Washable nappies

[TheEastLondonCM]

May not be right place for this thread but i need a bit of advice from knowing parents.

I mind a child, 2.5yrs, who is in washable nappies, and has been since birth. This has always been an annoyance to me but as he is getting bigger the problem is getting worse. The nappies leak all of the time, and all the other children say he smells. Now I think I'm doing all I can to prevent leaks, I change his nappy every 60/90mins and if we are going out for the day I will put a disposable on (his parents hate this!) but he is always wet. More than that, his parents only bring him in with one plastic cover so once he has weed, the plastic cover stinks to high heaven, the smell of ammonia is terrible, poos even worse. I do what i can to minimise this, so I wipe cover down at every change and try change the second I see it's slightly damp, but the smells and leaks persist.
Are you supposed to change plastic cover every time you change the nappy or should one cover last for 12hr period? Also do they come in bigger sizes? How often do you change washable nappies? During the 9hrs he is with me I change him at least 6 times which is a challenge when I have other children to care for. Am I doing something wrong or is the parents frugality going too far?

Should mention that he isn't at all ready to potty train so will be in these nappies for forseable

the plastic covers do come in a range of sizes and shouldn't need changing at every nappy change, my dd needed changing every 2-3 hours. I never had a problem with leaking or a smell. One thing that can make the ammonia smell worse is how they are washed. Do you know what type of nappy they are?

Do his parents have this problem? DP and I tried using them when DSS was about 18 months old but we never really got on with them and he constantly leaked. Tried several different sizes, extra layers but nothing helped and he just soaked straight through within 2-3 hrs. Sorry, that's probably not very helpful!

If they smell and are leaking they might need a strip wash. This can be done by washing and doing loads of rinses but hanging out in the rain is really effective too. Washables do need changing more often than disposables but not as often as you are having to so something is going wrong.

I tried very hard to keep my son in washable nappies as disposables are so awful for the environment, but I recognise some of the problems you describe. It sounds like you need to ask the parents to give the nappies need a strip wash, also make sure they always do a cold rinse before the hot wash.

My strip washing method is-

Cold rinse (this must always be done every single wash, otherwise the wee smells get baked in)

Normal cycle on 60 with half dose of powder

About 3 or 4 cold rinse and spin cycles or another whole wash on cold.

Keep rinsing till no more soap suds visible

Air dry outside if at all possible. Do not tumble or radiator dry as this also bakes in smells.

They could also buy some hemp or bamboo boosters to boost absorbency.

If they disapprove of occasional disposables for environmental reasons they could buy bambo or moltex, which are a lot better on Eco credentials than pampers etc

As for leaks, I admit we did have to use disposables with our son from 18 months potty training at about 2.3 as the washables just weren't coping with the big boy wees, but if I'd been a die hard cloth user (and not pregnant) I'd have invested in more bamboo nappies and persevered.

It's more difficult with cloth sometimes but you've saved an awful lot of nappies from landfill, so you should feel good about that

Oh and yes, the fit of the cover must be correct, they come in lots of sizes, motherease and blueberry are most reliable ime.

They really shouldn't smell like that. It sounds like they need strip washing, maybe more than once if it's really that bad. Tricky situation as the childminder as you're not the one doing the washing.

DD was in washables until potty trained at 2.3. They never smelt and never leaked. I used to change every 3-4 hours.

I don't know if it's just me but I wouldn't expect anyone else looking after my child to deal with washable nappies (unless I knew they were already familiar with them or specifically mention it). I personally quite like them and use them a lot when I'm at home but there's no denying that they are more inconvenient and dealing with the poo is just revolting. So if my baby was being looked after by anybody else then I would just expect to use disposables. I didn't even mention it to the nursery. Although having said that I do agree that they shouldn't smell or need changing that often - (I will definitely stop using them if I end up in the situation you describe!).
Is it normal for childminders to be willing to use cloth nappies?

Thanks for your replies!!
To answer some of your questions, as parents provide nappies I really don't mind if they are disposable or otherwise, however I think this child's nappies don't fit him, he has had the same ones in all the time that I have looked after him, about 18months, they are called EcoBum I think!
It's interesting you say about strip washing I'm almost certain they don't do this as nine times out of ten on a Monday morning he comes in with the paper inserts scrumpled inside the nappy already, as if they have just come out the washing machine like that. I will always through the paper insert away (is this right?) but they obviously are washing them still in nappy.

He is a big boy and does eat/drink a lot there is no way we could go more than 90mins without changing!! It doesn't help that he doesn't seem to notice when nappy full so if I don't keep on top of it he would be in a real mess

If parents didn't hate disposables I would buy him a pack that fit him just to wear at mine but I can't go against their wishes like that

Don't know about that make, but many reusables would be "birth to potty" - so you just adjust them as they grow.

Agree with a PP that I wouldn't expect my childcare to use reusables.

I would just add that chocolate martini's strip wash method is what I have to do every single wash, because my machine just doesn't use enough water to properly clean them otherwise. The parents must be having the same issues?

I strip wash with dishwasher powder, I'm not sure what it does to the nappies but it works.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for two wraps, then you could properly rinse one and leave it to dry. Just using one sounds a bit grim. And I agree it sounds like the nappies are just too small.

I would disagree about a childminder or nursery not using reuseables. I would expect a childcare provider to be willing to use them. Mind you, I use pocket nappies. All it would require would be binning the liner (no worse than binning a pooey wipe) and then sticking the nappy in a bag for me to deal with. And making sure you change every 3 hours, not stretching it to 4.

What you are describing is a problem with the nappies.

Some kids will have problems with reuseables towards potty training. If they are holding in large wees, it can be the case that a wee overwhelms a nappy and 'floods' before it can soak in. Bamboo boosters would help with that. Other people do a few months in disposables.

But if the nappies stink, something is wrong. Probably improper washing as others have said.

If the nappies have always leaked, something is wrong. Hard ot say exactly what.

Do you want to try and find out what brand they are and we can maybe help more? What do you mean by outside and paper insert - does the paper insert soak up the wee, or is that just a liner so you can bin poo? What bits does the nappy have?

Have you tried looking on YouTube to see if there is a video about how to put on the particular sort of nappies?

I use reusables. They never leak with me, and if just wet I change them every 3-4 hours. I have never noticed a smell. BUT my reusables do sometimes leak when other people put them on my baby (eg my mum), as you have to take quite a bit more care over how they are adjusted and fitted than you do with disposables. I'd also add that I've tried quite a few different makes of reusables, and not all have worked for my children - I do think that a lot depends on the particular shape of your child. If might be that these are not (or are no longer) the best brand of nappy for this boy (in which case, would his parents be open to buying a trial pack and trying some other brands - or could they pick some up cheaply, e.g. Second hand, if money rather than environmental reasons in their driver?).

Also look into whether you get boosters for the type of nappy being used. My youngest is quite a heavy wetter, so I routinely use a booster in her nappy.

Paper insert is probably a liner. You can wash the liners, throw when soiled, but wash after a wee and reuse once, maybe twice.

Wrap, we tend to not reuse but we have lots of different nappies.

They sound like they need strip washing.

Bamboo boosters by little lambs, brilliant! We use in all nappy brands as an extra.

They are Birth to potty nappies so yes he will be in the same ones. Strangely we use cloth and I find when I have used disposables (post injection or on holiday abroad) I find they smell.

Why not suggest a strip wash and bamboo inlays?

As for frugality, we bought reusables as we think they look nicer, are better for the environment (landfill), and they seem to keep nappy rash to a minimum.

Some nappies are better than others, little lambs are really absorbent (toddler all night is fine) So are bum genius. Fuzzi bums leak the most - even with a bamboo boost.

Is second little lambs and bumgenius - these are the 2 that I've found the most reliable over 2 DCs. My bumgenius genuinely never leak (whereas I find that disposables do, and I also find that they smell, I can't even bear to use them on holiday now).

I used terry squares for both mine (DDs) no problems ...various wraps but by that age (solid poos) I used them like prefolds and had them in pocket wraps.

DD1 was at Nursery full time from 3 months and the nursery had no problem with them ...even used to rinse out the runny pre-weaned poo ones for me! From speaking to them it saved them having to pay for as many nappies to be got rid of - they were classed as 'clinical waste' so not cheap to dispose of... as a cm do you not have a similar problem?
I used to send the prefold ones to nursery already in the wraps - so it was just like putting a disposable on - and it was a clean wrap every change ...for DD2 at home I used one for two wees.
And I washed and reused paper liners... some lasted 3 or 4 uses.
When DD2 was almost 2 I put her in Nature baby (eco friendly) disposables overnight sometimes as they did get soaked....but a booster in a terry square worked well too - just didn't have enough boosters for every night and didn't want to buy more so close to potty training

Do they smell before you put them on? And I would say they need more than one wrap in 9hrs...several wees...
I always soaked mine (in environmentally friendly stuff) and then spun and cold rinsed them before washing...
With DD1 never had a problem but for DD2 (new machine) I had to use the extra water setting - for a modern washing machine to get a A+ rating it has to use a tiny amount of water so they are all rubbish at rinsing...(think the ratings are misleading - more often than not the cycle that gets the rating just doesn't work -true of tumble dryers and dishwashers too- bit like the way they get the mpg ratings for cars by stripping them down to basic shells - nothing like the real usage)
I think you need to talk to the parents about it - see if they have similar problems etc...

Thanks for all the info I will politely pass on to parents.

There is a definite damp smell to nappies before I put them on, but the second they are slightly wet the wee smell is potent.

When i said paper insert I meant the liner yes. I don't know what the bamboo boosters are I will google all this in the morning!!

I'm more than happy to use any nappy parents provide, as long as they are doing the job a nappy should, as a PP said it does mean less dirty nappies to dispose of!! Not knowing much about them I just wandered if I was doing something wrong, I know he leaks a lot at home and when he is dropped off he is often sitting on a plastic bag so as not to get bike seat or pushchair wet!!

OMG! Sitting on a bag? Poor kid. There is something seriously wrong with those nappies.

Yes sitting on a plastic bag- the irony of using washable nappies but then sitting him on something so unenvironmentally friendly makes me silently giggle, poor boy.

We used washable nappies, we used to change them about four times per day (poos notwithstanding...) and used a clean wrap every morning. I don't think either of my dds smelt, or at least not because of their nappies...

I know a lot of people have talked about strip washing the nappies, but it wouldn't surprise me if the parents just didn't wash them hot enough - i used to wash ours at 60 degrees, but i did dally with washing them at 50 for a while, in an attempt to use less energy. When i did this the nappies no longer smelt clean, so i switched back to 60 and all was well again.

There is also the possibility that they wash with something like ecoballs rather than any kind of soap powder. We used Ecover and it was fine, but i reckon you need to use something. Have you tried broaching the subject with them?

As for the nappy leaking, it is clearly not fit for purpose - either the child has outgrown it, it's not been put on properly or the waterproofness of the wrap has worn out (ironically from washing too hot?).

I'm still not quite sure what type of nappy we are talking about. Is it literally a plastic cover, an inner separate cloth nappy and a liner? Or does the absorbant bit stuff inside the cover?

The only nappy I can find called Ecobum seems to be a pocket. In which case - you aren't meant to use the outer again and again and, if they aren't taking it apart to wash, it isn't getting clean.

Are these the nappies?

Yes those are the ones penquin x