Washable nappies - how do you wash?

[lovelygreenleaves]

I'm sorry if this post has already been done! How do you all wash your nappies? What temperature and do you wash them with other things?

[Mr and Mrs luvpie]

we wash ours on 40oC wash, normally on a quick wash and use half an egg cup of soda crystals, half of washing powder.

Seems to get them as clean as anything and prevents any build up of soap in them, if they are very dirty then it goes on a full rather than quick wash, we also normally wash them seperately, but that is purely logistic, they are stored in a big bin in the garden, when the bin is full that actually equates to a full washing load, but have no issues with throwing them in with the other clothes, with the exception of mrluvpies work shirts, but thats because they are the only things washed with only washing powder as they need to be kept white rather than greyish, if you see what I mean!

Sarah

[Penny Lane]

40oC wash here too with own brand powder.

I hand rinse out the poopy ones first, I don't know if it's just my machine but if you leave the smallest amount of poop it seems to go all 'bitty' and sticks to all the nappies!

[mrsflibble]

yep, 40 eg wash, own brand powder, a mixture of white vinegar, water and essential oil in the conditioner compartment (good for towels too as it softens but doesn't mess up their absorbancy) and generally chucked in the dryer because i didnt have enough to wait for them to dry on the line.

[Annpan]

I do 60ºC with own brand powder. I personally wouldn't wash them at a lower temp, and I do them on their own, with our wee wipes.

[lovelygreenleaves]

I do 60ºC with own brand powder. I personally wouldn't wash them at a lower temp, and I do them on their own, with our wee wipes.

I wondered about that, because I (perhaps mistakenly) think that 60 is better at killing nasties. I'd like to know whether it's really necessary though!

Also, I use a homemade washing liquid for clothes, it's perfectly fine for clothes, white towels etc, but is there any reason I should use something else for nappies?

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Hello,

I wash separately, unless I just have a wet (rather than dirty) load and happen to have some rags or bath towels that need washing. I probably wouldn't wash naps with things like hand towels, napkins, wiping/washing up cloths, tea towels, that sort of thing. Probably unnecessary but it's just a hygiene thing. Usually though I just wash separately as it fits my groove I wash all naps at 60, and use the 'intensive stains' measure for dirty nappies. I also do two extra rinses afterwards to avoid detergent build-up.

After much faff-arsing about I have settled on using Bold 2-in-1. Between that and the rinsing I don't get that nasty nappy aroma in the drawer, and being clay-based it's good to skin and doesn't damage naps.

Edited to say i use the teensiest weensiest little dribble of washing liquid

[AnnaD]

I do a 60 degree rinse followed by an intensive wash with Bio-D laundry liquid and their Nappy Powder stuff. It seems to work well for us, although they are starting to look less white than they used to. I'm not sure how to make them whiter without using mainstream laundry liquid. But they smell fresh so it's all good.

[Mr and Mrs luvpie]

Annad, ours go grey through the winter, all they need is a lovely sunny day to get them looking bright again, normally, we loved it last spring when we could finally get them all out on the line again and really noticed the difference between the ones that had got out in th esun, and the ones that had only been dried indoors over winter.

Sarah

[AnnaD]

Annad, ours go grey through the winter, all they need is a lovely sunny day to get them looking bright again, normally, we loved it last spring when we could finally get them all out on the line again and really noticed the difference between the ones that had got out in th esun, and the ones that had only been dried indoors over winter.

Sarah

Excellent, that's good to hear. Ours are looking grey, so I'll make the most of any sunny weather :)

[MrsD'ville mkII]

I've thought about this post a fair bit, and have now begun throwing wet nappies in with tea towels, rags etc. So far no-one's got the dreaded lurgy and it helps to reduce the loads of washing while keeping up the supply of clean nappies. Dirty nappies though, different matter!