Dry Pailing Cloth Nappies and Mould??

[Meg77]

Hi there,

We are currently using disposables and I am in the process of sewing some cloth nappies so we can move over to cloth permanently (its taken me all this time to get myself together! :) )

I have heard about dry pailing and it seems like an excellent idea. The only thing I am wondering about is - do the nappies get mouldy if they are left damp in a bucket? The reason I ask is that I live in Queensland and I find that I can't even leave the damp washing in the machine overnight and hang it in the morning as sometimes things have developed mould by the morning! Even damp bibs have to be washed pretty much the same day otherwise the same thing can happen. Does this happen with dry pailing nappies? If a damp wee-nappy is left in a bucket with a lid for a day or two?

I hope someone can help me with this because it is the only thing putting me off dry pailing. I don't really want to wash nappies everyday but am happy to do so every 2-3 days.

Thanks in advance

Meghan


DD - 21 March 2006

[Oscar's mum]

I have never had a problem with mould and dry pailing, I wouldn't leave the bucket though more than 3 days max as it will get very very ripe, however 2 days in Qld you will be absolutely fine, I have done that plenty of times and so do alot of other Qld'ers!;)

[tickle]

I am in Queensland too and haven't had any problems dry pailing in summer. I usually wash every 2 - 3 days, depending. Maybe someone with more experience can give you an answer why.

[InSaneOne]

i do mine every 2-3 days. it can get really smelly when you take the lid off after 2 days tho - so generally i do it every second day. i havn't noticed any mould on my nappies but i did find some once on a bib. i think the reason is that the wee on the nappies is a bit acidic.

if you find mould then it might be a good idea to wash them every day or put a bit of essential oils or baking soda in the bottom of the bucket.

[the_queen]

Hemp is anti-fungal so perhaps hemp nappies would be the way to go? I do wash every day, but have on occasion left it for 2 days between washes and I've never noticed mould. But I live in "sunny" Adelaide :p

[poshBecks]

I'm a Qlder aswell. No mould here. We wash every second day. (though I just noticed a little mould on the inside of the lid. Better get onto that. Nappies are ok tho.)

[Meg77]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm feeling much more confident now :)

The_Queen - I was planning to make the inserts of the nappies out of Hemp so I guess that would certainly help if it is anti-fungal.

Billie&Beth - Thats a really interesting point about urine being acidic.

If other queensland mums can dry pail then I guess I can too :) I am planning to wash nappies every couple of days.

Thanks
Meghan


DD - 21 March 2006

[LucyE]

We're in QLD and wash every 2 days with no mould problems either. Urine is actually quite neutral (acid urine would really hurt) so I'd probably guess that it's the ammonia that inhibits the mould growth.

[Meg77]

Thanks for that LucyE, I'm feeling very happy about all this now :)
Just have to get myself into gear and order some nice fabrics.

Thanks everyone for your responses!! :)

Cheers
Meghan

DD - 21 March 2006