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mytreasuremyreward

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So I’ve been on this sub a while and I enjoy it. But sometimes people will say stuff I feel like there speaking another language. Not sure if it’s my lack of cloth nappy knowledge or the majority of this sun being from the US so they have completely different products. Some of the things I’m struggling with:

• (this might be just me) my washing machine has settings and that’s it, you choose your setting, adjust heat and spins and then go. There’s a baby/toddler wash, a mixed fabrics wash, a hand wash etc but there’s no way to actually change the timings or anything like that. And there’s a rinse option but it’s not got heat. I see so many people talking about what kind of washes they use and I get so confused. Am I just being a young dumb gen z on this? If so can someone please help

• how are you meant to strip nappy’s? I can’t remember the acronym right now but there’s some product people suggest and I’ve never heard of it so if anyone knows what I’m on about and can suggest what product to use I would be very great full

• I mainly follow the washing instructions from the nappy’s and it works fine (60 ° wash and don’t tumble dry the out shell) so am I under doing it or are others overdoing it?

These questions may be super dumb, but as I said it’s very possible I just have no clue how to do washing? So if anyone can understand my babbling and can help it would be appreciated :)
 
@mytreasuremyreward I put my nappies on a 55 minute rinse, then a 3 hour anti-allergy wash at 60 degree with extra rinse. I tried to do a cotton wash but my machine seems to not think the nappies weigh enough or something, and only does an hour wash instead of a longer one! I figure anti-allergy probably uses a bit more water than a normal wash, and it seems to have worked so far!

I’ve read that you can strip nappies by rinsing them in the machine until no bubbles come out.
 
@katrina2017 Stripping refers to removing some kind of chemical buildup, like ammonia or diaper cream. Rinsing (either with multiple rinse cycles or by hand under a faucet/hose spray) is the only thing that works for detergent build up. You would not want to strip diapers if the only issue is detergent buildup, as stripping involves a detergent itself, and that would defeat the purpose.
 
@mytreasuremyreward I definitely think some of it is Americanisms, but:
  • some washing machines are expensive and fancy and have a zillion options. My mum's weighs the washing and adjusts the time. Crazy. Mine has a dial for about 10 different cycles, I have to pick one and then press play. Very simple.
Mine happens to have a rinse cycle, so I turn the dial to that and press play. When it finishes, I put powder in the drawer, turn the dial to 60oC and press play again.
  • basically put them in the washing machine without powder and wash. Do this a couple of times until you don't get soapy bubbles. That's it. As far as I can work out anyway!!!
  • yeah, I always whacked them on at 60oC and that did me fine for 2.5yrs. I used disposable liners so most the poo would be disposed of, and then we used the shower to hose any escaped poo down the plug hole. I've recently stopped using disposable liners so now have started doing a rinse cycle then a 60oC wash.
I definitely think America seems to make it far more complicated than it is!!!
 
@mytreasuremyreward The Nappy Lady has great washing instructions for UK users! I really recommend.

I put mine on rinse, which is 20 mins cold. Then I do a cotton wash at 60C, with extra rinse, which takes 3 hours.
 
@mytreasuremyreward Your first question is spot on! I looked at the manual of my washer and read the water consumption for each setting. I typically use the standard cotton setting at 60C for all the diaper inserts and cloth wipes. And then 40C for the covers and pockets. It was a lot of trial and error!

And to add on to your comments. I feel the same way about detergents too! I wish we had tide in Europe since it seems so easy 🤣
 
@karrose We spent ages looking through manuals for machines when we were looking for a new machine last year. It's even more confusing now as everything had gone eco and washes take longer. We actually discounted a few brands because they refused to list any timing and we're very unhelpful if we asked.

We found with our bosch using standard setting plus 'speed perfect' that shortens the wash put cycles to around the right times.

Re: detergent we seem to be one of the few nations that refuses to accept the concentrated detergents everyone else uses 🙃
 
@gurgeljr I wish we had looked at manuals before buying. That's smart! Our washer is very eco friendly but the low water levels make washing the diapers hard
 
@mytreasuremyreward Are you having any issues with the diapers? You only need to strip nappies if you suspect they have mineral buildup (will smell funky and look dingy) or you bought used nappies and aren't sure how they were taken care of. Wash routine is slightly different for everyone, if your routine is working for you, don't bother changing it.
 
@katrina2017 I’m not entirely sure about the stripping, I thought they had a slight urine smell when they came out the wash the other day but as I wash sorting through them I sniffed all of it and it smelt fine so I’m feeling a little confused. I did buy some second hand ones recently but I gave them an extra few washes and they smell/look fine
 
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