Three ways to strip a nappy

Hi there, is there any reason you can't use the dishwasher tablet with non-PUL nappies? (I'm not 100% sure what PUL is but presumably it's the more artificial Polyester material rather than cotton or bamboo?) Would the dishwasher tablet work on cotton and bamboo nappies too? I can see why you wouldn't use vinegar on PUL.

Also a general nappy strip question (may need to post this as a Q in itself) - can stripping the nappy make it less starchy and also a whiter? I have second hand tots-bots bamboozles and cotton sandys, the bamboozles in particular getting very stiff and not at all soft, and they're all going grey

I tried running them on a hot, empty wash several times and saw a few bubbles coming out but it doesn't seem to have fluffed or whitened them at all. I put some vinegar in the FC drawer too. We dont' have a tumble drier which I've heard can help with fluffing up nappies...

Ta for the tips!

I'm sorry, I'm really confused. I'm new.

1. What's stripping a nappy?
2. I thought you're not supposed to soak cloth nappies because it makes them less absorbent and damages PUL waterproofing (tell me if I'm talking out of my armpit, but I read that somewhere)?
3. I use vinegar in my nappy washes instead of fabric softener, so am I damaging my PUL nappies/wraps by doing that?

My brain hurts

Hi Katherina, I'm new too! So don't take anything in my post as wisdom!

from what I've gleaned in the other posts here and on mumsnet... Stripping a nappy is done to remove the build up of detergent that gathers over time. The detergent can make them pong more (ironically!), become less absorbant and more starchy.

The original post also seems to be about getting out stains as well as smell.

At its most basic I think you can just do a hot wash, then rinse repeatedly til no more soap bubbles appear. I did 4 rinses the other day and there were still a few bubbles but I gave up after that!

I don't know the answers to the other two questions, but there seems to be some debate about using vinegar ... in another forum someone posted this link to Bumgenius, if you scroll down it says not to use vinegar on the Flips. http://www.flipdiapers.com/customersupport.php . However lots of other people seem to swear by it. I might try using it occasionally but not as a rule.

Oh thanks, I really have been wondering what it meant haha! And I'll remember that about the vinegar... hmm... might just leave it out unless they're really bad or sumat like that.

Well when I wash them I do a prewash, then the cotton/intensive setting (which has a rinse, main wash, rinse, spin cycle) and I put it on water plus? By the time it gets to the second rinse there aren't any bubbles left anyway, so is that a good thing?

[clothmama]

Oh thanks, I really have been wondering what it meant haha! And I'll remember that about the vinegar... hmm... might just leave it out unless they're really bad or sumat like that.

Well when I wash them I do a prewash, then the cotton/intensive setting (which has a rinse, main wash, rinse, spin cycle) and I put it on water plus? By the time it gets to the second rinse there aren't any bubbles left anyway, so is that a good thing?

That sounds good, if you are getting all the bubbles out each wash your need to strip wash is greatly reduced.

I always just used a full does of bio powder to strip wash (followed by rinse rinse rinse!), I feel funny about the thought of using a dishwasher tablet

I've definitely heard the thing about vinegar being damaging as well - the recommendation was to use soda crystals(?) instead, which are apparently dirt cheap and not damaging. It's the elastic and PUL that might suffer, so if it's just terry squares, no reason not to use vinegar.

Sounds as though method one is best reserved for the most heavily-used / stained items, or for when things are about to be sold?

From what i understand vinegar only really poses a problem if you plan to soak your nappies in it. If you do it in the machine youre only using a cap full and its so diluted down with the water its not really an issue.

I've used the vinegar & bicarb method twice now. Once with Scarlett's nappies after she got a reaction to a new soap powder so i needed to strip them and once on the pre-loved nappies for the new baby. Got great results both times

Oh thanks, I really have been wondering what it meant haha! And I'll remember that about the vinegar... hmm... might just leave it out unless they're really bad or sumat like that.

Well when I wash them I do a prewash, then the cotton/intensive setting (which has a rinse, main wash, rinse, spin cycle) and I put it on water plus? By the time it gets to the second rinse there aren't any bubbles left anyway, so is that a good thing?

That sounds good, if you are getting all the bubbles out each wash your need to strip wash is greatly reduced.:

This ^^^^

I read so much about stripping and rinsing before dd was born that I obsessively rinsed from day 1. In the two years she was in cloth (birth to pt) I never had to strip. If I bought a preloved nappy which smelled remotely of detergent, I just kept sticking it back in the machine with the next load until it smelled of nothing. That could take a while!

Worked for me!

Don't forget that you are using products that are not designed for cleaning textiles - they are intended to be used for cleaning non-pourus materials.

If you do use these methods and later have a problem, the nappy companies will quite rightly say that the nappies have not been washed according to their guidelines.

The big 'stripping' thing comes from the US, where on the whole the water is a lot softer than here, and so much much less detergent needs to be used. It also can build up more in the fabrics. In addition to this, the washing machines in the US use less water and do not rinse as effectively so again, detergents build up.

In the UK, most washing machines perform far better than American ones, and as long as you use the correct powder for you water type (as well as using calgon in hard water areas), strip washes are not essential. Washing at 40 degrees with the normal amount of powder, allowing for an extra rinse, ensuring all nappies are thoroughly dry and doing a hot wash once every 6/8 weeks is more than enough to keep your nappies fresh and clean.

Of course, it's all subjective, but many nappy manufacturors do specifically warn people from strip washing nappies in products that are not designed to be used with textiles. I wanted to give people that point of view, so everything is balanced.