Laundering
Firstly read the manufacturers washing instructions for you nappies! They should be on the label.
PLEASE NOTE Wool wraps need special care. Please do not use the following advice for wool wraps, shorties or longies.
Fold back, or fasten any velcro tabs, or they will stick to everything! Then drop or sluice off any solid matter down the loo. There is absolutely NO NEED TO SOAK! In fact it’s better not to. Collect your used nappies in a large bin with a lid if you want to wash them all together. Beer brewing bins make excellent cheap nappy buckets - large size and a tight fitting lid! A few drops of tea tree oil dropped onto a panty liner, stuck onto the lid of your bucket will keep your bin smelling sweeter.
Wash in a normal washing machine programme at 40ºC, or occasionally 60ºC, to remove any persistent stains, using a half the usual amount of a non-bio detergent, such as Ecover or Fairy non-bio. We advise using a programme with a pre-wash, to remove any real nasties, but use it as pre rinse, rather than pre-wash. Nappies can be put in with your other washing. If they are soiled, and you are unhappy about this, add a tablespoon of sanitising powder to the prerinse, or to your normal powder.
Do not use a fabric conditioner with nappies (or towels) as it makes them less absorbent. Substitute distilled vinegar to soften your nappies by removing all traces of powder. (They will not smell of vinegar!)
Alternatively (and we recommend this,as it stops any chance of powder build up) we recommend the use of ecoballs These can be used in conjunction with a magnoball in hard water areas, and we recommend also adding a little Ecover Laundry bleach, to remove any stains. Alittle lavender oil can be added to the rinse water, to give your nappies a lovely smell, and help your baby to sleep!
Drying.
Almost all nappies can be tumble dried. However, take care not to use too hot a programme if tumbling bamboo. Line drying, or air drying however is much better - the sun sterilises and whitens them, and removes any stains. It is also of course both cheaper and more environmentally better. Wraps should be line dried or even rubbed with a towel and aired. Tumble drying is not necessary for wraps, as they dry very quickly, although in an emergency you can tumble most wraps.
For wool wraps, shorties or longies.
Wool nappy covers do not ned washing very often. They should be washed by hand in a wool wash product, in water no hotter than hand warm, when necessary. If they are beginning to absorb smells, or not retain their waterproofing properties, you should re-lanolize, by soaking in a lanolin solution overnight, wrapping the item in a towel after soaking, to remove excess wet, and drying flat. They will take a while to dry after re-lanolizing.
