Washing cloth nappies is very simple - just like loading the dishwasher or putting away laundry, the cloth nappy wash routine will quickly become part of your households chores.
Cloth nappies are multi-layer garments so they need a little extra laundry care - but its nothing that your regular washing machine can't take of.
Storing Used Nappies
Store used nappies in a wet bag, nappy pail, a wire basket or plastic bucket - choose what suits your space best. If you change nappies in multiple locations around the house you might have a few different nappy storage options.
For optimal nappy care, allow good airflow to stored nappies, if using a wet bag - leave the zip open, or leave the lid off a bucket. This is called "dry-pailing". People often worry about smells - but cloth nappies do not smell, because they are rinsed and washed 2-3 days so there is no time for any nasty smells to develop.
There is no need to pre-soak or rinse these nappies.
Washing Cloth Nappies
1. Remove poop from soiled nappies.
This only applies to babies who are weaned onto solid foods. For babies who are still exclusively breast or bottle fed, go straight to Step 2 Rinse Wash below. (Read more about Removing Poop here).
2. Rinse wash.
Put all the nappies into your washing machine on a Rinse Wash cycle with no powder. This should be a cool / cold 25-40 min cycle. The washing machine does not need to be full for this stage, agitation is not important for the rinse.
The purpose of this wash stage is to fully rinse out the nappies with lots of water and remove all or most of the soling and pee. Its important to choose a stand alone cycle for this rinse stage so that the water is removed from the washing machine.
Do not select "Pre Rinse" option on your washing machine as this water is then reused on the next wash cycle.
Do not leave nappies longer than days 3 days before rinse wash.
3. Main Wash.
Now your nappies have been rinsed, its time for the main wash, choose a long cotton wash cycle, 2.5 - 3.5 hours.
The washing machine needs to be sufficiently loaded so that there is good agitation, nappies rubbing against each other is what gets them clean, but it should not be so full that they can't move or that items are jammed against the door. There should be enough room in the top of the drum for you to move your closed fist.
Choose a good washing powder - not a gel or a pod (these can cause a build up). Use BIO washing powder and wash at 40 or 60 degrees. BIO washing powder is optimal for cleaning biological waste material. With BIO powder you can wash at either 40 or 60 degrees, you will see on the label of some nappies it will say "Max 40" while others will say "Max 60" (both temperatures have worked for us, but I prefer 60 as I know this temperature kills bacteria).
If you want to use a Non BIO detergent, you must wash at 60 degrees. You may also need to add a Nappy Sanitiser.
Never Use Fabric Softener - this leaves a residue on cloth nappies and can build up and will block there absorbency.
4. Second Rinse (optional)
A second rinse wash cycle after your main wash, this fully rinses out any excess detergent, this is optional, if you have hard water skip this step.
5. Spin
Do a stand alone spin to help speed up your drying time.
Washed wet nappies fresh from the washing machine should not smell like anything - they should not smell like urine or washing powder. They should just smell like fresh cotton or bamboo.
Drying Cloth Nappies
Air Drying on a clothes horse or washing line will extent the life of your cloth diapers.
Tumble dry on low heat when required, avoid putting the waterproof covers or pocket shells (TUP / PUL parts) in the dryer as this could damage the waterproofing and elastics.
Tumble drying wet inserts, especially hemp for 10 mins on low, before then allowing them to air dry will make them soft and ply-able and easy to fold and stuff into nappies.
Hanging in a hot press or using a dehumidified will all help speed up the drying process.
Avoid direct heat - such as hanging on a radiator or on a heater airer - especially for the waterproof parts as this can cause de-lamination.
Extra Care for Washing Cloth Night Nappies
Night nappies contain the highest number of layers and are on the baby for the longest amount of time - up to 12 hours. Ideally these need to be rinsed within 24 hours of use - either in the washing machine was part of your rinse wash if its laundry day or in a sink if its not laundry day.
The purpose of this rinse is to prevent any ammonia from building up - ammonia can develop from urine within a few hours, because night nappies are worn for the longest time, they contain the highest amount of pee and ammonia can build up quickly. This is not relevant for daytime nappies. Read more about Ammonia build up.
