How do you keep your nappies soft

[Snowy Love]

I've noticed that my terry flats are getting a bit scratchy. The only way I know to get towels soft is to put them in the dryer and if I do that with the nappies every day or two it isn't very environmentally (or economicaly) friendly. I believe that fabric softner affects the absorbancy, so what do you knoweldgeable ladies do?

[Astrolady]

I wash them in lux flakes and the hang on line to dry then just give them a shake when taking them off again when they are dry. I don't use fabric softener either.

Love

[Rach75]

I wash all jacks clothes in purity liquid and fabric softener

I soak his nappies in baby care soaker I have noticed if I leave them to saok any more than a day they are very hard, hence if I put them in bucket mon they must be washed tuesday, as for fabric softener affectign absorbancy I dont seem to have a problem

[Angel]

Yeah, fabric softener coats the fibres of the nappy and can affect absorbancy. Apparently lux flakes can do the same but obviously Kathryn hasn't had an issue with that.

When you take the terry flats off the line you can just give them a bit of a scrunch & rub together which will soften them. Or you can take them off the line when they're still slightly damp and chuck them in the dryer for 10 mins to finish them off.

[chocolatecatty]

I don't use softener and always line dry, but when they get a bit scratchy I roll them up like an unopened newspaper and twist/wring them with my hands which helps a bit...
I find that when I hang them up overnight to dry they are softer - guess the sun stiffens them a bit...though it's a catch-22 as the sun gets rid of the stains...

[Angel]

Oh yeah, I read somewhere that the quicker they dry the scratchier they'll be so if you dry them overnight or in the shade they'll be softer. I wonder if hanging them out overnight to dry and then leaving them out in the sun a bit the next day would mean both soft & stain free nappies??

[chocolatecatty]

Good point Angel....would be interesting to see how long the sun takes to do its work!

[Snowy Love]

Thanks ladies - I tried the rolling up & scrunching and it worked! DH was watching me with a look of 'what are you doing' Then I get the feeling of why didn't I think of this before.

[Lil_Aussie]

I went to a linen party on the weekend, and was told by the lady who was doing it, never to use fabric softener on towels or cloth nappies,,she suggested using 1 cup of white vinegar on them in the rinse instead,,she swore it makes them ultra absorbent, and will make them soft as well. havent tried it yet, but i also only use softly which is a woolen/delicates washing liquid on my towels and nappies,,,,never a softener, and they are never hard or scratchy. HTH.

[Angel]

Be careful of using vingar regularly in the rinse with anything that has elastic or waterproofing in it (like modern cloth nappies or PUL) as it can cause those things to wear out a lot faster.

[~Debbie~]

I am also planning on using cloth nappies, and have found this forum to be full of excellent advise. i was abit dubious before, but now am fully convinced that it will be a good choice. My name hestitations before where time factor, ease of use, as well as absorbancy, but, in saying that, before yesterday when i found these forums, i didnt realise that there was such a range of cloths to choose from, and i didnt realise that alot of people still are using them. I found a great bit on nurturenappies in regards to the cost effectivness of cloths as well which absolutly stunned me. I was abit iffy about cloths once i started checking out website as the inital outlay does seem pricey, maybe between $500 - $700, but, that should technically see the baby out with nappies, and any more babies you may have, depending what you go for, and what you cant resist, where as that amount of money would only cover maybe 5 or 6 months of nappies. So, whilst i am yet to start using, and will be a SAHM which will help, at the moment, cloth nappies will be the go for me.

EDIT EDIT - ooops...sorry all, ment to write all this on other topic someone had started "cloth nappies, should i use them" have to blame the brain thing

[Fi]

Better to leave them out in the day, and overnight, and then collect them first thing in the morning when there is a little bit of dew on them. Thats the softest you'll get them.
We dont use fabric softener anymore. I went to an enjo party and was told that most machine manufacturers dont recommend it as it causes a build up in your machine!! So no more conditioner on our clothes. You get used to it

[Liz]

I was about to post the same thing Fi - then I got to your post! LOL. Yup - when I got my new machine I vowed not to use fabric softener, coz I was told the same - that it wrecks the machine. (It was at an enjo party too ) Yay enjo! LOL.

If you're desperate for the softness.. it literally only takes about 5 mins in a dryer. That can't be too harmful for the environment

[faeriegirl]

if they are just terry flats vinegar is great as was said earlier i also use a little bit (like a cap-5ml or so ) of eucaliptus oil it makes things soft and smells nice )
plus i do the rolling and scrunching
though i must say they still arent as soft as when they come from the dryer ( im not sure if T actually ever noticed the difference ?!?)

[Liz]

Yeah - Tallon doesn't squirm any extra due to a crunchy nappy hehe. Plus I use a fleece liner, so there's always something soft against his skin anyway.