secrets for keeping washable nappies soft

[gingernutlover]

I have tried vinegar in the fabric conditioner drawer and giving them a good shake before and during air drying. They still feel rough and crusty after drying, I know they soften as soon as baby wets but I feel bad putting them on her like this.

any other ideas?????

would rather not go back to using tumble dryer all the time as the elec bill was going through the roof

they are MEOS by the way and fantastic apart from this. Really don't want to go back to disposables by DH keeps commenting on how poor dd must hate the roughness - don't think she cares too much myself

My mum used to put a few drops of lavender essential oil in the conditioner drawer of the washing machine when she washed my sister's nappies.

Apparently just finishing them off in the tumble drier helps keep them soft as well - just a few minutes will do.

great will try this, any other ideas?

Also read that fabric conditioner affects their absorbancy - the wee runs off rather than soaks in. Agree with the tumble dryer - even for 10 mins.

yes had heard about the fab cond thats why i dont use it - wonder if once in a while would matter if it softened them

The thing that really really works is hanging them out on a washing line. I know the british weather doesn't really allow for this but even if they just have a bit of a blow on an overcast day before finishing off the drying inside it does help! Roll on the summer.

fabric conditioner does affect absorbency for that wash - you could just do it once in a while, but then the nappies would be soft only once in a while and would not be much good until washed iyswim.

I don't bother myself, but discovered that putting wet nappies in microwave for 1 min while still wet helps.

what on earth made you try putting wet nappies in the microwave?? lol!!!

needed to get one dry quick and didn't have tumble drier. it did work, after a fashion.

you could just put a fleece liner in them.

tbh though who here remembers their nappies being scratchy when they were babies??????
i would wager we were all in cloth and that most of our mums didn't have driers???

quite, starlover. I don't bother to soften and don't tumble dry. ds has never complained.

good point - she really dfoesn't seem to mind - will just ignore dh as I always do! last night she had developed a nappy rash - teething - and his response was "shall I go and get some disposables?" !!!!!!!! er no.

Hi,
try washing without the detergent. It is the detergent build up that is making them stiff.
See what works for you, but I'm working on a two washes with out and one with and they are much much softer, and still clean ( washing on 60). I've never used fab cond on them, but mainly because we don't use it at all since cutting it out eased our dd's eczema.

Ni need for fabric conditioner-coats the fibres with a sort of waxy non aBSORBANT SUBSTANCE.
fEW MINS IN A TUMBLE DRYER GETS MINE FLUFFY.

i have tried washing with soda crystals instead of washing powder and this seems to get them really really clean and softer. It's cheaper too, about 50p a bag which lasts a while.

I haven't microwaved my nappies personally, but was advised to by my GP as a way of combatting recurrent thrush . Didn't want to risk the elastic in my Tots though!

ours are pretty crusty. we don't tumble dry for environmental reasons. and Manchester weather doesn't lend itself to drying out on the line for most of the year. Plus our nappies are old now, dd3 is nearly 2 and in the same nappies as both her sisters. but it really doesn't seem to bother her. they don't feel nearly as nice as other peoples' tumble dried ones. but she's ok with it. anyway, perhaps the roughness might encourage her to consider the potty early don't want them to get too comfy in their nappies.....

I use eco-balls so you avoid a build up of detergent. They aren't really soft but aren't crusty either. Might be worth a try.

I use terries so it might not work the same with the pre shaped ones. With the weather at the moment I dry them on the radiators (have a drier but only use for emergencies because of environmental impact and meanness!!). When they come off the radiator, they are like boards. I ind that twisting them and rubbing them together softens them enough for DSs bum. He has just had a bout of nappy rash which was brought on whilst using (eco) disposables!!

I use a mixture of nappies and if I can't be bothered with tumble drying I too just give them a rub and this softens then a little although not as much as a 10 min tumble.