Hygeine when washing wee-soaked clothes

[GoldenSnitch]

OK, so it's not really nappies but I figured real nappy users would be the best people to ask for this one....

DS has recently been wetting himself a LOT after being potty trained for 9 months. He's almost 3. We think it's either down the arrival of his new sister or possibly a urine infection as it smells very strong and he's going a lot more often than usual.

This leaves me with sometimes close to an entire load of wee soaked washing everyday as he wets multiple sets of trousers, pants, socks and sometimes even t-shirts!

I've been putting them through a 40 degree 'wash plus' (uses extra water and washes for longer) in our machine using our normal non-bio washing liquid but I'm wondering if this is actually the best way to clean them.

Obviously, if he does have an infection then it's important that I kill the bugs and even if he hasn't, it's all a bit gross and I want to be sure his clothes - plus our clothes and especially his 5 week old sister's things which may be in the same load and will definitely be in the same machine - get properly clean too. I can't wash them hotter as 40 degrees is the maximum temperature for most of the items in the wash.

Do I need to be using a bio washing powder then rewashing in a non-bio maybe? Do I need to run the machine on a hot wash after every urine soaked load to kill the bugs?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

just a normal wash is fine.

A normal wash is fine. And get DS to the doctor to see if it is an infection.

Took him on Friday. Just awaiting results.

Likewise I agree, a normal wash is just fine.

I tend to rinse (either by hand or machine, depending on quantity) any items that are wee-soaked. When we used reusable nappies, I would run the whole lot through the pre rinse cycle prior to a 40/60 wash.

Now dd is (kind of!) potty training I rinse the tights/pants first, usually by hand as the quantity is less. I don't run the washing machine every single day, so wouldn't want to leave stuff soaked for 2-3 days, so I prefer to rinse them.

Also (imo) if all of the wee is thoroughly rinsed out, I don't worry about the items then going in the machine with any other stuff. hth.

Even if DS does have an infection???

Will definitely do a pre-rinse I think, just to get the worst of it out. Some of his stuff is wringing wet when he's had a accident.

If you are worried about the bacteria - you could just add a teaspoon nappy sanitiser like BioD and add to your normal washing powder - gets them clean too!! Home scents do a good range too.

It will smell nicer too! I don't think a prewash is needed if you add sanitiser - save on elecrticity!

I only ever did normal washes at 40 degrees when DD had resuasble nappies.

if he has an infection why aren't you getting him treated instead of fretting about the washing???
untreated urine infection is very unpleasant and can lead to kidney damage
please see your gp

I have seen the doctor FrannyandZooey!! We saw him on Friday. We took a urine sample and it's been sent off for testing. Doctor doesn't want to give antibiotics until an infection is confirmed. He felt DS's tummy and looked him over and was happy that he wasn't in any discomfort. We should have the results back on Monday. In the meantime, I'm keeping a close eye on him and will whisk him to the walk in center at the first sign of discomfort and am giving him plenty of fluids, including Barley Water to try and flush any infection out and make passing urine more comfortable. I'm not doing nothing!!

In the meantime, making sure his clothes are properly clean and the germs are being killed so as not to reinfect DS or pass the infection on to me, DP or his tiny, 5 week old baby sister seemed sensible.

I'm not just leaving him to suffer!

you can see where i am coming from gs, you said he is wetting himself a LOT, so it's obviously been going on a while, yet you say "if" he has an infection, several times
it sounded like you had not established whether he has one or not

I'm sorry but I'm with franny
why has he been wetting himself for a while but you have only been to the docs on friday

Really I don't think that if he does have an infection that if will get passed on through washing clothes.

I hope he gets better soon. I wS convinced that DD had an infection when she kept wetting herself, but she was just wetting herself. It did stop after a while.

We had a couple of days last week where he did it then it stopped. We had 3 or 4 good days and then it started again on Wednesday. I phoned the docs first thing on Friday.

I thought the wetting was a reaction to the birth of his new sister - it only started after DH went back to work after paternity leave and he's started getting up in the night too after sleeping through since he was tiny oh, and he's only wet himself while we've been out once so it's only happening at home - it only occurred to me on Thursday night that it might be anything more and I did something about it as soon as I could.

I'm afraid the sleep deprivation from my newborn might have made me a bit slow on the uptake but I'm trying my best

I haven't read the whole thread, jutst the OP, but wee is sterile, so what you're doing should be ok.

ds goes through wetting phases - it would take a while for me to think infection too

Thanks Sparrow I was beginning to feel awful!

If you are worried about the cleanliness of the washing machine (though to be honest, I really don't think it is a problem), then you could run a 90 degree wash with something white and cotton (like sheets) and that should set your mind at rest.

If the machine wasn't washing his clothes properly, they would have a lingering odour, and as you haven't mentioned this, I suspect the clothes smell fine and I'd say this indicates that they are perfectly clean.

If you were really worried about them, you could pre-soak in a bio powder, then wash with your normal non-bio (thus saving electricity and time), but I honestly wouldn't have thought that was necessary - and I used to be an operating theatre nurse.

Thanks StayingDavidTennantsGirl. I suppose they would still smell if they weren't clean - and they don't. Baby brain strikes again

Spent ages trying to write the bit about wee not being sterile without sounding hostile. Hope I managed it.

I am really grateful for the reassuring and helpful posts, feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all at the moment!

As far as I know, wee is sterile either until it reaches the outside world, or unless it has been infected with some sort of bacteria - as would be the case if your ds had a urinary tract infection. In that case, I think you'd be right, and it wouldn't be sterile.

Glad he's doing better today, and don't beat yourself up about baby brain - it happens to us all!

yes my post was not a criticism - i am glad you had seen the gp and hope he is better soon - just was concerned from your first posts that he was not getting treated! glad this is not the case
i see i missed your post which said you were waiting for results - sorry, my mistake

It certainly felt like a criticism but then I am tired, hormonal and stressed so it's highly likely thatI may be over sensitive.

We had a couple of incidents this afternoon when he got tired. Will phone the doctors in the morning for the test results.

I understand - hope everything improves soon - and enjoy your new dd
x