Washing- does powder or liquid make a difference?

[littlelamb]

Right, I am new to this cloth business I've been using our tots bots for a day now and I am a convert. I cannot believe how good they are, and how much they can hold- I was convinced ds would wake up soaked through but it was all contained in the wrap. Very impressed. Now comes the matter of washing them. I have about seven in the nappy bucket now and want to put the first loadon so I can see how long they take to dry. I normally use liquid to wash with, but should I use powder? I don't know why but it has suddenly occured to me that one might be better than the other. Any advice gratefully recieved. ALso, ds is still fully breastfed. I have paper liners, but should I just save them for later? They don't really seem to be doing much, and is it OK for me to flush them?

For nappies powder is actually better - liquid does not clean quite as well (and you want your nappies properly clean really don't you ) and can actually leave a residue in your machine that can build up and cause your nappies to smell a bit strange. That said, lots of people do use liquid - given the choice I always recommed powder though. You can use bio or non-bio btw. this website (which I think every cloth user should bookmark (!)) explains it all

I wouldn't bother with paper liners yet - I do use fleece ones of fully-BF DS as they act as a stay dry layer to keep his bottom dry. You can cut up an old fleece blanket into rectangles to make your own cheaply. BF poo washes off easily enough from nappies or fleece but the fleece liner does help prevent stains. You'll probably be surprised how well fleece liners work to keep your DS's bottom dry - far better than a disposable.

Paper liners can be flushed but you should check the packaging - some should only be flushed one at a time or not at all if you have an old drainage system. Mine are very thick and can be washed and reused if only wet. I only use them occassionally and then only for DD2 (2.6)

If you start to get leaks it will be due to the wraps - TB wraps can be unreliable. The very newest ones (which you might have) are ok though. If you have problems switch to Motherease Wraps

Great link thank you! Have just done the first load using liquid but will definately get some powder tomorrow. Its been a while since I used powder and ds has quite sensitive skin, any recommendations. We usually use Fairy, is the powder version likely to be OK if he has had no reaction to the liquid?? They seem to have washed really well and after a spin don't seem at all as wet as I had expected, so maybe I will be lucky and be able to dry them really quickly I am going to look for some old fleece to cut up tomorrow as well

The formulation of the powder and liquid is quite different I think but you might be fine with the powder. I'm lucky in that my lot are OK with most gentle powders (I currently use fairy) but I'm sure someone will come along with some recommendations for sensitive skin

Always start with the cheapest option! If you don't have sensitive skin I would start with the cheapest Asda Smartprice-type powder (about £1.80 for a huge box). If it doesn't cause any problems, wahey you have saved yourself £20 a month!

Cut paper liners in half if baby is still small.