Care Instruction (Important) Dari prewash sm stripping.


May 11, '09 1:02 AM

for everyone

Before Use

Wash nappies in hot/warm water with washing powder once before use.

Hemp will require at least 3 hot washes before use, and will continue to increase in absorbency for the first 10 washes. Bamboo and microfibre will only need one wash before use. The absorbent Inserts may seem a little big at first, but after these initial 3 washes, they will shrink to fit the nappies perfectly.

Washing

After use:

Empty soiling into toilet (older babies).

Store used nappies in a dry bucket until wash day. We recommend washing nappies at least every second day.

Before washing:

Remove absorbent insert.

Fold back laundry tabs.

Rinse soiled nappies in the trough, or with a little squirt (optional).

Washing:

Give the nappies an initial cold rinse only cycle with no washing powder/liquid.

Follow this with a full wash using 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended amount of washing powder/liquid. Do not use soap based powders such as Lux Flakes.

Line dry or warm tumble dry.

IMPORTANT NOTES:



PLEASE DO NOT USE BLEACH OR FABRIC SOFTENERS.



PLEASE DO NOT USE BARRIER CREAMS WITH THE NAPPIES as these may cause a water resistant build up on the nappies which may prevent them from working correctly. Barrier creams are those which are oil based, such as paw paw cream, or zinc and castor oil based creams etc.

PLEASE DO NOT USE Whiteners, washing powder with enzymes, vinegar or laundry additives when washing the nappies.

Dry pailing (the method outlined above) is a method of caring for nappies that does not involve any harsh bleaches or soaking, and is therefore gentle on both your baby and the environment.

The washing powder combined with hanging on the line or tumble drying will sanitise your nappies to ensure all traces of urine and soiling have been removed. Therefore, no bleaching or soaking of the nappy is required. Make sure they are rinsed well and no detergent residue remains.

As the materials resist staining, you will find that on the majority of occasions the nappies will be completely stain-free after the hot wash. If on the odd occasion, some slight staining is evident, simply hang the nappy on the line outside and let the sun do its work. We have not had a nappy yet, where small marks have not been removed after a couple of hours in the sun!

We recommend washing nappies at least every 2 days, to ensure good hygeine in the laundry.

Troubleshooting

Leaks: When used correctly, All nappies should not leak. If you are experiencing leaking issues, please read the troubleshooting tips below to eliminate the following causes:

1. Do not use barrier creams with nappies. Some barrier creams will cause a water repallant layer on the surface of the nappy, preventing it from working correctly.

2. Do not use fabric softeners when washing the nappies, as these may also prevent them from working correctly.

3. Ensure that you only use 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended amount of washing powder/liquid. Using more than this can also cause a water repellant build up on the nappies.

4. Ensure that the nappy is done up snugly around your baby's legs, so there is no gaping. To do this, stretch the Aplix tabs out firmly when fastening, stretching the back elastic to ensure a snug fit.

5. Make sure the absorbent insert is lying flat inside the nappy. It shouldn't matter if the insert is close to the pocket opening of the nappy, as long as it is not hanging out of the opening at all.

If you think that the nappies may be repelling liquid due to troubleshooting tip 1, 2 or 3, you may need to give your nappies a 'strip wash'. Please see below for instructions on how to do this.

Smells: The most important thing to remember to keep the nappies smelling lovely and fresh is to always give them an initial cold pre-rinse before washing. This helps to remove most of the smells before the full wash. Hanging the nappies on the line in full sun is another great way to keep them fresh.

If you find that the nappies do start to smell, it may be due to a build up of washing powder which can lead toretention of smells. In order to fix this, simply give the nappies a 'strip wash' as outlined below.

Some babies do go through stages where their wee will have a stronger smell than usual, and if this occurs, you may need to occasionally add a little antibacterial rinse to the final rinse of the wash, such as Cannesten or Dettol rinse. These are avaliable from the laundry isle of most supermarkets and will help to ensure that the nappies remain lovely and fresh.

'Strip' Washing

If you have used barrier creams on the nappies, or have a build up of washing powder/liquid which is causing the nappies to repel liquid, you may need to give the nappies a 'strip' wash. This involves washing the nappies in hot water with some regular dish washing liquid, followed by several rinses until the water runs clear with no more bubbles.

Atau DETAILS about Stripping

Stripping Cloth Diapers - Strip Cloth Diapers

Over time you may notice that your cloth diapers no longer smell April fresh, even right after laundering. This usually means that they have build-up and need a good stripping. Build-up occurs when residue left by detergents, oils or other substances remain in the fibers. Diapers with either super-absorbant hemp or man-made materials like microfleece tend to gather stink more easily than diapers with all-natural fibers like cotton or bamboo. If the funky smell wasn't bad enough, build up can also decrease the absorbency of your diapers and cause leaking. But don't worry, removing build-up by stripping your cloth diapers is really easy - we'll show you how!

Stripping Cloth Diapers - Hot Water

If your diapers are dirty as well as stinky you should wash them before stripping, otherwise stains may be set in. Freshly washed diapers don't need to be dried before stripping, you can strip right after washing. Before stripping be sure to check the washing instructions for your diapers so you don't accidentally damage them.

Wash

Place your stinky diapers in the washing machine and run them through a hot wash with NO detergent. Top loading machines are slightly easier to use when stripping because you can lift the lid to check for bubbles. They may also be more effecient at stripping due to the large amount of water they use. However, front loading washers can also be used successfully, it may take more cycles plus a bit of creativity and a flashlight to see bubbles.

The water should be as hot as possible so you may want to turn your water heater up beforehand, or boil water on the stove to add to the washer. If you change your water heater temperature be sure to turn it back down afterwards!

Rinse

Rinse, rinse, rinse your cloth diapers in the hottest water your machine will allow. Peek into the washer during the rinse to see if there are soap bubbles on top of the water. Continue running rinse cycles until there are no more soap bubbles. It could take four or more rinses to get rid of all the bubbles. Don't confuse soap bubbles with agitation bubbles - agitation bubbles will disappate quickly if you stop the washer while soap bubbles will hang around a bit.



If your machine allows for hot washes with hot or warm rinses you could substitute hot/hot or hot/warm wash cycles for the numerous rinse cycles. My machine only has hot/cold, warm/warm, warm/cold and cold/cold choices so I generally run a hot/cold cycle then a warm/warm cycle in place of two separate rinse cycles.

Stripping Cloth Diapers - Alternative Methods

Although stripping cloth diapers is generally done at home in the washing machine, there are other ways to strip.

Dishwasher Stripping

Some cloth diapering mamas have had success using the dishwasher to strip their cloth diapers. They claim that the dishwasher provides hotter wather than a washing machine. Due to the potential fire hazard we do NOT recommend this method of stripping. If you are worried that your water isn't hot enough, turn your water heater up or add some boiling water to the washer. Don't put snapping cloth diapers into the pot though, because the snaps may melt.

Laundromat Stripping

If you don't think you can get hot enough water at home, try stripping at a local laundromat. Most laundromats have hotter water and larger machines with greater water capacity than home washers. You may want to run an empty hot cycle before stripping in case there's detergent build-up inside the machine.

Stripping by Hand

You may want to try stripping by hand if you only have a few stinky diapers, but we don't recommend this method for a lot of diapers. Use the hottest water you can stand, and wear rubber gloves to insulate your hands and keep them from becoming sandpaper rough.

If Stripping Doesn't Work

If you've tried everything above and your diapers still scare the skunks away, maybe build-up isn't the problem. Consider these reasons:



Not Enough Detergent

So you've cut down on the amount of detergent you're using, you've stripped and stripped, but your diapers still stink? It could be that you're not using enough detergent. Try running a hot wash with a full cup of detergent then rinse, rinse, rinse.



Second option for stripping method:

1. Step 1

Fill your washer with WARM water! Even if you're only stripping a few diapers, I usually use a large load setting for the water!

2. Step 2

Put your diapers in the washer and let the cycle start moving for a minute.

3. Step 3

Add a small amount of liquid dawn (dishwashing soap) to your wash. Make sure it is just plain dawn, no bleach or softening agents added.

4. Step 4

Let the wash go for two minutes.

5. Step 5

Add another small amount of dawn to the wash.

6. Step 6

Keep adding soap little by little until you feel there is enough soap to wash the amount of diapers you are washing. You do not want to add too much soap at one time because it will make too many bubbles and this soap is not made for use in a washer, so you don't want overflowing bubbles in your house!

7. Step 7

Once the first wash is finished, keep running the wash over and over again ntil you see no soap bubbles in the wash!

8. Step 8

Once all the bubbles are gone, the stripping is done