Mould & rot on nappies. What will get rid of this?

[TokenFemale]

Hi. I am hoping you can help with some advice.

Have just been to visit my friend who is suffering from PND to help her clean her house. She had started using cloth/reusable nappies with her DS but when the PND took hold it all became too much so she is now using disposables. In the midst of this she had forgotten that she had a nappy bin full of soiled nappies.

I discovered it, and the contents are grim to say the least. I tried to handle them as little as possible whilst placing in the machine, but all were covered in fur and greeny mould. I have put them on a boil wash - do you think that will suffice? I am going back over there after tea, so can clean them further if required.

Also, you don't think maggots will have grown in them? I didn't look too clearly at them but on the way home I wondered about this.

I'd go for a couple of hot washes (but 60' the next time), and then a tumble and see how they look. You might want to soak them in milton if they are stained by the mould.

You're a fab friend btw !

Thanks CMOT. Am going to go round after tea and take them round to my house so I can get them nice and clean for her.

If they are that bad would chuck them I'm afraid. Mould can be so dangerous for a baby. It is hard to kill the spores without using abrasive bleach,which wouldn't be good for the babies skin at all.The spores can spread easily.
I have a set of Mothercare smart nappies in lovely condition,she could have them Free for postage cost if you like and start again. I feel feel anyone with PND> Cat me if you want them.

You are a good friend - I would bin them too if really bad.

Mumface - really nice of you

That's a lovely offer mumface, but for the moment I think that using disposables is best for her. She needs to feel in control of certain areas, and the disposables gives her that feeling.

I will see what state they come out of the washing machine in. Tbh, I'm not sure what she is planning to do with them, but I kind of feel that if I get them looking nice it will at least make her feel a bit happy. I remember how excited she was when they were arriving in the post when she was pregnant. She was mortified when I found the bin. She had completely forgotten about it.

Maybe try some laundry bleach on them aswell.

Hope she feels better soon

Can't add anything to the previous posters' advice, but wanted to agree with the others that you are a really good friend

Hope your friend is feeling a bit better soon. I'm sure having your help will make a difference.

Plenty of white vinegar in the next wash might help kill anything nasty?

Thanks all. I have taken them home. They turned out not too bad from the first wash - all mould is gone, but there are quite a few poo stains remaining. Am going to wash again with white vinegar and bicarb, then get them out on the line tomorrow (hopefully there will be some sunshine).

How long had they been there? I found that just recently ds2's nappies can go mouldy if left just for 6 days (I forgot when we went away).

I just washed and washed and washed on 60 with bio detergent and napisan, and then hung them on the line. I then washed them as I would normally with non bio and gave them a really good rinse. I found the sunlight really was the best at removing marks left by the mould.

Maybe throw them through a few "rinse only" cycles afterwards too, once they are very clean, just to be sure of removing any residual cleaning products?

We'd all be lucky to have a friend like you.

Tutu, I think they'd been there about 2 weeks? Could be less. I know she got diagnosed with PND 2 weeks ago (she only got the courage to tell a couple of us on Thursday). And I know that the doctor said to do everything to make her life easier, so I assume that's when she switched to disposables. I didn't ask how long they'd been there as it would have come across as really judgy. And she was so mortified when I found them.

Good news is that I put them through an additional hot wash and a couple more long rinses last night, then had them on the line all day today, and the sunlight has worked it's magic on any remaining stains (which were poo related not mould related - those all came out in the washes).

I have given them a quick tumble as someone told me it softens them up. So I now have a lovely pile of fresh, soft, clean, fluffy nappies to return to her tomorrow

Thank you all for your help and advice.

Can I just add that you are a brilliant friend, I had PND and it was grim saw psychiatrist etc. Cognitive behaviour therapy brought me out of it. I didnt have a friend though. If I had it would have made a world of difference. I left all my friends in the world of work.

I think youre doing the right thing with nappies etc, she needs to see as many positives as possible. If youre stuck, try Ariel liquid, but rinse well. It shifts most things. Hot washes and soda crystals or borax are also good. I wouldnt use any of these full time on my nappies, but for the stain that wont shift, they are ideal.

Thanks Alyson. Am glad you've recovered. It is shocking how debilitating it can be. My friend is a shadow of her usual self.

Thats OK TF, it was years ago now, but I am still prone to depression and think I always will be after the PND. Didnt happen with subsequent pregnancy though. Bear this in mind with your friend. Was her old "pre baby" life much different? i.e. did she have loads of friends and a satisfying career, then suddenly nothing? Did sleep deprivation play a part?

Oh yes, her pre-baby life was very different. A good career and a flurry of fantastic nights out, weekends away etc. She also had a lot of expectations before the baby was born about how she should mother - e.g. organic clothes, cloth nappies, baby yoga. I did tell her in advance that all she needs to focus on giving her baby is love and cuddles and that these thing were extraneous. But then I had 3 under 2.5 at one stage so just planning to feed and cuddle the twins each day was ambitious enough for me - and oftne I didn't get round to changing them out of their sleepsuits during the day.

I don't think her sleep deprivation is too bad so don't think that played a part. But I havent probed too closely in reasons yet. Am just trying to support her in any way I can.

TF, she sounds quite like me before I had my first, so true about the expectations. You think you will be the perfect mum and it will be like all the pictures in magazines and books, serenely feeding the perfect baby in a perfectly clean and tidy house ... Then you sort of beat yourself up inside because its not like that and it must be your own fault.

Send her hugs, and Im sure she will get over it with your support.

Can I ask you something please Alyson?
Another friend has said to me that maybe I shouldn't help out so much, as my friend with PND might see this as me showing off my superiority as a mother - because I coped with a young toddler and twins, and my friend isn't coping with just one.

But hopefully she won't think like that? Do you think she might?

(And I only barely coped when my three were little. There were many tears of frustration. And an awful lot of lax standards of housekeeping etc).

I dont think so. I think she will be grateful of the friendship and support, and if you tell her your tales of barely coping too she will see that its commonplace and she can let her high standards slip without being thought badly of.

CAT me if you want, happy to chat about this by email.

The thing is though, it's not the baby she isn't coping with, it's the PND. It has no reflection at all on how good a mother she is or how capable she is. I know you know this, it's just acase of making her see it that way and not as a failing on her part.

FWIW I really appreciated the friends who would come over with cake, have a coffee and a chat and then do the washing up. These were also the people who would offer to hold ds or entertain dd so I could have a shower or say "do you want me to hang that washing out while you're feeding ds?".

The friend who made me feel like shit was the one who would turn up, make comments about the kids not even being dressed (at 9.30am so hardly the end of the day), tell me she was taking my kids off for the day so I could sort my house out (how dare she take my babies away from me!)and tell me I needed to give ds a rusk/bottles to make him sleep more. She meant well but I felt completely patronised and overwhelmed by her.

As long as you avoid that bulldozer approach you should be fine!

That's great Alyson. Thank you, and you too claireybee for your advice.

I went over to hers yesterday and just generally helped out. She seemed to appreciate it. Said it was nice to have someone make her a cup of tea during the day