new to cloth nappies...

[WelshCat]

just checking im going about it the right way really! DS is 17 months and I have ordered 20 reusable nappies with 20 microfibre liners, 10 bamboo night booster things and 400 disposable biodegradable liners.

am i correct in thinking i put the microfibre pad in the pocket in the nappy, the paper liner on top and im good to go? at night im assuming i just put a bamboo booster in too. it cant be this simple can it? please let me know if im missing some vital ingredient!

also if you can recommend a washing powder to use with them and what temp to wash on etc would be great ( i only ever use the quick was function on my washing machine!) and whats this napisan stuff?

please let me know if i have the right idea!!

Liners are there to catch the poo so you can easily get shot of the stuff instead of scraping and getting in a pickle. Night boosters look a bit like cloth sanitary towels and usually slide into a pocket or poppa on to the inside of the nappy, so your liner would go on top of that if you use one (we never did). I used normal non bio powder as it has better cleansing/disinfectant properties than the liquids. Don't use softener whatever you do as it ruins absorbency. I had two buckets of water to put the dirties in, "a liquids and a solids bucket", wet nappies I would put it in with the normal wash at 40, if it was solids job then it got a prewash with napisan and then normal 60degree cycle. Napisan just kills off the nasty germs for you that the normal wash may not. They say you can wash some of them at a higher temp but I didn't find it necessary. Some nappies end up a bit discoloured but if you line dry then the sun bleaches it out. Tumble drying makes them lovely and soft and fluffy but shortens the life of them. Good luck! I hated dealing with the buckets, but it does save a lot of waste and cash in the long haul.

It is pretty much that simple. What brand did you go for?

Non-bio powder, Tots bots Potion, or Bold 2-in-1 which has a clay-based fabric softener that doesn't clog nappies up a ruin their absorbency.

I wouldn't use Napisan as it kills the elastic in nappies! No need to sanitise, a modern washing machine will get them clean at 40 degrees, honest. 60 degrees to be certain.

I also wouldn't stick dirty nappies in a bucket of water - think poo soup, it's really disgusting. I wet-pailed with my eldest, who is now 8. With the next two I had learned the error of my ways. Just get rid of all the poo you can and stick the nappy in a bucket with a tight-fitting lid or in a wet-bag, preferably with a zip. And wash a load of nappies together - around 10 or 12 at a time.

My mother-in-law recently stuck a pooey nappy in a bucket of (boiling) water - UGH, UGH, UGH! I had totally forgotten how foul it is. But as of a couple of days ago, DS3 is pretty much potty trained. I'll miss my lovely fluffy nappies.

Enjoy

I use them for my DS and will continue to when DC3 arrives.

I second not using napisan as it destroys modern nappies and with how effective modern washing machines are there is no need to soak in water either.

Make sure you don't use too much washing powder in the wash as it can clog the nappies. You will need to do a full wash rather than quick wash. I do mine on 40 and then every now and again at 60 for a deep clean. An extra rinse at the end helps to make sure no washing powder is left behind.

Poo soup is horrid. I second that. If it works then do as swampster said.

Third the poo soup - dry pail with a drop or two of tea tree oil in the bucket

Depending which ones you use, you can also wash the "disposable" liners and reuse them a few times before they start to disintegrate just to save a few more pennies. Obviously just bin it if it's a dirty nappy.

You might need more than just a bamboo booster for night, see how you get on. I managed with boosting microfibre nappies at first but as my DS got older he needed more absorbency so I got bamboo nappies for nights.

Good tip I got from here - do a cold rinse before putting them on a normal 40 degree wash with extra rinse. That seems to loosen the dirt out first rather than cooking it in IYSWIM.

awesome thanks guys. i have ordered them from a woman from china on ebay, they came recommended highly from a friend so i hope they will work! couldnt afford swanky uk nappies!

glad you mentioned about the napisan coz i was gonna use that! im hoping with the liners there wont be too much poop on the nappies to maybe i wont need it.

how ofetn do you wash the nappies then?
how long can you leave them in a wet bucket?

I do mine every other day as that's when I have a full wash load but I know some people do them every 3-4 days.

I am considering buying cloth nappies but have no idea which ones are best can anyone advise me on the best.