Detergent buildup in cotton nappies

[karen99]

Hi girls, help needed please. Ds has been getting a red rash above and around his groin area for the last month. It doesn't blister but looks sore. Usually it appears when I take off the night nappy or if we go out shopping or a car journey. I change each nappy every 3hrs (except for at night!). Thenappylady said this sounds like a classic case of detergent buildup and suggested I wash the nappies once without detergent and then halve the amount I used to use. After thinking about it I think I have been using quite alot!! They also suggested changing powder, but I use liquid so not sure what to do!

I put in one full cap of Sainsbury's non-biological liquid (or Fairy non-bio liquid) and one scoop of Vanish oxyclean. Sometimes I spray the fleece (Bumbles) with Shout too to help get rid of the stains. I dropped the Shout when the rash appeared, but still use the Vanish.

What do you use? Does anyone know of a baby-kind liquid? Why do people use powder than liquid (my mum always used liquid so so do I!) They also suggested soaking (yuk) which I don't currently do.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks

I use non-bio powder, Lidl's cheapo brand and have never had any problems. I don't generally use shout or vanish, as I find the stains come out eventually without.

I use half the amount of detergent suggested on the packet. Also you can do an extra rinse at the end of the wash, and also add half a cup of white vinegar to the final rinse. Some machines have an option to use extra water, which might help. Don't use fabric softeners.

hth

Thanks Frogs. Yes, have avoided fabric softeners, however, I do use Bounce sheets in the drier if they don't make it on the line. Should I stop using them too?

Maybe he is allergic to the brand of washing liquid. I think there is a brand called surcare which is for delicate skin

Vanish is surely very harsh - is there nothing else you could use/

Try Surcare - sensitive skin laundry liquid. And do an extra rinse. Actually Surcare also make a fabric rinse which I know you're not supposed to use on nappies but it does help get rid of all the detergent - maybe one extra rinse with Surcare fabric rinse, and then another one without?

You'll be backwards and forwards to the machine all day!

Thanks CD & janh

Hi Karen. I also use Oxyxlean but not on every wash. To get rid of stains I turn the machine onwith one cap of Ecover liquid then when the machine fills up I turn it off and leave it overnight (make sure nobody opens the door!) then in the morning I continue the cycle and hang them out. I find this is a good way of getting rid of stains without using too many chemicals as dd has sensitive skin. I've never had any problems doing this, even if I leave the nappy on for more than a few hours. YOu could also try doing a rinse cycle after the wash has finished, which should get rid of any excess liquid.

HTH

Also, soaking doesn't have to mean buckets of pooey liquid (Yum). You can rinse the nappy in the flush water from the loo as you take it off, and put it in the bucket wet. Alternatively you can put each day's worth (or less if you're very energetic) in the washing machine and run them through a rinse cycle straight away, to prevent them festering in the bucket. Yum again.

Don't know about bounce sheets as we don't have a drier. I just hang them on a rack in the evening and they're dry in the morning, but mine are plain terries. I would have thought the less of any kind of product you can get away with, the better. Drying in the sun is a very good disinfectant, and brilliant for stains too. For stubborn stains, keep wetting the nappy while exposing to the sun.

What fun this cloth nappy business is.

Thanks guys. There are some very good tips here. You all should have your own program!! Move aside Kim & Aggi!

bambino mio sell special washing powder for nappies. I use that....its a lot better. You can buy it from their website www.bambino.com I also soak nappies either in nappy soak or water with a few drops of tea tree oil to get rid of the germs. Soaking isnt as disgusting as I thought it would be. Especially if you rinse the nappy before you put it in the pail.

I'd don't use vanish etc I find no stains stick anyway and I dry pail usually.
For really stubborn stains you could use the vanish soap then put it on a good pre wash, I often pop the nappies through an extra rinse too.
I use Surcare for nappies and all whites, it is really really worth it, fab stufff and non irritating at all, unperfumed too...

Substitute 50% liquid soda crstals (sold in Tesco) for the detergent. This will reduce detergent buildup on your clothes & nappies, in the machine, save U money AND be better for the environment.

Thanks. Will try the other detergent suggestions. Funnily enough I bought some soda crystals last week and wondered what I was going to do with them!! Will try it out on a single nappy.

I've still chickened out the last couple of nights and ds has been in a disposable. He's in the "washed without anything" load of nappies today so will try one of those tonight too and hopefully, fingers crossed, he'll be ok tomorrow morning.

Thanks again

Zebra, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for telling me about soda crystals. They've made such a difference to my nappy washes (and main washes come to think of that!). The crystals are doing the same job as the oxyclean etc I was using before, but much more I'm sure and much better for ds. The nappies are looking really clean and ds hasn't had any redness since I've started on half my liquid and half a pt of v warm crystals. We're sooo chuffed

Thanks again

i also use soda crystals. the amount of washing we do, it makes the powder go so much further and has no adverse affects on my dd's skin. tho i did put too much powder in with it the other day and had foam coming out of the dispenser drawer. oops,

Oh cool, , glad to know I'm some use to somebody!
Esp. given I couldn't even spell "crystals" right...