Soak or dry-pail?

[molejazz]

I'm just about to start with cloth nappies for my 6.5 mo. We'll have some Totsbots Flexitots, some Stretchies, and some Itti Bitti SIOs.

Just interested in what people prefer?

Also, do you really need a nappy mesh for the bucket??

i dry pail and have tots bots bamboo, ellas house bum hugger and motherease. i do a rinse cycle daily in the machine and wash every other day. oh and i don't have a mesh.

:)

Dy pail and no mesh (well, 2 actually stuck at the bottom of my drawer never used!)

I guess if you are squeemish about handling the wet nappies then the mesh would be useful but I just wash my hands afterwards.

Don't soak, there is no need and its a total faff.

Dont soak its discusting and it smells more imo haha.

I dry pail, i did use a mesh but found it easier just to chuck the nappies in the wash myself tbh. If you wet pail i should think ul need a mesh so its easier to get the nappies out.

i dry pail. no mesh

used to soak, but it's a faff and makes the bucket really heavy and if it gets knocked over it's bad!

so i soon gave up

Thanks ladies, I'm convinced!

I can sense one more 'this is the way it's done now' conversation with my MIL coming up :)

Two words for MIL: Poo Soup.

I do use a mesh, find it more convenient to just put the mesh with nappies straight in the machine. Once washed, I also find the mesh useful for putting the nappies back in to carry to where they're going to be hung to dry. Depends how far that is from your machine I suppose.

I dry pail but I have a very small bucket so end up putting a mesh in the bucket for washable wipes and then use an XL wetbag for dirty nappies. I usually sort through the nappies as I put them in the machine and just check that inserts are pulled out and that tabs are folded back but it depends what sort of nappies you are using. Most PUL type nappies recommend that you don't soak and I've also heard that elastic can perish quicker if you regularly soak.
I always do a cold rinse then a hot wash (60)

I rinse all the nappies under the cold water tap (not hot - it sets stains) to loosen stains and help break down the urine. I dry pail because soaking can degrade the elastic and reduce the waterproofness on wraps and also fades anything that is coloured. I don't use oxygen or chlorine bleachs, bicarbonate of soda, vinegar or lemon juice cos it can also damage the fabric and elastic or any oils cos they can make the nappies start repelling liquid. I try to do a wash every day because the longer nappies remain wet the quicker the fabrics will break down.

I do a prewash with no detergent, a 30 degree wash with half a tablet or 1/4 the recommended amount of powder/liquid (we use the ecover non-bio original washing powder because it is the only one that doesn't contain dyes, enzymes, perfumes, whiteners, brighteners or phosphates which can damage nappies. Then I do an extra rinse if the final rinse of the wash programme still had suds in it. I don't use fabric conditioner cos it coats the fibres and so reduces absorbancy. I hand wash wraps cos it makes them last longer.

I'm a fan of line drying in the sun as much as possible as it gets ride of stains without harming the fibres in your nappies, but if not then I line dry inside on an airer near the radiator or in the airing cupboard. I don't put them directly on the radiators or tumble dry as this can damage them in the long run and tumble drying also makes the nappies hold onto smells more. After i've hand washed the wraps I wipe them out with a towel to remove excess moisture and dry them as per the nappies.

I use a mesh bag for the nappies as well and for the main 30 degree wash I put it in my normal load of washing. It's only the prewash and the extra rinse where I put the nappies in on their own.

Soda crystals are very good for washing nappies as well.

Dry pail and mesh. It's only so I can just swing the whole lot straight from the bucket into the machine, with a quick shake to get it all out.

I tend to wash them on their own because I like to use fabric softener for our clothes (and obviously don't use it for the nappies).

Dry pail and mesh chuck it in the washing machine, rince then a 40 degree wash and occasionally do an extra rinse.

I use a very small amount of Surcare powder.

Dry pail. One cold rinse and one 40 degree wash.

My mother is still convinced I need to soak in napisan and wash at 90 degrees...