What's your nappy washing routine?

[Ceolas]

My mum used to wash terries at 90!

How often do you wash? At what temp? Do you use sanitiser in the wash?

I wash every 2-3 days. (usually every 2).

I dry pail - instead of a bucket I have a swing top bin and it holds about 16 nappies easily. I also have washable wipes.

Put through rinse cycle first. Then wash on 60 with half dose of bio powder. (I use the eco button on our machine which means it takes in the water from our boiler, but doesn't keep it at 60 throughout the wash)

After the first rinse cycle I sometimes open the door and add bibs/muslins but don't tend to wash "normal" washing with the nappies.

Hang to dry, usually on clothes horse, but on warm or windy days put on the line.

ohhhh that makes sense, thank you lackadaisycal.

didn't know washing powder was bad either! I do mine in with socks, undies, towels etc. - is this norty?

I tend to try and wash the wraps (unless pooey) in with normal clothes at 40. Some of the prettier wraps can fade on a 60.

Phew, thought I was adding to my 'bohemian' filthy rl reputation there.

I only use reuseables (terries) in the house ( but it's better than nothing) so get through one, occasionally two or three, a day so they just get chucked in with the rest of the washing at 50 degrees... seem to be fine. Dd appears to be potty-training herself at the mo so lots more wee-filled clothes to add to the machine!!

Ahhh now wraps are totally different! They go in the normal wash at 40 - but I have a strict no-softener rule as I am convinced it ruined some of my wraps.

Good point about washing powder amounts, I use ecoballs so didn't think of that! I like to use the chance to chuck other things that need a 60 wash in rather than doing more at 60 (like dp's t-shirts for example, he is a sweaty bugger and they still smell after a 30 wash!)

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Oh I have washed nappies with tea towels before (although I'm not that comfortable with it either for some reason). I think I'm more worried about my manky tea towels dirtying my nappies than the other way around though

I live in a hard water area. How much vinegar should I be adding to the final rinse so that I don't get crunchy nappies?

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I think a cup should be sufficient muddlingthrough.

My mum's teatowels also used to smell manky. As a result mine get used once and then washed. I have a pathological fear of manky teatowels...and grey whites; she always turned everything dirty grey. nothing, but nothing, sullies my white wash

Phew not an irrational fear after all then

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my sister's towels are both grey and manky.

Umlella, nothing wrong with terries . I loved using them when DD was little. the whole fairy baby vibe is sooo cute.

I dry pail, and do a wash most days, but chuck towels and other bits in with the nappies, unless theres a minging one.
Normally just wash on 40' with 1 Fairy tab and some Napisan (I have tried other things like Pure and didn't like them), but on 60' if a pooey nappy that didn't have a liner in needs to be dealt with. Tumble or line dry depending on weather

I wash when the buckets are full, nearly every other day. Use non-bio washing tablets and a bit of Napisan.

Great thread, v useful as I'm just starting out in cloth.

Am interested in doing it as eco as possible - has anyone tried soap nuts? Do ecoballs really get nasty stains out Indith - even breastfed poo?

Also where do you get your vinegar from - am I being stupid in asking what type you all get??

White vinegar it is - not sarsons fish n chip stuff (is it wrong to urge fish and chips at this hr??) . They sell it in tesco somewhere lol!

I wash by doing a cold rinse then a 40 degree wash every3-4 days or when the tub is full using whatever non bio was on offer in a v small amount. I probs strip them once every couple of months when they get a hamster smell about them.

MrsJamin I was about to ask the same question

I wash mine every 1-2 days, at the moment putting them in a bucket with water, some Napisan (norty I know) and a few drops of tea tree oil. I wash them at 60 deg, on a short cycle with my Eco balls and some Ecover Laundry bleach. However, as ds is now producing less pooey nappy I've decided to get another bucket and dry pail with tea tree oil for wet nappies and just soak the pooey ones. Then the wet nappies will get washed at 40 deg.
With wraps, they don't get washed unless they have poo on them - I hand wash them to get the worst staining off to make them just about useable, but then chuck them in with the next nappy wash or whites wash to remove stains completely.
I put a few drops of lavender oil in the softnener section -makes them smell lovely plus it is antibacterial and anti fungal (have had a problem with mould in my wachine machine).

They do indeed MrsJamin, fab things ecoballs.

Cheap white vinegar is what you want, of the kind found hiding with the mayos and mustards and hp sauce on top of the freezers in Tesco.

Turtle! How you diddling?

I'm good! And you?

Every few days on 40 degrees, then once a week on 60 degrees. This is what www.thenappylady.co.uk advises for babies over 3 months. Obviously if they are badly soiled I then do a 60 degree wash. I add only 1/3 of a scoop of powder. I dont use any sanitisers or anything.

I load the machine up the night before & leave a note for my partner to put machine on when he goes to work at 5am - making full use of economy 7.

How do ecoballs work then Indith? I've always been a bit about them.