Washing a nappy or two

With so many different nappies/diapers out there knowing how to wash them can be confusing. One company will tell you one thing while another will advise against it. So to make it a little easier on you all I am going to give a breakdown of what all the different companies recommend in a handy table.

* The Bumgenius website advises a wash temperature of no more than 40°C/140°F however when you convert the 140°F into Celsius it comes to 60°C not 40°C. However it gives the correct temperature conversion in the warranty section of their customer care page.
** The Fuzzibunz website advises to use only 1/4 amount of detergent if using regular supermarket detergents not the ones specially formulated for cloth nappies. 

I have this theory over the using less than the recommended amount of washing detergent. I think as it is recommended to do approx 15 nappies per load that comes to about 1/2-3/4 of a full load for the average washing machine. Therefore as the load is not a full one the water level will be less so less detergent is needed. 1/2 a load needs 1/2 the amount of detergent. Personally I don't see how using 1/4 the amount of detergent on a full load of nappies would get them clean enough. I like the advice from Bum Genius "Use enough detergent to get your cloth diapers clean."

Most companies also recommend their own brand of detergent and/or recommend an alternative supermarket brand one. But then there is also detergents out there such as Rock 'n' Green that has been formulated especially for cloth nappies. Here in New Zealand one of the recommended supermarket brand detergents is Earthwise, preferably liquid.

Most if not all companies advise when washing nappies to avoid the following: bleach, baking soda, whiteners, vinegar, fabric softeners and enzymes. 

For me personally I have the following wash routine:

1. cold rinse, water level on high. If son has been teething or I feel nappies need it I do two cold rinses.
2. Cold wash, med water level a full scoop of Cold Power sensitive powder on the "super clean" cycle of my machine. (I did originally use earthwise powder however got irritated with using a different detergent for clothes so switched to cold power for everything.)
3. Line dry if possible otherwise on a clothes horse/airer by the fireplace inside. We don't own a dryer.
4. I do a warm wash approximately once a month for that little extra clean.

I did do a kinda strip wash once in Rock 'n' Green Classic Rock as my son was teething really bad and his nappies/diapers stank of ammonia. It got rid of the smell for approximately two months so I reviewed my wash routine. I changed my wash routine to use more detergent, an extra rinse if real bad and regular warm washes. Since making the changes I have had no issues with my nappies being super smelly. Yes they do occasionally smell when my son is teething, but I have come to realise that that is just something that happens and do an extra deep wash to make sure they are super clean.

How do you wash your nappies/diapers?
Do you use special detergent?
Please feel free to comment below with your wash routine and check out my Facebook and Instagram pages(links at top right of post).

All washing details listed in the table above come from the following wesites:
AppleCheeks
BabyBehinds
BestBottom
BubbleBubs
BumGenius
FuzziBunz

Grovia
Pop-In - Close Parent
RealNappies
Rumparooz
Thirsties
TotsBots