In the words of John Snow... "Winter is coming"!!
Unfortunately as the seasons change and the weather begins to turn colder, humidity rises and rain is more frequent, this combination of will have an impact on how we launder our cloth nappies.
Our cloth nappy laundry will take longer to air dry. You can still continue to air dry laundry outside throughout winter, but you may need to factor in an additional day or more of drying time.
An extra day of drying time can stretch our cloth nappy stash too thin, if (like me) you need to pack a toddler and a baby bag up the night before for creche or childminder the next day, then having "not quite dry yet" cloth nappy inserts isn't ideal.
So there are a couple of things you can do to adjust your cloth nappy stash and laundry to mange the winter:
1. Wash more frequently
If you usually do a wash every 3rd day, you could switch to a wash every 2nd day, this will give you an extra day of drying instead. In summer time, I can do the wash, hang and bring in dry nappies all in the same day. In the winter, I generally do the nappy wash overnight, hang first thing in the morning and leave them until the next day to dry.
2. Put the things that take the longest to dry into the hot press
Depending on the age of your house, you may have a hot press - its generally warmed than everywhere else - use a small sock peg hanger to put your cloth inserts, especially hemp or night nappies into the hot press. These are your most absorbent items and will take the longest to dry.
3. Opt for space saving or quick drying cloth nappy options
Space saving - means a long snake type cloth nappy insert, its effectively two cloth nappy inserts but only takes up the space of one insert.
Quick drying - means inserts which will fold out. For example, instead of choosing a 4 layer hemp insert, you could use a 2 layer hemp flat - it can be folded in half to make 4 layers but can be unfolded for drying.
4. Increase your cloth nappy stash
This is the easiest way to reduce pressure on your laundry turn around. Increase your cloth nappy stash with extra inserts, these are the items which take the longest to dry so if you have some spare you can re-stuff your pocket shells ready for you use. You can also opt for extra nappies or go for more quick drying materials. Increasing your cloth nappy stash to give yourself an extra 4-5 nappies is a one off cost, and works out more effective than tumble drying!
5. Tumble Drying
If space is tight for leaving a cloth horse air drying nappies, then the tumble dryer can be used on your absorbent inserts. 10-15 mins immediately after they come out of the washing machine and then allowing them to air dry will also keep them very soft, supple and easy to stuff.
6. Sunny windowsill or sunny car dash
Using warm areas will sunny windowsill or the dash of your car for an hour or two can really speed up drying times and you can leave them there knowing they can't get wet if a rain shower comes along!
7. Opting for a switch / wipeable all in two nappy set up
A nappy where you can reuse the outer cover more than once will cut down on the amount of laundry you generate. Simply give the outer cover a quick wipe, allow it to air-dry and reuse for the next nappy change - this is known as "switch" cover or nappy system.
