How long did your reusables last?

[Wigeon]

I am having problems with lack of absorbency...

My DD2 is in fleece Lollipops, which have been used by her big sister - her sister was probably in them from 6 months to 24 months (when she was potty-trained), and DD2 has been in them from 6 months to 21 months (ie now). I am changing her nappy every 2.5hrs as they are full of wee by then (as well as more frequently if there is a poo) - I'm sure they should last a bit longer between changes! I don't think DD drinks an excessive amount. There is absolutely no point buying any new nappies since she'll be potty trained in a few months.

Any tips on increasing the absorbency to get us through the last few months of her being in nappies? Thanks!

is there the capacity to boost them?
bamboo holds onto wee a lot better than microfleece but only if it's old and had a lot of washes, can you boost them with some bamboo?

I'd second a booster... Pop a bamboo or even hemp booster between the nappy and wrap (if I'm right in thinking its already got one sewn in the inside?). Little lamb do nice slim ones or if you needs lots more absorbency, the nappy lady sells 'super boosters' which hold buckets of wee .... You might find that you need to go up a size in wrap too as if it's really packed and snug you might get some wicking if the wrap is tight

My DS is also 21 mo. I want nappies to last 4 hours (provided there are no poos of course). With AIOs I achieve this by boosting. 1 MF insert & 1 bamboo seems to do the trick.

With two parters it's easy they just last that long. I use Motherease One Size with the snap in booster folded over at the front, or Bamboozle Stretchies with the snap in booster folded over at the front. They can last up to 7 hours (I don't recommend it, but they can). The folding over at the front might be a boy thing, not sure what would be best for a girl.

Thank you for replies! . I'm not sure if I can be bothered to buy brand new boosters for just another few weeks / short months (DD1 was completely potty-trained by just over 24 months, and DD2 is coming up for 22 months...)...although part of me feels that I've blimming used these nappies for almost 3 years in total (started using this size on both DDs at 18 months), so why give up now!!

In terms of how long reusables last, I meant more in terms of years rather than hours! I think they have probably just come to the end of their life, and lost all absorbency, having been through two children...

Ooh yes I re-read the subject title and it seems obvious now!! Have you tried a strip-wash? If you've been using them for that long without stripping them there will probably be a lot of detergent buildup, even worse if you're in a hard water area. But yeah after 3 years of washing them the fibres just might not be as absorbent anymore as they once were (especially if you tumble dry?)

I'm jealous of the potty training prospect so soon! DS doesn't seem anywhere near ready.

We have terrible hard water round here. I don't have a tumble drier, I do do strip washes, but I the nappies might have just had it.

I am entirely aware that DD2 might not be so amenable to being potty-trained at the same age as DD1, and it could still be months and months! I am sooo bored of changing poo-y nappies though!

Please can you tell me what a strip wash is? (Am in terrible hard water area and I want my reusables to last as long as possible.)

okay, for boosters you can use:
tea towels folded up
flannels (face cloths) folded up

chop up an old towel?

Oh, good ideas nickel! Thank you.

Fishandjam - a strip wash is where you wash the nappies without any detergent, in order to clean out any detergent build-up and hopefully keep the absorbancy. There are various different methods (just google "strip wash nappies"), but what I've tended to do is either just wash them on 90 degrees on a long cycle (they are usually washed on 40 degrees quick cycle), with either soda crystals or white vinegar. By the end of the wash you shoudn't see any bubbles foaming. Mid wash it's quite amazing how many bubbles there are with no detergent at all!

It's more to do with detergent build up than hard water IIRC.

As we're heading for a rainy week ... I've heard that if you leave your nappies on the line in the rain it strips them and if you're in a hard water area leaves them really soft! I've tried it on a couple of nappies and they smelt really fresh afterwards!

Great, thanks! I already do an extra rinse every 3rd cycle, and am amazed how frothy even that can get.

Extra absorbency - old muslins? (My phone desperately wanted to correct that to Muslims )

I have these too.

My size 2s were new for DD and now she is 18m i dont trust them more than 3 hours (where as the bamboo ones are fine all morning or even overnight)

My size 1s were used by my friends son for 6m, my baby for 7m and will be out again soon when DD # 2 arrives.

I dont find any of my fleece / micro nappies last that long (except tots fluffles, which are the better ones) so i always use bamboo or flip orgnanics if i need / expect the nappy to last more than 2.5 hours, and save fleece / micro ones for when a poo or routine nappy change is immenant.
I also use them if im away and want quick drying nappies