how to keep nappies clean with hard london water

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I used a random assortment of new/preloved nappies from when dd1 was a few months old until I went back to work when she was about a year. Nanny and dh kept having leaks and I felt the nappies weren't really getting clean (lingering ammonia smell all the time) so I gave up and went back to disposable. dd2 is now 6 weeks and having proper bf poosplosions which disposables are not coping with so I'm going to give them another try. Can someone with experience of really hard water recommend a cleaning routine with specific details of which detergent and how much to use? I think we've got enough for me to use them on both kids (dd1 now nearly 2) as long as I can figure out how to get/keep them clean. Also worth noting I have no means to dry nappies outside although stains don't bother me.

I have tots bots ones. They only work on my 3 month old and are defo too small for 2 year old. I never knew so we had a leaking problem too but you should never ever use fabric conditioner on them. I was mine on a long wash on with half a cup of non bio washing powder (any non bio). If you have been washing yours with fabric conditioner, you need to do a full wash twice and 2 rinse washes then tumble dry the on medium heat to get them back to a good state :) hope this helps

I haven't used fabric conditioner on them although I don't know if they possibly need a strip wash anyway. perhaps I'll throw them in the machine with no detergent and see how the water looks. Before I packed them away the last time I tried more detergent, less detergent, and extra rinses (and possibly a few other things I've forgotten). a friend of mine suggested that hard water causes a buildup on the nappies which needs to be stripped off but I'm not sure how to strip that off as all I can do is rinse them in more hard water.

What about popping them in a bucket with bottled water? A big 5l bottle from Morrisons? Leave them to soak for 24 hours?

The best thing would be a week out on a line though. No friends or family who would be willing?

Vinegar? Will soften water & maybe help strip nappies. I use v little powder, a drop of lavender or tea tree oil or a slosh of vinegar in fabric softener bit of drawer, all mine (bum g, baby mio & some odds & sods, all quite old & used) are fine with this.

I tried vinegar before but maybe not enough. I will try again. Today I put a totsbots easyfit on the toddler and it leaked within half an hour. The size 1 little lamb on the baby was OK. This afternoon I tried a bumble stuffed with hemp and bamboo on the toddler and that seems to have worked better. maybe they just need more boosting?

Strip wash to get rid of buildup.

I live in C London and have had good results with EcoSprout detergent, 1 tablespoon per wash. They recommend an overnight soak in it when you start using it (and then a couple of washes & rinses without detergent) to get rid of any previous detergent buildup.

I always do a rinse first, then a wash on 40 or 60 degrees. I used to do a rinse afterwards as well but I have a machine now that has a 'hygiene' programme that uses more water than regular cottons programme, and have found I don't need to do the extra rinse.

EasyFits never worked for us and for my toddler almost all nappies need boosting to last any reasonable amount of time.

thanks rrreow. I'll try to get some ecosprouts. the ittibitti I put on the baby yesterday also leaked but that one was on for a little over 2 hours while I put the toddler to bed.