Littles and Blooms reusables

[Monalis]

Hello all

I am new to Mumsnet and a first time mum. My lil one is just turning 3 months next week

I have just purchased 6 of the charcoal lined LB nappies with 3 bamboo 3 and 3 charcoal inserts (new from Ebay)

They advise washing before use, how many times should I do so (cycle and temperature) and is it ok to wash all together? Will the colours run as they are different colours and patterns?
Thanks in advance

Just chuck them in on 60 if non bio and 40 if bio. The colours won't run.

I only washed them once before use, they worked perfectly. Just remember to make sure that the leg elastic is pushed way up into the leg crease where the knicker line would be or they will leak.

Is the charcoal part of the nappy itself or a removable insert? The charcoal does suffer from colour run I believe but the PUL shells (colourful waterproof outer part of nappy) don't and nor will they take on any colour that has run. If the charcoal is part of the nappy I would wash these on their own or with other dark colours for the first wash, which would just be to remove any dirt, dust or chemicals leftover from the manufacturing and packing process before putting them on baby's bum. Natural fabrics increase absorbency for the first 5-10 washes but the L&B fabrics are all mainly micro fibre- even the bamboo- so I don't think this is as necessary. Because they all contain micro fibre the inserts aren't that absorbent and you may want to look into getting some natural boosters. The little lambs bamboo boosters are very thirsty and can be added with a L&B insert to make the nappy more reliable and last longer. I'm 5 weeks into our cloth journey and it's all a bit of a learning curve. I'd really recommend joining the Facebook groups Cloth Nappies UK for general advice and troubleshooting and Clean Cloth Nappies for lots of information about how to keep your nappies squeaky clean :)

I never got on with the ll ones, dc just weren't the right shape. I did find hemp boosters to be my favourite though.

Thank you all so much for your responses.

During my research I did see that the hemp liners are the most absorbent so i will look at buying some.

One more question, cos I am reading conflicting information.

When washing them once they have been worn by baby, how do wash them. Some sites are saying to do a cold rinse cycle before washing some are not. Some are saying to do a rinse after washing and others are not.
So confusing, sorry to be askign questions that have probably already been answered a thousand times.

Thanks again

I tended to rinse the dirty ones and then just chuck in all the wipes and wet nappies together to wash. I never rinsed afterwards because I figured that the machine has already rinsed them when rinsing the soap off.

I also recommend leaving the stained ones in the sun, even in winter. The sun will get rid of most marks.

Every manufacturer and website has different washing advice and the UK advice seems more conservative with heat and detergent use. I found the Clean Cloth Nappies page which is Australian but with guidance for UK users and following their advice I do a 60c short wash with half a dose of Ariel to get the worst out and then bulk the machine to full with baby clothes, bibs and other small items and run a long 40c wash. No extra rinses as the machine should have sufficient rinses built into each setting. Everything so far has come out sparkly white with no marks, stains or smells so I would recommend :)

Thank you so much for all the advice