Nappy Washing Routine Example

For this example, we use 2 dry pails, the “dirty dry pail” is for dirty nappies and wipes that haven’t been prewashed (straight off the child). The “prewashed dry pail” is for nappies and wipes that have already been through a prewash and need to go through a second wash (main wash). We don’t recommend using a machine setting that has an inbuilt “prewash” function because the machine will usually save that water and use it again in the main wash. The point of having 2 separate machine washes, is to get most of the wee and poo out with the prewash. Then the main wash is a long hot wash (always maximum temperature of 60 degrees celcius) with a good detergent to help remove the wee that has soaked into the fibres, with good loading so that the nappies scrub up against each other to help remove stains.

Example One- Using day nappies only, or nappies not on the child for longer than 4 hours.

Day one: Yay you’ve got all clean nappies from the last wash, nappies and wipes go into the dirty dry pailover the day (as per instructions in ” What to do with a dirty cloth nappy off the bum”)

Day two: (Prewash day) Put all nappies and wipes from the dirty dry pail into the washing machine. Check for stains as you go and use pre-treater if desired. Use half of the recommended amount of a good quality detergent and wash booster (if using), select wash cycle of around one hour on cold or warm (your preference) with spin speed 800RPM. Once cycle completed place nappies into prewashed dry pail.

Day three: Go out and have a coffee with a friend, nappies and wipes over the day go into the dirty dry pail (as per instructions in "What to do with a dirty cloth nappy off the bum”)

Day four: Place nappies and wipes from the dirty dry pail into the machine and follow same instructions as per day two. Once completed leave nappies and wipes in the machine and add all the nappies from the prewashed dry pail. Use recommended amount of detergent for heavily soiled load. Select longest wash cycle (minimum 2 hours) and change temp to whatever you desire we recommend 40-60 degrees Celsius with maximum temperature being 60 degrees Celsius. Change spin speed to 800RPM and hit start!

Line dry wipes and nappies (this is best practice for you and the planet, however cloth wipes and nappy inserts can go into the dryer. Nappy shells should only ever go into a cool dryer however check your manufacturers warranty about dryer use)

Options if you are getting stains: I use sard bar soap when I’m rinsing the poo off of the nappies and a silicone scrubbing brush. You can use any stain treatment you choose before the main wash if you still have stains after prewashing.

Example Two- Including night nappies or nappies that have been on for longer than 4 hours.

The main difference when you are washing night nappies, is that they need to have a hot prewash as soon as possible off the bum. So switching to a daily prewash is what lots of families do. Use the same settings and quantities in example one, just in the morning (every morning), place all nappies from your dirty dry pail including the night nappy in for the pre wash. Then you can just do your main wash when you have enough to do a full load or up to 48 hours after the first prewash.

*Disclaimer*

This is how I wash my nappies, and what gets them clean from my experience using cloth nappies. Earth Babes does not accept any responsibility or liability for damage or injury that may occur from the information, methods, or misuse of information provided. Always check with the manufacturer for care instructions and follow the manufactures recommendations. Earth Babes is no way associated with any cleaning product companies. This is what we use in our home.