Washing nappies

Prepping nappies before use

Prepping is done to get rid of natural oils that can cause a leak. Wash all nappies and boosters once before using (only the items made of actual absorbent fabric). Not covers or liners. No fabric softener, ever.

Use a short 1 hour wash cycle.
No pre rinse needed.
Cold or 30`C maximum. Opt for the warmer cycle if the machine can.
Use half the amount of recommended detergent. 

Detergent

Only use a recommended one on the list here. The Nurturer detergent is our favourite. It may appear pricier however it goes much further than store bought ones. 5kg will give you 100 washes and last 6.5 months (when using a 5kg machine and washing every 2 days).

Baby detergents, 2 in 1`s and most newer "eco" ones are not suitable.  

No fabric softener. Fabric softener covers the fibers of the fabric which inhibits absorption. 

Machine washing

All Newborn nappies and Day time nappies 6kg+ : wash as per guidelines below.

Night nappies worn all night from 6kg, require a little more care. See night nappy washing section below.

No soaking of nappies in anything- water, Sterri nappy, nothing. Ever.

Front loaders

1. Add dirty nappies/covers to machine. Rinse cycle (15 - 20 minutes). No detergent. Oxygen bleach can be added to this rinse cycle for deep cleaning once a week. Leave the covers out of the Oxygen bleach.
2. A nappy load must be three quarters full otherwise nappies don`t get cleaned properly. Add smaller items such as baby clothes/clothes/small linen items after the rinse if you need to bulk up the load (bend down and you should fit your hand on top of the pile in the machine). Do not use bigger towels or linen.
3. One main long wash: Usually the cotton/ fuzzy cycle. Add detergent. No softner. Cold or 30`C degrees. Cycle time is usually 1.5 - 2 hours. Shorter is usually not long enough. 
4. Dry. Tumble drying nappies is fine but not our nappy covers. 
5. Never wash nappy covers above 30 degrees - this will damage them. Wash with clothes if nappies are being washed at 40`C.

Top loaders

Watch the washing video

Night nappies from 6kg

Night nappies that have been on for longer than 6 hours, ideally need to be prewashed or main washed the day they come off the bum. Night nappies hold a lot of urine so need to be washed sooner, if possible. 

Throw the dirty nappy (alone) into the machine and follow the short prewash directions below. This does not waste water. Consider one disposable nappy requires 32 litres to manufacture it. 

Prewash instructions
1. Throw nappy into the machine in the morning.
2. Short 30 minute prewash cycle - cold or 40`C is best (not the nappy cover). Half the amount of usual detergent.
3. Hang over a rail to airdry.
4. Wash again on the main wash cycle with your dirty day nappies or night nappies the next day. 

If you do not manage the prewash as above, rinse the night nappy by hand , under warm tap water, within the hour it comes off. 
Air dry over a rail (don`t leave it wet in the bottom of the nappy bucket).
Add to the rinse and then the main wash with day nappies.

If night nappies start to smell of ammonia in the morning, consider doing the prewash daily rather than just the hand rinse. Getting the nights urine out is key.

Troubleshoot stinks and fix them here.

Baby is day trained and only using night cloth - wash every three days

Prewash the dirty nappy as per above on day one. Air dry. The next day pre wash the previous nights nappy and air dry this one next to the first one. Use the third nappy, rinse this one in the machine then do a main wash with all three. You will need to bulk the load with clothes, smaller items for the main wash. 

Covers

Close velcro tabs. Wash in a mesh laundry bag or our Wash Buddy. This protects them. If nappy covers are washed above 30`C, the waterproofing will get damaged and they will leak.

Hard water washing

Harder water can reduce the ability of detergent to clean nappies which can lead to smells.
Tips:
Wash nappies on 40 degrees. Do not wash our covers at 40`C. Wash them on cold with clothes or linen.
Use only a powder detergent. Nurturer detergent is very good with hard water.

Handwashing (camping or going away)

A bucket and plunger works brilliantly (makes for strong arms too):

1. Add your nappies to the bucket filled with cold (grey) water. Plunge 40 – 50 times.
2. Fill bucket with warm (grey) water.
3. Add detergent and plunge about 90 – 100 times.
4. Refill the bucket with cold (grey) water and plunge another 50 odd times to get rid of the soap.
5. Drain, squeeze out the water and line dry.
6. Wash covers separately until clean, then dry.

Stains

Hang nappies in the sun to get rid of stains (yes, it really works).
Use a bit of Oxygen bleach/ boerseep/ green sunlight bar to before the wash.
Nappies do not stain. 

Happy parents sharing their cloth nappy joy