Nelle gave you great advice, i haven't experienced the "Panadol making the nappies go purple thing" myself, but have read many threads of people posting the same question, and getting the same response. I give my bub baby panadol but have never seen this purple stain business, but we do use a little squirt, so maybe that is the difference (dunno, just guessing).

Many people also mention that they "sun out" the stains on the washing line.

I think an explanation of dry pailing would help you out, you sound a bit muddled up about what dry pailing actually is - too much reading can make anyone get confused heh heh!

just about to put url to help you, when i realised, not allowed on this forum
argh!

ok, hope you can find ozclothnappies it's a website address that ends in "org" not "com" and there;s no "au" so i hope that helps you find it

anyways, look under the FAQ link there, they have a great rundown of dry pailing.

here is how i do it in my set up, everyone customises it to suit their home, and them

change baby
secure baby to changetable or do this when baby is in playpen
take nappy to toilet room
use Little Squirt to get off poo if it's a pooey nappy
put nappy in the dry pail next to the loo (some people keep it in the laundry)
wait until the nappy bucket fills up
when nappy bucket is full
take nappy bucket to laundry
put on gloves
place nappies in the washing machine
my personal choice is to use zippered bags for - minky nappies or anything that has applique, delicate work on it, put all the velcro nappies together in one bag cos i don't trust the laundry tabs

i also don't wash dark and white MCN that drops loads of lint e.g flats, fluffles together but that's just me cos i am lazy about the lint

get out HALF the normal amount of washing detergent you would use for washing clothes (ours is Omo Sensitive)
i put half of that in the pre-wash drawer
i put the other half in the wash drawer
i put the machine on the baby cycle (pre-wash gives the nappies a soak, then a wash, then a medic rinse gets out the detergent residue)
the front loader takes two hours but is gentle on the nappies
i put the MCN on the indoor clothes horse cos that is what i have to use, most people hang it up outside on a washing line
when the MCN is NEARLY dry, i tumble dry for 3minutes (but not PUL and fleece covers)

twice i have pulled out a nappy from the washer, looked at it and thought, yuck, a stain ( only slight, but enough to annoy me). (That's in 12 months). What i did to move that stain, was leave the one nappy in a bucket with a scoop of Omo-matic for a few hours. THen wash again with the next nappy load.


Everyone you ask, will have worked out their own method that suits them and their situation.
I have just put what i do, to show you an example of what i do.

So read the FAQ on ozclothnappies, and adapt it to your situation.

Do you use microfleece liners inside your nappies?
They are great for catching poo and saving the inners of your nappies from stains.
Much easier to chuck purple stained liners than have the Panadol wreck your MCN!!!

re the vinegar, i read that using that every so often, in your nappy wash (in the fabric softener drawer, like once every few months) is ok, but not to use it to wet pail with. I would also keep PUL covers out of that load.

It is confusing reading so much, especially when you are dog tired with caring for your wriggly little person. Good luck with solving your purple stain problem and why don't you join us in the CLoth Nappies #89 thread? you'd be very welcome!

i used to be so hung up on finding the "Absolutes - the YOU MUST DO THIS of MCN". a year in, i can see that you can read stuff, but often need to adapt it to your own situation and resources.