Too much research has left me VERY confused...

HELP!!

I have used cloth nappies at least part-time with my son ever since he was born. Now I'm trying to use cloth more and disposables less and I've been doing some more research which has left me utterly confused!

I tried dry-pailing my terry flats and they ended up with purply/maroon looking stains on them??? How did that happen?

Now I soak my nappies (I use fluffies fitteds, Kushies Ultimates, a couple of cheeky butts, and I've just bought (but haven't received) 10 Indisposable fitteds. I soak my nappies in a solution of water, bi-carb soda, vinegar and tea tree oil. I also use PUL covers with him. I have been reading that PULS shouldn't be soaked at all and definitely not in vinegar. I'm also reading that the vinegar isn't good for some nappies?

I don't mind wet pailing - but if it is going to hurt my nappies then maybe I'll just soak in water only?

I also use vinegar in my rinse cycle instead of fabric softener - but should I stop that too as it could be bad for the nappies?

I am happy to try dry-pailing again but I'm just not sure what I did wrong and I don't want to end up with horrible stains again!

So any and all advise would be greatly appreciated!!

hmmm im not sure what happend to your flats either ...

but dry paililg is the way to go , have the stains come out of the flats ???

pop in and see the clothnappy thread ... we will welcome you there and there are some very cluey nappy nerds in there

cue : gigi :

she is one huge nappy nerd and can give you all the answers .... such a wealth of info ...


Cloth Nappies #89 - BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby

see you there !

Hey I taught Gigi all she knows about nappies! (PMSL, hi Gigi! :p) I work the shift before her, I bet she'll be in around midnight?

Heidi, had you used panadol around the time of the stains? That's notorious for leaving a purpley-grey stain on nappies, so that would definitely be my first guess.
After that I'd guess mould, but it's unlikely...unless the nappies had been in there a good few days, or the nappy bucket got humid in the sun.

Sure you can soak if you like, though I've never gotten stains and I drypail (it might be worth giving drypailing another shot, if you realise panadol was the problem). I also wash my nappies in mostly just cold water (using soap nuts, a mild natural detergent, and a few drops of eucalyptus oil for a nice smell) and that works great too - we don't give our washing machines enough credit these days I reckon, they're much better than they used to be!

Vinegar is reputed to weaken elastic and PUL over time. So while it's great for a strip wash (a wash to strip chemical/oily build-up from nappies), it's not recommended to use it all the time.
I think bi-carb is the same.
Tea-tree oil, no probs, it's an antiseptic, so great, I doubt you're using that in a large enough quantity to cause any build-up!

Like I said, I dry pail, but if I was going to soak, it'd be in water. That should be all you need.

I think that's all I was going to say...:p Try dry-pailing again at a time when your bub hasn't had panadol and see if that was the culprit! If it wasn't panadol, pop in again and we'll go back to the drawing board, haha!

ETA: I KNEW I'd forgotten something! If you've still got stains, get those nappies out in the sun - UV light bleaches stains right away and kills germs! Hurrah for the sun!

Thanks for the advise - currently giving DS Panadol/Nurophen/Dimetapp combination for teething and/or a cold he is dealing with so will hold off on the dry pailing and just do a soak of water and tea tree oil.
I haven't been using bellybelly forums for ages lately but I think I will need to come back in occassionally - especially if I'm going to use cloth nappies more often.

Definitely do pop in more Heidi, the cloth nappy area holds a wealth of tips and tricks to make cloth nappying easier and more fun! :D

Hi Heidi, sounds like Nelle has solved the purple stain mystery!

As for soaking etc I have some nappy brands that recommend the vinegar (not on PUL covers though) and others that warn against it so I just wet pail in cold water. I think the choice between wet and dry pailing is completely individual. Apparently wet pailing can have an effect on nappy life but we haven't noticed any difference?

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.