan and it IS still available and it is non bio, so good for little bottoms.

I never used napisan as we used the fitted nappies and I am sure I read somewhere that if they are soaked in napisan it tends to eat away at the elastic... I am sure that adding a good dose to the washing machine with the powder would be ok though.

kate83

Lots of help on here if you've not been on before

http://www.clothnappytree.com/

Just to add, I use bio powder and never had any problems with skin, even when my LO was newborn. It has enzymes in that help break down stains so seems to be better at cleaning nappies, just need to make sure it's rinsed out properly (so probably no good if you're machines playing up).