Washing and Care Instructions for your cloth nappies

The more you care for your nappies the longer they will last!

When your fluffy post arrives you need to try and contain your excitement (although sometimes it gets the better of you) and pre-wash your cloth. This improves the absorbency of the nappy and most nappies require a few washes to reach maximum absorbency but if you're anything like me you will struggle to keep them off your babies bum!

Always wash like colours together as some fabrics and colours do run especially something like a red fleece fabric.

Cloth nappies don't have to be a pain in the bum! They are easy to care for and become part of your routine. You will need a bucket with a lid to store your smelly nappies. (No need for soaking though). This is called dry-pailing. The lid contains the smell and if you pop a few drops of tea tree oil onto some cotton wool or a little pad your bucket will smell even better.

Once you have pre washed your nappies the best thing to do in order to save time later is to spend 10 mins making up all your nappies.

With our nappies you simply insert the pad provided and then, if you want, add a liner which sits between the nappy and your baby's bum.

These liners can be either fleece reusable liners or paper, biodegradable liners that you can flush down the toilet. When you change the dirty nappy you get rid of the poop by either emptying it down the loo from the fleece liner and then putting the fleece liner in your nappy bucket w ith your nappy or flushing the whole lot with the paper liner.

You then put your dirty nappy in the bucket until wash day.

You can also buy 'mesh bags' to line your bucket and then when bucket is full (usually every 2/3 days depending on amount of nappies) or you need to do a wash you simply take the mesh bag with the nappies inside and pop it in the washing machine, leaving it open so nappies can move around.

Washing

These are guidelines only and do not apply to all cloth nappies on the market.

Give the nappies a cold rinse first (optional)
Although not essential it is advisable to use non biological powder as some babies can have reactions to biological detergents.

Be careful not to use too much powder. Approx half your usual amount is plenty. Overuse of powder can clog up the fibres in your nappy and affect its absorbency.

DO NOT USE FABRIC CONDITIONER This reduces the absorbency of your nappies, instead you can soften your nappies with a few drop of white vinegar in the drawer if you need to.

Most nappies can go on a 40-60 degree wash but check each nappies separate washing instructions. We advise you wash our nappies at 40 degrees after a cold rinse. This is better for the environment and helps your nappies last longer.

An extra spin cycle at the end of your wash can help dry the nappies quicker if you need them to.

Drying

Minky and fleece are quick drying anyway but the inserts take longer so it may be a good idea to stock up on a few extra inserts rather than wait for them to dry each time.

After a while some cloth nappies don't smell as fresh as they once did. A drop of tea tree oil in the drawer of your machine and a wash without detergent can help. Once you have washed them put them on a rinse and keep rinsing until there are no more soap suds visible in the drum. The cause of the smell is often detergent build up within the fibres of the nappies.

Dry your nappies on the line or on a maiden. Be careful with radiators as waterproofing or bamboo and radiators do not mix.

There is nothing I love more than seeing all my cloth on the line when it's sunny! The sunshine is the best thing for cloth, acting as a natural bleach to get rid of any stains!

Most of all enjoy your cloth and remember that even one cloth nappy a day helps to reduce landfill as well as brightening up the bottoms of our most precious babies!