Washable Nappies Part 3

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I was going to title this thread Bum Chums - thanks Jasper!!! but i thought it would be too confusing and although we might ensnare people onto the thread... who wondered over completely unknowing that the thread was actually all about naps... we might lose the people who actually do want to know about lovely Kissies, fuzzis, tots, ellas and what's the difference between a rikki and a rikka???!!

so at the behest of Girly... I present the new thread!!!!! .... please please don't let it fizzle out now!!!

and to talk nappies... mine are drying on the line outside and if it rains there will be hell to pay!!!! (dh a meteorologist and claimed it might rain so don't chance it with the naps... me? i ussually ignore what he says and i generally do the opposite... thus they are flapping about in the breeze as i type!!! )

Pimpernel - the emptying of the nappies and smelly water into the machine was the thing I hated most when I used washables before. But these days most people seem to "dry pail" i.e. they don't use any water etc just bung them straight in the bucket after flushing poo down loo. I'm aslo investing in a nappy net this time so I can just lift it straight into the machine. Hoping this will make this part of the procedure more bearable.

I can't wait to start using washables this time round. I don't even mind the thought of the washing because they look so cute - bit like washing those tiny vests etc. Ooohhhh. Going all gooey just thinking about it.

Another vote here for a nappy net/mesh. I used to hate handling pooey nappies from bucket to machine but the net makes all the difference.

Tea tree oil is also magnificent for even the most evil of nappies.

I have to say I do soak, I like the idea of antibacterialising (ooh - new word) my nappies just in case. I use an environmentally friendly nappy soak from PHP and do a rinse cycle before a proper wash.

I know I'm probably making loads of extra work for myself, I'll dry pail if i'm short of time, but soaking seems to loosen any sneaky poo that has escaped the flushable liner.

While i'm here does anyone use washable fleece liners instead of the papery ones. How do they compare? I've got Imse Vimse flushable ones at the mo and to be honest they're a bit pants (no pun intended)

Yes, we use fleece liners most of the time, and they're great!

The poo just falls off them into the loo, and they come up spotless in the nappy wash. Dd's bum is much drier with a fleece liner, than with paper, and think how much money you could save!!
(OK, paper liners aren't too expensive, but every little bit helps!)

Tissy - where did you get yours from?

Twinkle Twinkle or the Nappy Lady for plain white ones. Lots of WAHM's do funky coloured ones, or you could get a length of plain fleece from a haberdasher's and make some yourself for a fraction of the cost! Just cut out a rectangle or hourglass shape to fit inside your nappies, they don't need hemming, as fleece doesn't fray.

I use fleece ones too, and got mine from the nappy lady. Ds never feels wet on his bot using them.

You can get really good ones which don't cost too much from www.zayoodee.co.uk/ , and she also puts them on e-bay - I like the idea of getting them from WAHMs as I'd rather give them my dosh than a big company.

Also try, www.nappiesbyminki.co.uk// , www.bearbehinds.com/ or nappysaurus.com if you use these nappies (they are gorgeous) and want matching liners - or just want funky fleece liners

Katherine, I gave up soaking the nappies after a single attempt - you're right, transferring nappies in smelly water was truly horrible. I've switched to dry pailing - might try a nappy net though, it sounds like a good idea.

AliP, I've got a couple of friends who use a nappy laundering service - both gave good reports. I decided not to use one because I couldn't really be bothered to be in when they collected/delivered. If I'd really hated doing the washing, I'd probably have tried the service though.

Demented (I think it was you anyway?), thanks for the tip about using Superdrug drawstring washbags as washable nappy sacks - I've got a couple to try. It's a shame they only came in a couple of dark colours though - does anyone know if you can get white washbags cheaply anywhere so they can go through the nappy wash?

BTW someone asked about elinors website as a good source of info about the different sorts of nappies - its here

hi fellow washable-nuts
I use tot-bots with fleece liners very happily but am quite envious of those of you who seem to just flush and wash. To get mine white I have to pre-treat poo stains with Vanish (I wash at 60degrees with persil) - any suggestions of washing powder that does it for me?! I don't want to use biological stuff. (I don't mind doing the Vanish thing but as he gets older its a level of intimacy I could do without...)

Me again - just found this site (no I'm not connected in any way) but thought it looked like a good informative site run by a WAHM with some good articles about choosing cloth and choosing the right sort of nappy system. www.treehuggerhums.co.uk

sorry to change the subject - but how do you hold a disposable baby? mine has this lovely shelf to put your hand underneath, but a picjked up one without a cloth bottom yesterday and there was nothing to hold onto. yet another benefit!

Jamsy - I emailed tots bots about poo stains and they recommended a scoop of oxi clean (blue tub from supermarkets about £6) in with your nappy wash. Either that or give a wash in biological once in a while and then rinse again before wearing.
The tots bots website has loads of nappy care info on it - www.totsbots.com.

ninja - lol! I love my big bottomed boy! People fork out £40 for a hip seat when all you need is a big cloth bahooky!

Yes, definitely oxiclean, for those really persistent stains! FWIW, I dry pail dd's nappies and wash every other day. I put the poo-ey ones through first on a 20 minute cold rinse with extra agitation, then chuck in the rest for a 40 degree wash with Surcare and a scoop of Oxiclean if necessary. Every now and then I do a 60 load. Mostly we are stain-free, and dd eats a LOT of tomatoes at the moment!

Next best stain zapper is definitely sunlight - not often though! Good on mucky bibs too - oh how domestic I have become

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Nappy lady advice is certainly worth getting, as it gives you some ideas and helps to 'orientate' you to the foreign land of washable nappies....but being an independent spirit I didn't use their recommendations. I found twinkletwinkle much better - comprehensive website and more objective product descriptions.

Bloss - ironing nappies??? That is a bit dedicated....

btw tissy - grobag is fantastic, really helps with sleeping.

i take itwe're all too nice to post on the thread about disposables?

I have done so. There are good reasons for using washables but the temperature of ds's testicles isn't one of them, I'm afraid

LOL Ninja the big bum is certainly a bonus!

Pimpernell, they must have different designs in different branches of Superdrug then our one stocks nice pale blue ones and a sort of green and blue funky pattern (prefer the blue ones myself).

We use fleece liners too, I initially bought a couple from the Nappy Lady and then bought some fleece, cut round the Nappy Lady liners (just rectangles so not too difficult) and ended up with about 20 liners for £4 or so, bargain!

Glad you like it, Ninja

Bobsmum...how old is your ds? I swear by my hipseat; certainly couldn't carry dd around for long periods without it, cloth-bottomed or not!

Lakeland Limited also stock Oxiclean, for those people unable to find it in a supermarket!

Tissy - ds was 9 months on sunday and weighs in at just over 24lbs - wears 18-24mths clothes - I think I've grown biceps on my biceps!

Drooooooool - just had a look at the zayoodee site and I want everything - funky frog fleece wipes - where have you been all ds' life? Am off to get credit cards while dh watches the footy