to soak or not to soak

[Hayls]

Hi, I've just bought a full order of MEOS (did a trial with them and Tots Bots and preferred MEOS). I have a question though- do you soak your nappies before washing them and if so what solution do you use (or just water?) I think I'll be doing a wash either every day or every 2 days but I don't know if I should soak them or not.

Also, I've bought washable wipes- do you just use water with them? I'm not keen on using any strong chemically products so are there any nice natural perfume free products I can use instead to deal with the explosive nappies?

Any other advice and useful tips from seasoned users much appreciated... are there any essentials I should get?

definitely dry pailing - although I do soak the occasional nappy where a poo has escaped the liner. DS is in TotsBots and the terry fabric is great for catching rogue bits of poo. Got a bit fed up with picking (admitedly clean by this point) raisins and carrots from the washing machine.

How do you put white vinegar into the rinse - is it just a case of waiting until the rinse is happening and chucking it in the dispenser? DP thinks that DS's line dried nappies are too rough for him.

Am I the only person left that soaks her nappies? Found drypailing left too many stains so soak them in the old Sangenic Nappy Wrapper filled with water, 3tsps bicarb of soda and a few drops of tea tree oil. OK so its a bit niffy at the end of day 2 but there's no stains, and I just tip the water down the drain quickly.

Avoid flushable liners like the plague. They blocked our drains and my mums awell. Our drains are old but basically undamaged, apart from a small section where the pipes had slipped out of line, but my mum's drains are modern ones in good condition, and those damned liners blocked both of them. Grrrr.

I use fleece liners made out of a metre of fleece which cost £4. You get about 25-30 liners out of that, and I use them for wipes too. I don't soak the wipes in a solution but I have a spray bottle full of water mixed with a squirt of baby lotion and a smaller squirt of all-over body wash. Works a treat at removing poo.

Agree with Bea that a line of clean nappies looks lovely.

Hi Hayls. Dry pailing for me too I'm glad to say. Remember my mum soaking with napisan but that was for ever ago with an ancient agitator washing machine. I wash at 60 and have never had a stain. I line dry as we live in the desert so maybe it's the sun that keeps them lovely and white - although a bit crispy. I use washable wipes as well. I leave my solution in a skwirty bottle and spray directly onto wipe or straight onto bum (he thinks it's a great joke!!) I almost fill bottle up with water, skwirt of baby oil, 2 drops lavender and a skwirt of moisturiser then shake well. I personally don't like to use baby wash as I don't like the idea of the soap remaining on the skin, it's generally over fragranced as well. The wee bit of oil in the wash makes poo slip straight off. Had great success with it and he's never had a rash .... so far. The only nappy creme I use (and only when he's pinkish) is organicbaby.com lavender salve. Good luck.

Yep just dry pailing MEOS here too and no stains after 9 months. Use Perfectly Happy People Liners and flush if pooey but put in the washing machine otherwise - they stay together reasonably well and then recycle with other paper. Born do flushable liners too which actually stay together better when washed. Born also supply Tushies wipes which are useful when travelling - no chemicals as camomile based. Otherwise, just use plain water - seems to work!

Finally checked this recipe properly... tried own wipes for first time with half remembered recipe, used 2 measures water, 2 measures wash and 1 measure oil - ds's bottom looked like he was auditioning for chippendales. Think i will just use water with a spot of tt oil this time!

Are Cottonbottoms "flushable biodegradable" liners really not flushable? Is anyone else using these nappies?

I use fleece liners, dry pail everything rinsing poo off obviously, tea tree banishes odors, easy to put in machine of you get a nappy net too.
used to soak but got sick of the murky smelly water and soaking myself every time loading up the washing machine
Used the bio degradable wipe from little green earthlet, or php etc as wipes, with 1 drop lavender 1 drop tea tree 1tsp olive oil and 300 mls of chamomile tea
never ever had a rash...
miracles!

and then wash the wipes in the machine afterwards they last 1-3 washes in most cases!

I use cotton bottoms and flush the liners, have been doing so for 3 years (2 babies)

I would like not to have to soak but dd is 7 weeks old produces very runny poo. It produces a bright yellow stain on the nappies and fleece liners so I have to soak. I am tempted to use flushable liners until her poos dry up a bit and I can use the fleece liners.

I know Mrs Dolittle, BF poo is a radio active yellow!!! but I'm constantly surprised that it doesn't stain. Still BFing at 5 months, still no stains. I made my own fleece liners which are blue and nothing has ever stuck to them. Have you tried washing them without a soak?

I am still getting stains on my nappies even after using vinegar in the wash. I have not soaked this last load!
Do I have to accept that bf poo will stain? It's gone through the fleece liner and onto the nappy - a lovely yellow colour!

I've heard that sunshine's really good for getting b/f poo stains out so you could try sticking them out on the line if its sunny where you are. I've never tried it myself because I was much less organised than you and didn't get round to reusables until my ds was weaned.

Realised shamefully the other day that I'd talked to you when you were pg but must have been on one of my mumsnet bans when you made your birth announcement. Lots of belated congratulations, your little girl sounds lovely

Hi MrsD, I do the following (but this is 11mo poo), spray with Shout especially if it goes through to the outside terry, put a prewash on with some Vanish Oxyclean, then a small amount of vinegar in last rinse, then out on the line which does clear up anything that was missed (this is very very rare these days, but still go out on the line after 10mins in drier). Depending on the soiling I leave the prewash out and put a small amount of oxyclean in with the main wash liquid. Easypeasy recommend shout on the fleece. HTH

i used that nappisan stuff or if they are terry nappies you can just wash them on 90'C i think. But unfortuately i had to use disposibles in the end because of dd bum was red raw whatever i did.

Thank you Croak