CLOTH nappy users... washing machine advice

[nannyl]

Hello.
(going to post this else where too so sorry if you read it twice)

We are expecting our 1st baby and i am determined to use cloth nappies & wipes (I LOVE them, have used them loads while nannying, prefer them to disposables and i know which ones i like etc)

In my last house i had a fab John Lewis washing machine... i LOVED it (and 5 years ago it was a which best buy). Washed a 40c cotton load in about 1hour 7 mins, 60C 1hour 12mins, and delicate cycles were shorter still; also had a 30 min quick wash setting . I think it was 5kg (it may have been 6kg) but it was fab and i loved it... and it had a timer. (oh how i miss my timer)

Now i have moved in with OH and use his machine. We have a Baby on the way , and OH has a 4 year old machine and i HATE it. The drum is just so small.... Its a REAL squash to get in our kingsize bed linen, and the drum is so much smaller than my old machine.
a 40C wash is 2.5 hours and 60C is nearly 3 hours . There is no timer either (I line dry as much as possible so i miss not coming down to a washing machine that has just finished to hang out straight away)
Even the quick wash (officially only for 1kg of lightly soiled stuff is nearly an hour!)

Have convinced OH that its probably a good idea to get a new washing machine before baby comes.

I hope to only wash the nappies every 3rd day. (as a nappy addict i already own 75 size one nappies ) so i want a machine with a drum big enough to fit them in, wash them well and for it not to take all morning. (Will still have all the rest of the washing as well of course, and in (hopefully not too much time) would like 2 or 3 children, so i figure good to invest in a new machine now

If you have a really large machine how many nappies can you get in the machine? (i will have mostly shaped sized nappied) If you use cloth and have a small drummed machine do you wish you had a bigger drum?.

Do you love (Or hate) your washing machine, or feel that yours is better (or worse) than a friend who also uses theirs to wash cloth nappies?

Also what spin speed do you think i need. (I hope to line dry as much as possible, as i do anyway) I guess 1200 isnt enough? is 1400 better, or are the faster spins worth the money.

OH can get Miele machines (& a couple of other brands) at trade price through his company. I really would like a miele and have only herd good things about them, but in reality his trade price is about the same as seeing one on a really good special offer, so still quite expensive, and OH doesnt really want to spend that much. could probably twist his arm, if everyone raved about theirs

If you have a miele how many nappies can you fit in?

TIA

Well I have an AEG Electrolux washer drier. I bought it following which? advice. It's probably a good place to look for advice. I an delighted with it, the drum is pretty big. I can't tell you how many nappies I can put in it because I wash them every day (cause of smell). Having the option to tumble dry is IMO essential when using cloth.
Wash cycles are long (2hrs40 mins for 40 eco wash) but I think that's to do with saving water.
I love mine, but I am not sure it's what you are looking for!

I've got a bog-standard Belling I think it is. Spin's only 1000 but then it goes on radiators in the winter and line in summer. Onto DS2 so system has been well tested. Max load is about 5kg which isn't huge but I only have to do nappies every 3 days. 40C cycle is about 1 hour and 60C cycle (my preferred for nappies) a bit longer - never timed it though.

Get a good nappy bucket and you shouldn't have a smell problem.

Good luck and hope it helps.

I can't answer your tech questions re washing machines but I'd be surprised if you ended up washing nappies every 3rd day in the beginning!
Anyway. Here's what I did - I had a 30L brewing bucket (tight lid) and when that was full = full wash load. Usually took 2 days, sometimes 1.5 days depending. I also dry pailed, rather than wet pail, so needed to pre-wash in Napisan.
I had a Bosch washing machine which was very old but very good, so that's why I can't answer your tech questions!

I now have another Bosch, bought purely because of its temperature range - it does cold, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 deg washes. I love that!! but it doesn't do a half wash, which is a PITA (although irrelevant when it comes to nappies) I tend to be very uneco-aware when it comes to nappies though - the cotton wash (heavy) that they get done on is done at 70 deg because it takes an hour shorter than if I did it at 60. It's a 6.5kg washer and has a 15min quick wash, plus a separate rinse facility. It does up to 1200 rpm spin, has an extra spin cycle but I think that only ever goes at 1000 rpm (but still worth it to get the extra water out, especially on the washes that only spin at 800 rpm.

A quick search of Bosch washing machines seems to indicate that my washer is already out of date, it's only 1.5y old (or it may just be that the model I have is only available in Australia, not the UK).

Oh, another point - I only bought a tumbledrier about 3 months ago - never needed one in the UK because all the nappies hung on an airer in the bathroom, which is also where the hotwater tank was (and airing cupboard) so they dried quickly. Different story here in Aus - no bloody airing cupboard for starters! hence need for tumble drier.

I have 2 in cloth nappies and I have a fantastic Hoover washing machine, its this one www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hoover-oph614-80-washing-machine-white-02586278-pdt.html except ours is the bigger 8Kg capacity one which currys don't seem to have on their site anymore (bought it 1yr ago).

I love it because:

Big capacity is fabulous with a two DC, 2yrs and 11months who produce a lot of laundry
It has 2 short programmes to choose from, a 29minute (30deg) wash and a 44 minute (40deg) wash, ideal for little quick washes
It has a 1400 spin, perfect for getting the nappies as dry as possible before they come out
It has a AA rated wash, its a long wash but I leave it on a delay timer to start in the early morning and its done when I get up.
It has a cold wash button which turns any of the wash cycles into the cold wash version of that cycle
It doesn't have a half load button but it auto senses half load apparently, according to the manual.

Its 8Kg and I've just counted how many nappies I have in my basket that I've just washed and I've got 29 in one wash, all one-size pocket nappies, tbh I could probably get more in if I wanted to.

I would recommend the biggest drum you can afford, esp if you want more than 1 child and may at any point have more than one in cloth. Go for the 1400 spin if you can because it will make a big difference to how long the nappies then take to dry, previous machine was a 1200 and I noticed a difference when we switched.

Sorry only just notice how old the thread is, you've probably bought one by now!

thanks so much everyone

Not bought yet... am still thinking. Baby not due til September so probably might get it in Augast