Washing again...

[Ceolas]

I have always washed nappies at 60 but it seems a lot of people do them at 40.

Just wondering, from the point of view of a) getting them properly clean and b) environmental impact, what's the best.

Would it be better to wash at a higher temperature and not use chemicals like napisan, or on a cooler wash with sanitiser added? I just use normal non-bio powder alone.

We had some bother a while back with DD having a rash on her leg and I started doing the nappies on an 'aqua plus' programme which apparently rinses more thoroughly. But with a cold rinse first and 60 degree wash with this extra rinse, I wonder if we're headed towards the "extreme washing" measures in the Times article...

I usually do a cold rinse followed by a 40 degree wash with non-bio powder (using less than the recommended amount of powder) but about once a month I do them at 60 degrees (I think its good for machines to get the occasional 60 degree wash so I figure I might as well do some nappies on that wash). Nappies fine so far, but I have only been using them for a couple of months.

More experienced nappy users might have wiser advice on dealing with rash etc though!

Sorry, of course that doesn't answer your eco question though . What I should have said is that so far I've been able to manage at lower temperatures and without any sanitiser type chemicals.

i do mine at 40 no probs. supposedly uou can do them at 40 and then line dry and they are completely sanitised. that was the advice in australia so not really sure its practical to do that here all year round. mine are just hung up inside and we don't have a problem.

oh would add that they should last longer if done at 40 rather than 60.