Right here goes..

I started off soaking my nappies before washing thembut soon gave that up as I cldnt bear the smell and the mess.... And I found my nappies stained worse sitting in the water...

I now dry pail.... Washing twice a week! SOMETIMES NEED A THIRD IF THERE'S BEEN A RUSH ON POO!!

My routine basically is at some point during the day on a wed/sun I take my nappy's to the machine - chuck em in and give them a cold rinse thru the machine with some nappy soak (usually boots or php - I cant stand napisan as it makes the nappies really amonia smelling when they wee!)

Once the cold cycle is finished the detergent goes in (Tesco's own non-bio) and sometimes some white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment if they're a bit crispy...

They get washed at 60'c on a white cotton cycle then either popped on the lin if its nice or depending on how urgently I need them over the raidiators or in the tumble dryer...

All my wraps and nappies go in together and the wraps get popped on the radiator regardless cos they dont take long to dry at all...

I try and do a boil wash after a nappy wash ( towels and cloths etc) to sanitise the washing machine and prevent it getting wiffy! but that doesnt always get done every time if there arent enough towels to go in!

As for numbers of nappies - when lo was fresh I had 24 prefolds and 6 shaped nappies and always seemed to run out but then he was a super pooer and cld have up to 7 in a day when fresh! Now tho (19mnths) I have about 6 terries, 6 prefolds, 6 shaped all in ones..... and that plenty for me with only 2 washes a week!

hth

x

I hope you're having a good pregnancy, here's my nappy info. I wish I'd found this forum when I was expecting, I'd have been asking for loads of advice. I've got 40 nappies ( 20 per child). at first I washed them every day, but as they've got older (11 mths) they have less nappy changes so now I wash every other day (nappies that is!) or 3 days if i'm away or I forget.

I used to wet pail (soak nappies in bucket) all the time before they were weaned due to runny poos . Now I dry pail in a thick rubble sack instead of a bucket.

I use either ecover washing liquid or asda/tesco's own brand eco non-bio washing powder, and I add a spoon of sanitiser to the wash, either "Pure"(onelife) or Bambino Mio. I buy Pure from kiddicare.com and bambino mio from boots, they seem to be the best prices, although I got a real bargain this week, my local chemist was selling pure at 50p a box reduced from £3.99! so i've stocked up. Ecover do a stain remover too that you might want to use, personally I'm not bothered about any stains.

I wash nappies in the evening as soon as the boys are in bed, in winter when the heating is on I put them on the radiator airers before I go to bed.

if using teatree to disguise smell i'd say 2-3 drops on a small piece of cloth taped to lid of nappy bucket, personally I don't bother, nappy buckets in bathroom (I have small one for dirty nappies so unless a dirty one that doesn't get opened, other one just smells a bit of wee when opened lol). I wipe them out with eco-friendly multi-surface cleaner when empty (though not every time if in a rush lol)

I have 2 in cloth nappies (toddler and baby) and wash every other day usually, so normally about 20 nappies plus reusable wipes per wash. I started DD on reusables (and put DS back in them after a couple weeks in disp to give me an easier start) at 3 weeks, and have never needed more than about 8 in a day, and that was when I was figuring out how much I needed to stuff pocket nappies for them to last 3 hours lol. Even when she was tiny I don't remember more than 10 disp in a day, and not many days needed that many. She just has pretty much always saved up for big poos rather than lots of little ones lol!

how much tea tree oil do you use? does it need to be diluted and does it just go in bottom of the nappy bin?

thanks for the tip about the  white vinegar- I get slightly crispy nappies as I don't tumble dry

BTW- you might want to take the recommendations for number of nappies you need as a guideline only- I bought 24 nappies expecting to wash every second day but my 10 week old is cleaning me out so I have to wash every day. He really hates feeling wet so cries as soonas his nappy is wet and so needs to be changed.

We don't get nappy rash though

I do the same but I also add a little bit of white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment to soften the nappies (nappies are not going to smell vinegar so don't worry about that).

Oh i just use normal non-bio washing liquid either fairy or persil. Don't use fabric softener on them as it stops them being so absorbant.

I'm using tots bots and little lambs, have 15 in total. I dry pail which means the nappies go in a bucket till wash day ( i add a little tea tree oil in bucket to help with smells. ) 15 nappies last about 2-3 days i wash once the bucket is full. If it's a nice day i wash in the morn and hang on line as well as giving a quick spin in dryer to soften them. If the weather is wet i wash in evening and dry in dryer. ( also add a little lavender oil in wash for make a nice smell. ) Wraps i wash once a week and dry on airer indoors, they get wiped down each evening to rid of smells/germs unless dirty then in bucket till wash day. Some people pre-soak nappies in bucket with nappy sanitiser but i find it a bit too smelly and messy, Dry pail is easier.

i am glad you started this post as i have been looking for advice also. really just looking for everyones routines on using re-useables ie washing, drying which detergent and how they store dirty/wet nappies. and how manyeach time for a wash.

It sounds silly but what do you all do.

Totsbots in the cupboard and baby due in less then 3 months so was hoping for help.

Do i wash last thing at igth and hang in the morning.

Just realised i do not have a clue.

Oh and whats the best detergents etc for cleaning them, which products can i use and not use.#

Thank You

Avril x