First wash of new nappies (important – don’t skip this step)

All inserts will need to be soaked in a bucket of water for 24 hours before their first wash in order to build up absorbency.

Storing your nappies before washing

If the nappy is soiled, knock any solids into the toilet and flush. If there is any sticky poo on the nappy, give it a bit of a rinse in some cold water or hold nappy under the flush of the toilet before popping in the nappy bucket. For extra stubborn poop pop the nappy through a short rinse cycle before placing in the nappy bucket with the other nappies. We recommend dry paling the nappies in a nappy bucket with a lid (to contain odours) until you wash them. Ensure the inserts are separated from the covers before placing in bucket.

​Washing your nappies

We recommend that you use a non enzyme laundry liquid , that contains no optical brighteners to wash your cloth nappies. Do not use fabric softener as this will coat the nappies and cause them to be less absorbent. There are specially formulated washing powders out there for cloth nappies such as the ecofreaks , and Rockin Green laundry powder – these do a very effective job on your nappies which saves having to re wash /strip wash them. If you follow the above process and still find you have leaky or stinky nappies, they may need a good strip wash.

www.ecofreaks.co.nz

www.rockinggreennz.co.nz

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Drying your nappies

Hang in the sunshine if possible; this has so many benefits for your nappies including airing, sanitising and stain removing- all helped by a good dose of sunlight! If you need to use a dryer, use a low heat setting – or better yet, use the airing cycle. Using hot dryers can cause the nappy to delaminate which voids warranties.

​Nappies in need of a strip wash?

Depending on what has caused the build up in the nappies, will determine your course of action. If the nappies are leaking due to a build up of oils and bottom balms, they will need to be stripped as follows:

1. Wet the nappy with cold water

2. Squirt dishwashing liquid (use one without moisturisers ,and about a teaspoon is enough) onto the nappy

3. Rub the nappy together to work the liquid into the problem area

4. Run the nappy under cold water, rinsing until there is no soap residue left in nappy

5. Pop the nappy through a hot wash and then line dry.

If your nappies have a build up of smells, or if they start to leak, a strip wash is recommended to freshen them up.There are two options here.

You could soak the nappies in Rockin Green Funk Rock (ammonia bouncer) powder as per the instructions on the packaging. Then proceed to wash as per usual, finishing with a line dry. This product is very effective and I cannot recommend it enough!

You can soak them in a capful of non fragranced laundry liquid (such as Earthwise or ecostore) with warm water. Leave the nappies to soak for a couple of hours, then pop them through a hot wash, then line dry.

Got stains?

The simple solution which almost always works for all poopy stains – hang the nappies in the sunshine! The sun bleaches the nappy free of its stains. Don’t be tempted to bleach your nappies, it will only shorten their lifespan.

Can you wash your nappies with other clothes?

Yes, you can. Pop the nappies through a short rinse cycle before adding clothes to get rid of the pee and poo build up from sitting in the nappy bucket, then continue to wash the nappies with the clothes as normal – Although you will need to continue to use the non-enzyme laundry liquids/powders so as not to cause build up in your nappies.