Making cloth nappies soft???

[soon2befamilyof4]

Hi ya. Anybody got any tips for keeping cloth nappies soft? Some of mine have gone so crispy, I wouldn't put them on DD and are horrible to feel even in your hands.

I am currently washing with half dose of washing powder and a bit of white vingegar in the fabric conditioner compartment and then hanging to dry, away from the radiator. What am I doing wrong?

We do have a tumble dryer up in the spare room, which we hardly use but I don't like using it when possible? Can I shove my dry nappies in there for 5 mins? Will that help at all?

was just gonna say (then read your last line!!)
tumble dryer, dryer balls/tennis ball, job done

I try to dry mine on the radiator or outside as much as possible, but put them in the drier for 10 mins just to soften/fluff them up.

If they are really crusty though, I'd bung em in the machine for a rinse cycle, then tumble dry this time and then from here on on do the ten minutes thing.

When do you do the 10 mins bit though? When they come out of the wash and then you hang them up, or the other way round?

I do the 10 minute thing when they're nearly dry usually. But if that's not going to be possible then I do it when they're straight out of the machine.

I've never done it myself, but I'm sure I've seen on here that rainwater quite good for particularly crusty nappies too. But I'm a bit sleep deprived atm so I might have imagined that

take nappies off the line just before they are dry. fold and put away in airing cupboard. should help.

we don't have an airing cupboard!

You're not doing anything 'wrong', nappies that don't go in a tumbler go crispy without fail. I wouldn't bother with the vinegar, it'll rot the elastic in the end and tbh I didn't notice any difference in my nappies.

Oh I didn't know it would rot the elastic! I do find it helps a bit, but not enough. Might have to use the dryer then.

Does hanging outside in the summer help?

I think washing with ecoballs keeps things softer. I was dubious for a long time about trying ecoballs, but finally bit the bullet and bought the starter one, as it ws much cheaper to buy, (ecoballs 150) and I'm staggered at how well they work. What's more, because there's no powder involved, you don't even have to rinse the washing afterwards!
I'm definitely going to get the 1000 wash ones next time. They reckon the 150 wash ones cost 8p per wash, and the 1000 wash one cost 3p per wash.
Anyway, I'm hooked now, and won't be going back to detergent again

I bought some eco balls a year or 2 ago but then read some very negative stuff about them online and it put me off. IF I find them then I might start using them for the nappies. Is it really ok to just use them for pooy nappies though?

Would be interested to know wha the negative stuff you heard was, S2BFo4. We have them, but I tend to use powder for the nappies. Have cut down on the quantity though.
Am I right in thinking that drying on the radiator leads to crunchy nappies then?

I can't really remember as it was a long time ago. There was somebody on netmums who knew ALOT about washing powders, machines, eco balls, soap nuts etc and she directed me to a lot of links about them. It was enough to put me off anyway.

I THINK some of the reasons were:
-Your machine can eventually get clogged/dirty because there is nothing giving it a good clean

• You clothes eventually will fade and the colours will die and fabric will get ruined, but this isn't a fast enough process to make you realise it is the eco balls that have done it

-It also said that overtime your clothes etc won't smell clean but you might not notice it, but it can be that others will. But if your nappies don't smell of wee and poo then maybe this isn't right?

Don't take my word for any of this, I am just repeating what I was told. I might go and see if I can find the same lady on netmums, although I don't really use NM anymore. I might give them another go though. Maybe eco balls one week then washing powder the next so that it does still get a good clean in between?

We don't have a tumble dryer or an airing cupboard. I have the crunchy nappy problem too though. I read somewhere that vinegar helps soften them, and have since done about 4 loads with about 1/2 teacup of vinegar (the ordinary brown type) in the powder drawer. Seems to be working - not as soft as if I'd used fabric conditioner, but the nappies won't go all non-absorbent either. Also, give then a good shake to loosen up the fibres before you hang them out to dry, whether indoors or out.

Poo- obvioulsy should have read the OP properly, and then I would have seem that you are already using vinegar. Sorry for being thick. Can I still blame baby brain? DS is nearly 6 months! Maybe the vinegar thing depends on the chemistry of your local water supply?

Yes, we are in a hard water area so this obviously doesn't help.