Cloth nappy rookie question...

[Joannezipan]

Hi Guys,

I went to a nearly new sale today and got our nappies for a steal. The only thing is now I have to wash them all before the baby comes. I normally use Percil Original non-bio and ecover fabric softener. Will these be okay for washing nappies with or do i need something more gentle? Also do you use softener at all? I would have thought it cuts down on the absorbency of the nappy, but makes them feel less stiff, but i don't know. What do you do/use?

We use non-bio on our fleece liners with no conditioner (as yes it does cut down on the absorbancy) plus Nappisan on the really nasty stains. We dry bucket our stuff.

We use non bio & conditioner but no napisan on our plastic covers (only wash them if they get dirty - otherwise we just rinse them) and on our fabric covers.

I would also advise getting a waterproof draw string bag (the ones for swimsuits tend to be cheaper than the nappy ones - M&S used to do them for a fiver but may have stopped) to bring home your soggy nappies when you're out & about.

Hope that helps & that you love your nappies. I adore (which is ridiculous but true) hanging them out on the line to dry - all clean & soft & nice smelling (& saving me money & space in my bin).

Don't use fabric softener because that will reduce the absorbency. Persil non-bio is fine, it's what I use for my cloth.

I dry pail too, and always use a cycle with a pre-wash which I put Napisan into.

You will need to strip wash them every so often, if you look on the Nappy Lady website she gives a method for doing this.

Second the recommendation for the waterproof bag - v.handy for trips out and you can also shove any wet/pooed on/vomited on clothes in them too!

you don't have to do stripping!!!!
Only if they become smelly or less absorbant.
I have been using cloth for 2.5 years and have never stripped my nappies. We have really soft water so I think we are less likely to get a detergent build up as the soft water is better at getting rid of the detergent.
But agree with others don't use softner. You can tumble a little bit to make them soft if you want (but I have never felt the need).
Dry pailing is easiest. I do a cold rinse and then hot wash.
Drawstring bags are ok - I prefer a bag with a zip as that keeps the smell in. You can get XL bags too that can be used instead of a nappy bucket and look pretty!

Thanks Ladies - very helpful! I'm sure I'll be back with more rookie questions soon! xx

oh the exception to the rule is Bold 2-in-1. Never used it myself but apparently the softener used is clay based so that is okay!

And only use half the amount of detergent you would for a normal wash :)

Smac - I am of your water. We have the hardest water in the country pretty much, the kettle would fur up after 4/5 boilings if we didn't have a filter on the kitchen tap!

I have to strip wash every 6 months or so, despite using Calgon in our machine, otherwise the absorbancy of the nappies drops right off. It is a PITA! :)