New to reusables - help please

[NinjaTurtleMikey]

I’ve just bought some ebay reusables on a recommendation and 10 each microfibre and bamboo inserts. The listing says to wash at 30 in non bio with no bleach. How is that gonna get them clean/sanitised? Also do I need liners? What are the inserts for if the nappies get soiled anyway?

I did it to be a bit more eco friendly but it looks like the amount of washing undoes that?

Any tips would be great please!

Some are passionate about cloth nappies, for me, the thought of having to handle poo and soiled nappies and what about drying them in winter? Would you use a dryer? Gone is your eco friendliness. And where do you store them before washing them? And the smell once they start weaning?

In 2018, disposable nappies make your life easy. You want to be eco friendly, eat one less streak a week and you have made a bigger impact on the global warming. Or walk to work once a week.

We wash at 60 with non bio. Nappies are lasting fine with this. Make sure you don't use fabric softener as it coats the fibres and makes them less absorbent.

Liners make poo easier to deal with. We use fleece which also keeps baby's bum dry as it wicks away the moisture. If you decide to use the paper ones I would recommend flushing them as they have been known to block people's drains.

Hopefully you have discovered some of the lovely and helpful cloth nappy advice groups on Facebook - I always found I got a faster response there when I was starting out.

Do the nappies have a waterproof outer and a fleece lining with a gap to put things inside? If so they are pocket nappies and the inserts are what provides the absorbency. Bamboo is more absorbent than microfibre. You will discover what combination works best for your child.

Just clicked on this out of interest as a grandmother who used terry towelling nappies with each of her 4 children.
Boiled them in a bucket on the stove until I had a washing machine. Sluiced off poo in the lavatory remembering to hold tight!
Put in a bucket of water and detergent until time to be washed.
Spin after washing (if owning a washing machine). Put on clothes-horse until dry.

They are pocket nappies thank you @imaginarymenagerie! I’ve been putting a bamboo liner and microfibre liner inside the poket, with the microfibre closest to the skin and we only had a leak when daddy did it as he’s not put one one before. We’re still using disposables when we’re out and at night as he does biiiiig weewees. I’ve got disposable bamboo liners too which I also use as wipes.
Which ones do you have that you wash at 60 please? And how do I make them night-proof please? Thank you

@eddiemairswife exactly how my mum did it. My dad remembers his Mum boiling up my Auntie’s nappies this way a long time ago - quite glad it’s different now! 😊

If you have a local nappy library, they can help www.uknappynetwork.org/find-a-library.html

If the Nappies won't stand washing at 60 then they are not fit for purpose. You can wash at 40 if you want but consider using a laundry additive along with your detergent (Mio Fresh is good, Napisan isn't).

We washed ours on a standard 40 and every so often gave them a boil wash. At the time I used home made laundry soap (new machine didn't take well to home made so had to stop a few years ago). I used paper liners but only once poos were more solid as they didn't work so well with liquid poos.

I washed every half day morning one day, night time next day etc) but at one point I had two in there so a wash each night was needed so no time for smells.

Sounds like you are doing well so far. We have a variety! Milovia wraps with inserts (if just a wee then the wrap can be reused with fresh inserts), we use the milovia microfibre inserts closest to his skin (and folded at the front for more absorbency - only do this if you have a boy), then a thin bamboo booster underneath for a bit more absorbency. We also have close pop ins (inserts all go in with poppers - so dry quickly but easy to fit). We also have a couple of nappies/wraps from other brands - tickle toys, totsbots, petit lulu and bumbles. Only the tickle tots say to wash at 40 but nothing smelt clean so I've gone back to 60 and the nappies are fine. We do a cold rinse (best to do a separate rinse rather than using a prewash setting as it drains the water rather than reusing for the main wash) then a long 60 degree wash with an extra rinse at the end (to make sure detergent is completely gone).

Modern nappies (rather than terries) are better stored in a dry pail or wet bag while waiting for the wash as soaking can damage the waterproofing and elastics.

Our winning night nappy is a totsbots bamboozle with an additional bamboo booster. (Absorbent part) and a motherease airflow wrap over the top.

Have you done the nappy lady advice questionnaire? I found it so useful.

Oh I’ve never heard of the questionnaire that might be useful? There’s so much I’ve not hear of it’s daunting tbh. I just saw a recommendation for mine and went with it

I second the recommendation for the nappy lady questionnaire. www.thenappylady.co.uk/advice-questionnaire.html
Different nappies suit different babies and different lifestyles. The nappy lady takes into consideration factors such as yours and your partner's height, budget, washing and drying facilities, childcare, etc. There's also a huge amount of information on the website about washing nappies.

I only used new nappies during the day, because It can be hard for me to know where to start when choosing reusable nappies.