Problems with your reusable nappies?

When I first started using reusable nappies I just couldn’t get the hang of it, they just weren’t getting clean!  I searched and searched online and nothing made any sense. After asking multiple people I finally got to grips with my washing routine and now I love them!My problem was that I had been using the wrong amount of detergent. The manufacturers tell you not to use too much or too little but then too much for one household could be too little for another as it all depends on hard/soft water etc Best advice? use an Eco egg!! (Read why I love my Eco egg here)

The most common problems parents face are the following:

The nappies start to smell. Solution? – Do a ‘Strip wash’ – There are many methods to be found online but the best way is to run the nappies on a 60 degree cycle with no detergent at all – twice! Then hang them out in the sunshine and you should have nappies that smell … of nothing! 🙂

The nappies are leaking!! – Ok so there are several reasons why this might happen.

• If the leak is coming out of the leg then you probably haven’t done them up tight enough. You should be able to get 2 fingers under the waistband but no more. Sometimes though it could be that your baby has a big tummy and skinny legs or vice versa. This means you will have it too tight on one part and too loose at the other part. Really the best way to overcome this is to try different styles. Do you have a local nappy library? They will let you borrow some to try for a small charge (£1 a month for example). Baby L had this problem (big tummy, skinny legs) and I use a Motherease Airflow wrap over my bamboozles as they have separate poppers for legs and waist.
• Sometimes a nappy will ‘wick’ onto the baby’s clothes. It could be that some of the lining has escaped from the nappy and is allowing the wee to leak/absorb out. Make sure all of the inner part of the nappy is contained.
• It is wet at the seams? Hmm, depending on brand it could just be a fault. We had this with TotsBots V3s and in the end I just sold them on. Apparently they can be ‘resealed’ at the seams using a tumble drier but we don’t own one so they were of no use to us.
• Sometimes leaks can be an indication of a build up of detergent. See the stripping method at the top of this page for how to correct this. Again, I cannot stress enough how amazing EcoEggs are!

The nappies don’t last long between changes- You may need boosters. As a baby gets older they hold their wee for longer and then more comes out at one time. You can get bamboo boosters which will hold a lot and are idea for daytime use. Hemp boosters are great for nighttime as they hold even more. Both can be bought cheaply on eBay new or used or it is always worth trying local selling pages.I hope you find the solution to any of the problems you may be facing. If not then feel free to message me and I will do my best to help you. 🙂