Bumgenius washing tips please!

[Devvers]

Hi everyone, I am planning on using resuable nappies for my baby and have just received my first 5 bum genius v.3 one size nappies in the post. They haven't come with any obvious washing instructions and the ones on the bum genius site seem to be US based I think.

Can anyone give me some tips on how best to wash these nappies? Do you take the inserts out first? do you wash the inserts and the actual nappies separately or can they all go in together? does the colour from the nappies run into the inserts if washed together? Also do you wash on a cold or hot wash (washing info on website talks about cold wash followed by hot wash - can it not all be done in one wash? I would have thought a hot wash would be the way to go when dealing with nappies?!!). Also, do you need to use flushable liners? I received a free roll of 100 liners with the nappies so am assuming I put one in each time?

Any advice would be gratefully accepted by a slightly nervous mum to be!!

Thanks very much

Meant to be a 65 degree wash with an extra rinse afterwards (I only have 60 degree on my machine and have the one or two stains left over but washes away in next wash). Most important NEVER EVER use fabric conditioner or anything other than the washing powder & only use a fraction of normal amount - about 1/4 to 1/3 of normal wash.
Can tumble dry or line dry no problem.
Hope that helps
x

I love my bumgenius V3 and wouldnt be without them, still use them on DD and shes almost 3.

I dry pail my nappies in a bucket and dont soak them,

I seperate mine first so take the boosters and inserts etc out then wash them all in same wash. I find this easier to do as you go when i change baby then you dont have to touch them after a day or two of being in your bucket. I wash mine on a 40 if all just wee but if i have poo ones i wash them on a 60 any hotter and youll wreck the outer wrap, i do an extra rinse with them at the end to ensure all detergent is out. Use a small amount of detergent, i use one fairy liqitab or a table spoon of washing powder for a full load. NEVER use softner or they wont absorb anything!! As for drying i dont have a dryer so i put mine on line or airer, the wraps dry in less than half hour and the boosters and inserts dry within a couple of hours.

The colour doesnt run most of the nappies although i have heard of some people say they had probs with dark pink ones on the first wash but i dont have dark pink so i dont know but all other colours are fine.

If you use the disposable liners use one each nappy change and dont fold them or they wont let liquid pass easily and may leave baby wet, if i use them i simply wrap the liner around the booster they come with. You may find you dont need a liner with a new baby as the nappy is pretty good. Also paper ones can be a bit scratchy at first.

Hope this all helps

I don't seperate mine at all ! I just do up the velcro onto their special tab and then bung them into a dry pail, they get washed about 3 days later. They come completely apart in the wash and are thoroughly clean. I do mine on 40 with prewash & extra rinse with soap flakes & bicarb soda

You need to watch the dark green and blue as they do run.

Thanks everyone for all the tips!! I hadn't even thought about the fabric softener issue so no doubt would have used that and had problems afterwards!!

Thanks again

i separate mine as i put them in the bucket, then when i come to wash them i do a rinse with no detergent, then a 40 deg wash with a little bit of non-bio, followed by another rinse. inserts go in the tumble dryer (usually with some clothes that need drying) and the outers go on the line (dry in a couple of hours)

puffylovett - do you find the soap flakes & bicarb make a big difference to how clean they get? i found doing the pre-rinse made a big difference but still end up with some poo stains.

Never thought of using bicarb and soap flakes i too would be interested if this made a difference? Not so much of a problem at the mo with toddler as she only wear them in the night now and doesnt soil them but new baby coming soon so will be back to washing poo ones!

i got a good tip from a mumsnetter for washing which i now follow.

i have a 30 min cycle on my washing machine and i do a cold wash (20 or 30 degrees) with a little washing powder and then a hotter wash (60 degrees) without powder for 30 mins. I've found doing it this way you dont get any wee smells afterwards.

Line drying in sushine reduces any leftover satins but if tumble drying use a low temp setting. TBH though they dry really fast just hung up on the ladder radiator (even if its not on)

satins?? i mean stains!

When I first got them, I washed both inserts and outside twice at 60C.
Now I put mine into a dry bucket until it's time to wash them. I don't separate them. I wash them at 40C with Bold. Once a month, I do a wash at 60C. I dry them in my utility room (known as conservatory)

I use BGs on my 3 year old and 3 month old. We live abroad now and our washing machine only washes in cold water. We assumed this would be a problem with nappies as we believed a boil wash would be necessary to get them really clean. I do a quick wash first then a normal wash with extra rinse. The stains disappear after being outside for an hour or so, even if it's cloudy.

To be honest the nappies are in much better condition now with just a cold wash than my first BGs were in the UK when I was washing them hot!