| I have many parents who ask what the best way to | | | | and to lower the reusable diapers eco footprint, some |
| wash their reusable cloth nappies is. Generally parents | | | | parents will put them through a rinse cycle first and |
| get their own routine after a time but to start with they | | | | then add all of their babies other clothes into the same |
| may be nervous about using cloth diapers. So I | | | | cycle. Some washing machines even have a special |
| decided to break down washing into a simple to | | | | cycle just for nappies. |
| understand step by step guide which will hopefully | | | | When you wash your nappies you only need to use a |
| answer your questions. If you have other questions | | | | fraction of the amount of liquid / powder you would |
| that are not covered in this, it pays to contact the | | | | normally use to wash your clothes. We suggest |
| manufacturer of your product. | | | | around 1 - 2 tablespoons. Pop this in your machine as |
| Step one: Removing the nappy | | | | per your manufacturer's instructions. Turn the machine |
| Firstly you must take the soiled nappy off your baby. | | | | on and.....walk away....the machine does all of the nasty |
| Use an old ice cream container in which you can place | | | | work for you while you have time to spend with your |
| any soiled diapers and used wipes in while you pop the | | | | baby and family. Step 4: Drying your nappies |
| clean nappy onto your baby. | | | | Once your machine has completed the task of |
| Solids in the nappy? Then you must dispose of all | | | | washing your nappies (wow that was easy), it is time |
| solids in the toilet (this is the case if you are using a | | | | to dry them. |
| disposable nappy as well) If you are using flushable | | | | You can pop them on the line to dry with the rest of |
| liners, carefully remove the liner from the inside of the | | | | your washing and then walk away and let the sun dry, |
| nappy and flush the liner down the toilet. If you are | | | | bleach and sanitize them while you spend time with |
| using reusable liners, take the nappy and the liner into | | | | your family. Or if you are short of time, you can tumble |
| the toilet and hold the re-usable liner in the toilet and | | | | dry the diapers on a cool setting but we do |
| flush the toilet onto it to remove any solids that are on | | | | recommend line drying wherever possible. Line drying |
| it. Then wrap the liner up in the nappy ready for | | | | saves you money and reduces the eco footprint of a |
| washing together. | | | | reusable nappy. |
| Step 2: Dry Pail your nappies | | | | Step 5: Folding your nappies |
| Now days we do not have to soak our reusable | | | | This is the best part, you take your diapers off the line |
| nappies because the detergents and machines now | | | | or out of the drier and you pop them in your chosen |
| do the work that our soakers used to do. If parents do | | | | storage place near where you change your baby they |
| soak their nappies they may wear the elastics and | | | | are all ready to go - NO FOLDING involved leaving you |
| fabrics out earlier than expected because some of the | | | | time to do many other things or sit and enjoy the |
| soakers can be quite harsh on some modern fabrics. | | | | evening on the couch! |
| This is why we suggest using a dry pail which is simply | | | | Step 6: It is so easy! |
| a dry bucket with no water or soakers in it. This is also | | | | It may have all sounded a bit ominous when you first |
| much safer for baby (no buckets of water around) | | | | start researching using reusable cloth nappies, but |
| and will save you from lifting heavy buckets into the | | | | when you consider that: |
| washing machine. | | | | - you do not have to use all of the nasty chemicals |
| Step 3: Wash the nappies | | | | you may have thought you would have to use |
| When you have a load of used reusable nappies or | | | | - the nappies are likely to be far simpler to care for |
| perhaps less but are ready to wash them, tip the | | | | than you were led to believe |
| contents of your bucket into the washing machine. To | | | | - Plus you will save thousands of dollars over a 2 - 3 |
| minimise the amount of washing, save more money | | | | year period so you would be crazy not to give it a go! |