Nappy Washing and Care

Before using your nappies, they should be pre-washed at least once.  The absorbency of natural fibre inserts (eg hemp or bamboo) will increase over the first few uses, reaching maximum absorbency after 2-3 washes.

We recommend dry-pailing your nappies, ie placing into a nappy bucket or hanging nappy pail until you are ready to wash them.  Remove any solids and flush them down the toilet before placing the soiled nappy in the nappy bucket.  There is no need to soak your nappies and this can reduce the life of your nappies.  Nappies should be washed within 48 hours of use.  For pocket nappies, inserts should be removed from the pocket before washing.

When you are ready to wash, simply empty the nappies from the nappy bucket into your washing machine (or unzip the bag and place in your washing machine if using a hanging nappy pail).  We recommend you start with a cold water rinse and spin cycle, then add laundry detergent and run a normal wash cycle using cold or warm water (max 40 °C).

We recommend drying your nappies on the line whenever possible, as the sun naturally bleaches any stains and helps to sanitise the nappies.  Alternatively, nappies can dried in a drier on a low heat setting or on a drying rack.  When drying in a drier note the outers will dry much faster than the boosters/soakers/inserts.  We recommend removing the outers from the drier as soon as they are dry as excess exposure to heat is likely to reduce the life of the elastics.

Nappy creams can clog the fibres of the nappy reducing absorbency.  If a nappy cream is needed we recommend using a nappy liner to protect the nappy.

We recommend using an eco-friendly laundry detergent, such as the Charlie Banana Laundry Detergent.  Do not use laundry detergents containing enzymes, brighteners, bleaches, whiteners, dyes, colors, perfumes, essential oils or soaps.  Do not use fabric softeners when washing your nappies as they can reduce the absorbency.  Do not use bleach as this can damage the lamination of the nappies.  If you have hard water half a cup of vinegar may be added to the wash to soften water.  A few spoonfuls of baking soda may be added if needed to remove any odour.

Failing to follow these care instructions may void the warranty on your nappies.

Tips

  • Lining your nappy bucket with a wash bag makes it super simple when it comes to washing them – just put the wash bag full of nappies straight into the washing machine.
  • A pre-rinse cycle helps to ensure the nappies are thoroughly wet so they wash well. This is particularly important with front-loading washing machines.
  • Once nappies are pre-rinsed, clothing and other items can added the washing machine. Washing together saves you time and money.

 

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