Cloth nappies washing and care is as easy as making a tea! The rules vary depend on fabrics they are made of. You will care for wool diaper covers differently than for the absorbent parts complemening them. After a week of wool diaper using you will be astonished how little care wool diapers need in practice. Also care for absorbing parts is as easy as any household laundry.
ABSORBENT NAPPIES (flats, preflats, prefolds, pad inserts, etc.)
Before the first use
Wash new nappies before using them for the first time to get rid of any production residue. You can add them to the usual house washing of similar colours and wash them together.
If a nappy is made of natural material, such as cotton, linen, hemp, it will need few washes before use to gain an absorbency – ideally washing at 60 degrees. Washing will clean the fibers of natural oils. There are especially much oils in organic cotton.Our preflats Super Soft will require at least 4-5 washes before you put them on your baby. The rest of our nappies just need to be washed once before first use, whilst every next washing after use will improve their absorbency. To speed up the process of removing essential oils from nappies, you can soak them in hot water with a kitchen washing liquid.
Washing
Rinse the nappies in the washing machine before washing and then wash on a cycle of about 2,5 hours in washing powder for white washing with TAED agent, preferably at 60 degrees. If you want to wash at a lower temperature you need to add a sanitiser to the wash, e.g. Nappi Fresh - 1 tbsp along with the recommended dose of washing powder. It is important that the washing machine drum is 3/4 full - the friction of the contents will clean the laundry better. Such washing will ensure hygienic nappies for your baby.
Don't worry about poo stains, they're just a dye, not dirt. They will disappear after the next wash, or more new will come ;) You can expose them to the sun on a sunny day, this effectively removes such stains, otherwise use a coconut soap.
Wash the nappies every 3 days, never less frequently to avoid growing bad bacteria. Collect the nappies for two days, on the third day wash them. You can wash them earlier, tossing with other household items like towels, bedding or clothes also.
Never iron clean nappies! This will flatten the fibres and reduce the nappy absorbency.
And what about the poo? If your child is milk fed only, roll the soiled nappy up and place it in a container, don’t rinse or clean the nappy of the milk poo, just let it wait to be washed. Rinsing all nappies prior the washing will be enough. Solid poo, on the other hand, must go down the toilet, you can help yourself with a powerful shower.
(*milk poo is when the baby is exclusively on milk, either breast milk or modified milk, solid poo after the introduction of solid foods).
Storing
Store the dirty nappies preferably in a small container with a lid, away from the source of heat - don't cover them tightly, just cover them, the nappies must have access to air. Do not store them soaked, as prolonged soaking multiplies bacteria.
WOOL DIAPER COVERS
A new wool diaper cover should be washed before first use and then treated with lanolin to provide moisture insulation keeping your child dry and clean. The lanolin treatment isn’t always necessary before the first use. To be sure of that do a “water test”. Sprinkle some water over the inside part of your cover and leave for a minute. If it’s stays/flow on it’s surface you can start using your new wool diaper cover straight away. If the water is absorbed by the fabric, your cover will need a quick and simple lanolising. If you have a wool diaper cover made of our natural undyed merino wool, you can skip the lanolin treatment with no testing it. You will do the lanolising after a few weeks of using the diaper.
Daily Care Tips
Air the diaper cover after each use for a few hours or less till it smells neutrally. Whilst airing, the wool will regenerate and clean itself thanks to its antibacterial properties and lanolin content. The lanolin breaks down the urine into salts and water. The cover will be clean and ready for use safely again after just a few hours, as indicated by its neutral smell.
Wash the covers no more than once every 4-5 weeks or earlier only if needed. Wool doesn't need to be washed if it's only slightly soiled. Simply remove dirt under a strong stream of water or spot clean.
Repeat the lanolin treatment only when your woollies start to get wet easily or smell urine despite airing.
Washing
Wash your woolie gently by hand in a lukewarm water at approximately 30°C (if you dip your hand in it, you should not feel it warmer) with wool liquid soap. Wash by kneading never rubbing, or twisting. Spot clean any areas with a coconut soap to remove any stubborn stains. If needed, leave it in the soapy water for few minutes, but not longer.
Do not wring but squeeze the water out
Rinse in water at similar temperature.
Squeeze excess water into a towel. Wrap your cover in a towel and pat it dry.
Hung it to dry turning its elastics underneath. Wool has a memory so it will get back to the shape it had whilst drying. Do not stretch.
Dry far from the heat source (radiator, strong sun), never tumble dry!
Be gentle as possible to avoid wool felting.
Vinegar bath
It is good to give a vinegar bath to your wool cover before first lanolising. The vinegar will clean the wool fibres from any production residues, soften them and create better conditions for the lanolin to work. It will also keep bright wool colours strong. - Soak the wool in a solution of 1 litre of water + 1/2 glass of white vinegar 10% for 15 minutes. Then rinse.
Lanolin treatment
This is a simple treatment of wool diaper cover lasting a few hours, so that the wool:
doesn’t absorb moisture (it does a little what is completely normal as wool isn’t waterproof but water-repellent)
breaks down urine into water and salts - simply airing the cover for a few hours is enough to leave no trace of urine
builds conditions not favourable to the growth of bacteria and mites.
becomes even softer and more pliable
repels dust and dirt
becomes more manageable - pay attention to how you lay out the wool cover to dry after lanolinising, making sure the leg elastics are folded inside. This will prevent them from turning outwards during use.
Normally, the covers need to be lanolinised before first use, then once every few weeks when they smell unpleasantly of urine despite being aired out, or when they simply start to leak. It is worth to remember that our undyed merino wool covers do not require frequent lanolising. This wool is almost unprocessed (no bleaching or dyeing process), so it is still rich in lanolin. You can use it frequently, even for several weeks before the need for its first lanolising arises. The undyed wool holds the lanolin beautifully after treatment, making the covers truly perfect nappies.
Wool insulates moisture thanks to lanolin, which is a wax, a natural component of wool. Unfortunately wool loses lanolin during the production process and then using it over time, so we need to replenish lanolin once every few weeks in a lanolin treatment. Thanks to this, the wool fabric will not absorb moisture, and if it does absorb some, what is completely natural - while the wrap is aired, the lanolin will break the moisture down into salts and water creating conditions that are unfavourable for bacteria. This is why a wool diper can be safely put on for weeks without washing.
To make a lanolin solution you will need:
• 1 teaspoon of pure lanolin (100%)
• 1 teaspoon of soap flakes/grated soap/dishwashing liquid (important that it is not a balm)
• one litre of water
A litre of the lanolin solution is usually enough to treat 1 One Size or bigger cover, otherwise 2 smaller sizes. If you need more solution then increase the amount of ingredients according to the same proportions.
Dissolve the lanolin and soap in a half of cup of hot water. Stir until completely dissolved. A uniform milk-like solution should form. Add it to the bowl with lukewarm (not cold) water – around 1 litre. The temperature of the solution should be around 30°C if you will lanolise dry wool, otherwise the solution temperature should be similar to temperature of wet cover.
Dip the cover into the solution, with the inside out to prevent from stains. This is especially important if you have light uniformly coloured wool wraps. The cover should be completely submerged.
Leave for 4 hours not longer.
Rinse the wrap in water at a similar temperature, squeeze out any excess, never twist, then roll up in a towel and pat it dry by squeezing - this will speed up the drying time.
Then hang the wool cover to dry away from the heat source, tucking the elastics underneath.
Important: Do not soak for longer than 4 hours to avoid felting (except for recycled wool cover which can be left overnight). Treat light and dark colours separately. If moisture still passes through, repeat the lanolising process or even better, give a vinegar bath before second lanolising.
To ensure that your wool diaper cover lasts for a long time and serves you well, it's important to take good care of it. Different wool fabrics have varying degrees of processing, making some more prone to felting than others. Wool that is less processed is more sensitive. Once felted, the wrap may turn unsuitable for further use, shrunk and stiff.
To prevent shrinking and felting the wool, remember to:
avoid sudden temperature changes when washing, rinsing and lanolising. Keep the water temperature consistent at each stage
rubbing during washing and twisting
using soap or other detergents not suitable for wool
drying on/near a radiator, in a strong sunlight or a tumble dryer
washing in a washing machine
prolonged and frequent contact with water
wash only if needed, spot clean if possible, otherwise once every 4-5 weeks
Wool storing
If you are not going to use your wool diapers for a longer while, don't put them away in the furthest corner of your wardrobe. Give them a handy place to look in from time to time, a drawer or shelf with an easy access.
This will protect the wool from wool moths, which can enter the house unawares and destroy it. The wool moths can come into the house through an open window, on the shoes of household members, or even with new woollen shopping. So they may come unnoticeable. Moths like to nest in dark and quiet nooks and splits, and their larvae feed on wool destroying it.Airing the wool regularly will help. Moths hate the smell of lavender and mint, the scent of herbs discourages them effectively and keeps them away. Pop some dried lavender into the drawer, tuck between a little cloth sprinkled with lavender essential oil or even a scrap of a Marseille soap. It will help to keep your wool diaper covers for your next baby.
Following these recommendations you can be sure your child is wrapped with perfectly clean and hygienic nappies.