What's the best way to strip wash nappies?

[nomoremagnolia]

I think I need to strip wash my nappies, they still smell on coming out of the machine and are not as absorbant as they used to be. I have been googling strip washing but there seem to be all sorts of different ways to do it. Can anyone help me with some RL experience of what works best? I think I have caused the problem by adding too much detergent and I'm using a two-part nappy - fleece inners with PUL wraps if either of those things are relevant. TIA

IME a good soak overnight then a drop of washing up liquid on each nappy. Wash, wash, wash, wash until there are no more bubbles in the machine.

I never found stripping worked and was warned by a nappy lady that bicarb and or vinggar can affect the fibre and degrade them. her suggestion was to run them on a detergent free was (longest cycle) 2 or 3 times on cold - it bashes all the remaining detergent out of the nappies, I just kept running the machine until I got a wash cycle with no bubbles.

I'd go for several cold washes followed by a 60 wash, all with no powder.

I always do a cold rinse before the wash cycle. It washes the wee out before the warm water gets a chance to 'set' the smell in.

Then I wash on 30 with a teeny bit of Ecover powder and some lavender oil in the fabric conditioner bit of the drawer.

Once a month or so I do an actual cold wash cycle with a squirt of washing up liquid, followed by a 60 wash.

I think I have probably been washing them all wrong! I put them in for a 40deg wash with sanitiser as a pre-wash and 1/2 a cap of small and mighty non-bio. Having been googling the problem most of the afternoon I think I've been doing it all wrong :(

...and I've been dry-pailing them too...

Dry pailing is right though.

Wet pailing is just a bucket of ming. And is not recommended by any of the manufacturers now anyway.

Well at least that's something! It just occured to me that there was no point in the process where the wee was getting washed/soaked out before the main 40deg wash.

Yes, dry paling is right. I think we can all agree on that Nappy soup is not nice.

For standard washing I used to do a cold rinse with no detergent. then a long cycle (either 40 or 60 degrees, depending if there were viruses about) using a half measure of detergent.

For PUL wraps the easiset way of stripping I have found is the dishwasher tablet method. Am quoting all the advice we give out just in case :

"Always start with clean nappies. First run a maintenance wash on your machine to clean it too (empty machine, full dose of detergent and the hottest wash you can. Don't forget to clean the detergent drawer out) to make sure there is no build up in pipes / your machine that will affect your strip wash.

Washing-up Liquid Method. Soak your nappies over night in a bath full of water and lots of washing up liquid. If they really smell bad, you have nappy cream build up on them, or you are just a glutton for punishment then next morning you can scrub inserts / nappies with a nailbrush with neat washing-up liquid on it. Drain it all off and then bung in washing machine and keep running rinse cycle until you see no more bubbles from the liquid. Suitable for all types of nappy and good at shifting stains.

White Vinegar method: Soak your nappies overnight in a solution of water and white vinegar (1/8th - ¼ vinegar depending on how bad the nappies are) then drain and do a couple of rinses in the washing machine until vinegar smell is gone. Not suitable for PUL, bamboo or nappies with elastic.

Dishwasher tablet method: Use alongside the white vinegar method. Stick all PUL or elastic containing items in the washing machine with a dishwasher tablet. Run on a 60c wash (so only use on wraps etc that can be washed that hot). Run an extra rinse cycle to ensure all gone. Not sure about suitability for bamboo items so wouldn't risk it with them"

White vinegar is only really recommended for terry type nappies. Cold rinsing works, but can take forever, so if you can get away with it the dishwasher one is fab. Depends on how hard your water is though, and how bad your build up.

Lots use gel liquids to wash now, but allegedly they are bad at leaving residue on the pipes etc of your machine. So even if you use a small amount your nappies are probably picking up additional from the machine, maybe even softner too. Is worth doing a service wash (hottest you can, either empty or with one of the washing machine cleaner you can pick up at supermarket) on your machine every so often to - prolongs its life too.

HTH

Thank you. Am running a cold wash atm with all nappies/wipes and no detergent. Planning to do the same again and then a hot wash like Queen suggested. Not put the wraps in (partly as there was no space but also thought they are not likely to have build up on as they are PUL)
I have cleaned the washing machine recently so hope that there is no significant build up in the pipes etc. Fingers crossed it works!

Am so proud as just successfully cleared a stinky fitted nappy out and now it smells beautiful again! Even in the mornings!

I put it through a normal wash and then boiled it on the stove with a little bit of dish soap in the pan. Then I rinsed it a few times in the sink and hung to dry outside.

Problem solved!

Dont think you would be able to do that with PUL nappies though...?

QueenOf: What sort of nappies do you use?

I've been wondering whether detergent build up is the explanation for all the leaks we've been having. We have some Tots Bots + PUL wraps which we used for DS1 and which are, and have always been, fine, though they are starting to look a bit sad, but recently splashed out on some Pop-Ins for DS2. We trialed some for two weeks before buying and were really pleased with them, but not long after shelling out for our own and starting to use them we started getting leaks all the time.

DS2 is now 6 weeks and still in disposables as the Tots Bots drown him (he was a bit early and is still under 10lb) and the Pop-Ins, which we bought to use especially for him, leak every time. Last time I put him in one I fed him, nipped in the shower for 15 minutes, and came back to find him and his bedsheets completely drenched.

On the other hand, perhaps he just pees loads. He as leaked three times already today and that's in disposables!

Two good ways to check for detergent build up.

1 Run clean tub of water, stick clean nappy in it and swish it about If you see detergent bubbles then yep, build up.

2 Get clean nappy, stick your fingers under the tap and dribble the water from fingers onto the inner where the pee goes. If it bobbles up and takes ages to absorb then so will the pee and can run off as a result when there is loads.

If your nappies are new though, am suprised if you have build up already unless you are using fabric softner? May be to do with the fit becase of DS age - as he grows they should fit better. Most BTP nappies are really not BTP! More 10/12 lbs+.