They wash really well, I soak mine in nappysan over night which, although not completely environmentally friendly, is better than disposables and I prefer to soak for hygine reasons plus I hate stained nappies, then I rinse them in the machine and then wash in lux flakes. Initially I was finding I couldn't get the poo sains out but then started rinsing them before the wash and haven't had a problem since..
they will come out hygenically clean with just half a scoop of washing powder
theres really no need for nappisan its expensive and full of irritating chemicals.
did you know that the sun/sunlight naturally sanitises and removes stains?
the dryer (heat)also kills germs...
lux is pure soap with purfume....over time you might find that the soap reside builds up on the nappy, coating the fibres and actually can make them less absorbent or hold onto smells more. same with fabric softeners. i do a prewash, then use half the recommended amount of wash powder (omo sensitive), then rinse twice.
have you read the FAQ's at oz cloth nappies org? heaps of info there.
the other thing is do you use microfleece or polar fleece liners? they keep baby staydry and keep alot of stains off the nappy. just buy some micro or polar fleece from spotlight and cut into a large liner shape, no need to sew.
hth's..