Step 1
Take the liner out of the nappy and dispose of it in rubbish or, if not using a liner, ‘empty’ the nappy in the toilet. Put nappy with insert in a dry pail lined with a wetbag. Please do not soak the nappies; a dry pail is much better for your nappies. It is best not to close the nappy bucket. To make the bucket smell better, soak a muslin in some water with a couple of drops of lavender or tea tree oil, wring the bamboo wipe or muslin out loosely and then leave it over the top of your nappies in the bucket – as you add additional nappies, place them underneath this cover.
Step 2
Press the nappies out of the wetbag into the washing machine and wash the wetbag together with the nappies. Run a rinse cycle on COLD temperature with half a scoop laundry-powder and Blue Biotex. A rinse cycle is better than a prewash as modern machines are so water efficient; they often reuse water from a prewash whereas rinse cycle water is always fully drained away.
Step 3
Now, take the inserts out of the pocket. Wash the nappies and inserts on a long cycle (not on eco) on 40, sometimes on 60 degrees and 1000-1200 revs. Add a full scoop laundry- powder into the drum. Add more cloths or towels until the machine is 3⁄4 full, but be careful with metal zippers and sharp items. If your washing machine does not use enough water, it helps to add a wet towel to the washing load. Run an extra cold rinse cycle every so often or when needed.
When your nappies come out of the machine your nappies should smell of nothing. If you can still smell detergent, you have used too much. If they do smell unclean after washing, they have not been washed long enough, the wrong dose of detergent has been used, the washing load has been too big, or your machine needs a maintenance cycle run.
Step 4
Air dry the nappies and inserts. Never place the nappies on a radiator. Lay a wet nappy outside or in front of a window with the microfleece facing the sun to remove stains. Never let the PUL outer layer lay in the sun. Hang to dry over two clotheslines to make sure the elastics do not stretch out too much. You can also tumble dry the inserts and wipes on low to medium heat (add a dry towel to speed up drying time).
If you use your nappies during the night, you may notice they can get smellier than daytime nappies. It helps to (hand) rinse the used night nappy in warm water with a tiny bit of laundry detergent before you add the nappy to the dry pail. Make sure not to keep the nappies dirty for more than two days to prevent ammonia build-up.