Calling all Cloth Nappy-Nerds!

[Melski]

Hi Guys,

i need your help. I have been happily using hemp nappies on my (6 month old) son since birth.

I mostly dry pail, except if there are stubborn bits of poop particularly around the elasticated legs.
I use warm / hot water and about 1/3 the recommended amount of Omo sensitive washing powder.

unfortunately, as I live in an apartment with only a shaded balcony to hang washing on, these nappies have not seen much sun. I dry indoors and finish off with a couple of minutes in the dryer.

My problem is that I have noticed that the hemp has become a little bit smelly. It doesn't smell poopy exactly, more like the smell that wet washing gets when it has been left sitting in the machine too long (even though it hasn't).

Also, some of my hemp inserts are becoming a little stained.

Are there any tricks I can use to resurrect them? I LOVE them and would like them to last for bub # 2 if poss!

Cheers, Mel

[Maghan]

Melski, I wanted to be a nappy nerd, but alas turned out to be too lazy. I think Sopoli uses those nappies you're talking about. She loves to have a chat, where is she????

Sopoli, come and play, where are you?

[LucyE]

This can happen to hemp nappies when they don't get any time in the sun. Are they smelly when clean and dry, or only after it has been 'wetted'? You can try using some vinegar in the final rinse (just put it where the fabric softener goes) because it helps to neutralize the urine. I live in an area with hard water so I don't find this works for us (vinegar reacts with the minerals in the water to produce a really acrid smell).

Every couple of months when our nappies start to smell, I put them through a hot wash (we use OMOmatic) and add a prewash cycle with vinegar. This does the trick for us but then I also line dry.

Could it be from a build up of detergent residue? One way of checking this is to run it through a wash/rinse (depending on what your machine can do) without any detergent and see if there is any foam forming. If so, you just need to run it through a rinse/wash cycle without detergent but maybe some vinegar.

Also, are your nappies completely dry before you put them away? Some of the fitteds available are quiet absorbant with many layers of fabric in the wet zone. This means that they may not be completely dry even though the outer fabric feels dry.

Some people recommend using bicarb of soda instead of detergent occasionally but I wouldn't do that myself because it will destroy the fabric and elastic in the nappy over time.

Hope this helps and you get rid of the smell soon :)

[Melski]

Cheers LucyE

Will definitely try the vinegar thing and maybe need to ensure nappies are REALLY dry prior to putting them away.

Mel

[veve]

Be careful- for some reason I have a feeling that I have heard somewhere that using vinegar on covers that have PUL - that it can reduce the waterproof elements ... I'll double check this... and get back....

Do your nappies/ covers have PUL???

xxxxx