Restoring my old nappies

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I have just taken out all DD's old cloth nappies and I am appalled at how they look. DD was in cloth constantly from birth until she potty trained at 24mths, the nappies have been stored for over 2years now. They look flat, grey and crunchy. How I am going to restore them to their former glory before #2 arrives?!

I have a mixture of Tots, Ella's House, Sandy's, Kissaluvs, Little Lambs etc. The pocket nappies have survived really well, but it is the shaped nappies that look awful.

I have another 4 months to go until they are needed but I want to get them looking white, fluffy and appealing again.

Any ideas, please!

Thanks.

Wash them in normal powder, sanitiser and hang on line for a week! (pref in rain!)

What sanitiser is best? I want to get my nappies nice too!

If you want one with chemicals to get them sparkly then go for the onelife pure, mio fresh or PHP if you want a natural one - go for the Lollipop Clean & fresh. At the last baby show I was given a bottle of Milton to test on my nappies - it is antibacterial but doesn't make them any cleaner I dont think.

I soak mine in a solution of white vinegar and water (I might add a small splash of Milton too for a special occasion!) overnight.

Pre-rinse, then wash on 60. Then on line as Octo suggests.

can they be restored to anything like good??? i have some shabbier ones- is it wirth a try??

Am really interested in the advice here.

For the best past of the last 3 years, my MEOS have been (for the most part) dry pailed, pre-rinsed with a cold rinse, washed on 40 in non-bio, air/line dried and finished in tumble drier to make them a bit softer.

They are not white any more, rather dingy and a bit yellow stained, and, like OP, I would like to get them nice and white and fresh for new baby.

I am happy to return to my this washing routine once I get into the swing again, but I have a few months to really blitz them, IYSWIM.

So, to get them really bright and fresh again (and just this time I am happy to use a few chemicals as I will wash them through again just before I reach term) should I soak them in suggested sanitisers, rinse them out after, put on line for a few days?

Thank you for the excellent advice. I shall buy some sanitiser and then leave them outside for 5 days. This could be the perfect time with the April showers we seem to be having. I used to use the sun as a natural bleacher and it worked brilliantly.

Since having DD there are so many more new nappies out there, I feel my obsession returning already!

LittleFairy don't forget that if your MEOS have enjoyed good service for at least one dc then they will never look brand new again.

However, mine were well used with dd1 and a bit past their best. I followed some mnet tips (including "stripping" them - various techniques). We occasionally noticed a a minor lingering smell of wee on the nappies but a bit of a "service" made them significantly better.

Def. have 'lingering smell of wee' and rather yellow colour now! Still got loads of use in them I imagine, but they have been very well used as DS was late to the potty!

I used Milton and white vinegar - good as new, very white though I don;t remember it making them fluffy again - not sure if thats possible

TweetleBeetle did you soak in Milton and white vinegar and how much of each?

Today i wrongly or rightly washed half my stash in bold 2 in one - they smell delicious now instead of like a meat wagon. Apparently bold 2 in one is the only oneon market with clay based fabric conditioner which is ok on nappies - has anyone else done this? im not saying its not ruined them and ds wont be soaked through tomorrow but i had read elsewehre you could....

Try the "stripping" then LittleFairy - maybe do a search on some of the older threads?

I once posted in desperation asking what would happen if I just washed them on a 95(!) I was given good advice NOT to do that, and followed the soaking in vinegar etc tips.

Nappyzone never heard about Bold 2in1 being ok, but v interested to find out. Could you report back over the next day or two re any leaks/absorbency problems please?

re the fluffiness factor, I rarely tumble dry nappies, imo line or indoor drying does make them quite crunchy. It's a bit like bath towels etc.

If you ever do tumble they do go fluffy again. The crunchiness isn't permanent. When I ever sell nappies I tumble them for a while as they look/feel better.

I might even have read it on here but have certainly read it elsewhere. The liquid aparently not so good it has to be the powder. They are drying atm and smell all citrus like on the inside airer I will report back.......

here infact :

By soon2befamilyof4 on Sat 04-Apr-09 11:25:56
yes - I am 100% sure you can use bold 2in1. I looked into it a lot before I tried it as I know fabric conditioner in general is a big no no. Basically, it is a clay based fabric conditioner which is fine to use on nappies, towels etc. It won't clog the nappies up like if you say used comfort. BUT only the tablets though, not the 2in1 liquids. They smell nice, you only need one tablet and it makes them nice and soft. Hasn't made any issues with our nappies. We have never had a problem with absorbancy - except with the UDNN last night but I had never washed it myself so couldn't have been related to my washing. Honestly, give it a go and see. The worst that could happen is that you didn't get on with it but you could just wash it out. Even the nasty fabric conditions that clog the nappies and stop them absorbing, can still be washed out, so certianly wouldn;t ruin anything. But honestly, bold 2in1 is fine.

If you are on cloth nappy tree, I think bold 2in1 comes up quite a lot. Somebody on there actually went to the trouble of contacting bold HQ though as well and got a lot of info.

OOps i used the powder - surely it will be fine?

I put a few spoonfuls of bicarb in the wash with mine and then tumble dried them so they went fluffy.
not like new but an impovement, definite reduction in greyness.

Thanks Nappyzone for the further info.

On a related subject I once bought some eco cloths and it was strongly advised not to use fabric conditioner. I asked what would happen if I slipped up. Apparently you just wash them again without using fabric conditoner, so I assume that in the (v unlikely) event of a problem with bold and nappies you could just run them through the wash again!

I am tempted to try it tbh. Mine are very stiff and crunchy after being on the line again

Lend them all out to someone to see if they like cloth. IME they come back glowing like the surface of the sun, I have to avert my eyes from the white terry ones. Other people must have better washing machines than my because nappies are minging in my house ...and towels too...

it was the reoccuring smell thing that did it - i trialed some tots bots potion powder which made them have no smell at all but as soon as i went back to normal one persil in fact they smelt rank again to the point dh was complaining he could smell them 2 rooms away or as he walked past the line. Now they aer making my abode smell pretty!

The End

I remember the smell from when DD was in nappies. We were living near the Arctic Circle at the time so I froze them outside one winter for a few days. The sun was strong (for 2 hours of the day) and the minus 20 temperatures seemed to take away the smell..plus the snow and frost helped. I have no way of recreating that in the UK unless I use the freezer! Worked wonders though!

So, my mission for next week is to get some nappy sanitiser, wash at 60 with pre-wash, leave outside in the rain for several days, dry and if possible tumble dry to get them fluffy! I shall report back! Failing that...bleach! lol

I don't think it was normal milton I used - was not sterilising solution but antibacterial solution they were recommending to use with nappies.

Sorry not sure what the measurements were I just filled a bucket with hot water and added a large glug (official measurement!) of milton and white vinegar - smelt pretty strong and needed a good couple of washes to get rid if the smell but very white - hope tht helps