I hope this is the right area of the forum for this post
I have recently stripped my entire nappy stash and I trial-ed three different methods. I thought it would be both interesting and useful to document my chosen methods, experiences and findings on this little experiment
I will come back to this post and update whenever I have new information to share/add so as you read this today it may well be far from complete but I hope you find it useful and that it makes stripping just that little bit easier for anyone searching for answers
** Please note that there are probably a thousand different ways to strip a nappy and that these are just 3 of the methods (and indeed the variations on these methods) that I have chosen to try.
Method 1: (Fairy) Dishwashing Liquid- for all cloth nappy related items:
* Make up a hot bath of water and dishwashing liquid
* Soak all nappies, wipes, liners, boosters, stuffers, etc over-night
* Scrub the surface of all nappies with a scrubbing brush and neat dishwashing liquid
* Soak scrubbed nappies again over-night
** Optional: boil wipes and liners in a big pot of water and dishwashing liquid on the stove-top
* wash/rinse all items in the washing machine over and over again until no more bubbles are produced
* Hang everything on the line to get as much UV light as possible (even in Winter) for me this meant leaving out there for 2 - 3 days
Ratings: (Stars out of 5)
Ease of Stripping: *
Convenience: *
Cost: *
Time Effectiveness: *
Stain Removal: *****
Smell Removal: *****
Reduction of Nappy Rash: *****
OVER ALL RATING: ***
This method really does work!! But oh my is it hard labour!!
I have given this method 1 star for Ease of Stripping because you will literally work up a sweat doing this. I scrubbed my nappies in the basin so I wasn't knealing over the bath and my back still ached from the strain of hard work. I wore gloves and my hands still looked like they had been through the mill when I was done.
Only 1 star for Convenience as it is time consuming, ties up your bath for a couple of days, ties up your washing machine for even longer (I had several loads and each load needed about 3 days worth of rinsing till the bubbles stopped coming) and if you are going to boil your wipe you will need to be hanging about the kitchen to watch things don't boil over, boil dry or catch fire.
I gave this method 1 stars for Cost as, although the only cleaning product you need is dishwashing liquid, it costs a fair bit to run your washing machine for the length of time needed to rinse out all the soap.
This method takes a very long time so 1 star is the best I could do for Time Effectiveness and still call myself honest. For me it took 2 days in the bathroom, a week of rinsing in the machine (several loads obviously) and then a couple of days exposure to daylight. In total, it has taken me 11 days to do the majority of my stash (approximately 2 machine loads of nappies and their paraphernalia)
Stain Removal gets 5/5 stars as the result was simply unbelievable to behold. I have never seem my nappies look so bright, bold or white. Anyone would think I had soaked them in bleach for a week - and that was before I hung them outside to expose them to UV light.
I thought my nappies were clean before I started but the amount of grit and dirt that was lurking at the bottom of the bath after soaking them and the colour of the water tells me that this method really did remove any/all deeply hidden dirt and residue that had the cheek to be lurking in my nappies.
Smell Removal gets 5 stars as my nappies are now completely odourless - can't smell a thing
5 Stars for Reduction of Nappy Rash as 3 nights in cloth and no nappy rash to be seen.
Over all rating is 3 stars because this method really does seem to work amazingly well, but I am really really reluctant to go this experience again any time soon.
Method 2: Dishwasher Tablet - for all items containing PUL:
* Put all PUL items (All-in-ones, pocket nappies, PUL wraps) in the washing machine
* Add 1 dishwasher tablet to the drum of the machine
* Set machine to wash items at 60 C on a good wash cycle
* Set machine to do an extra rinse
* Hang items on line to expose to UV (even in Winter)
Ratings: (Stars out of 5)
Ease of Stripping: *****
Convenience: *****
Cost: ****
Time Effectiveness: *****
Stain Removal: ***
Smell Removal: *****
Reduction of Nappy Rash: *****
OVER ALL RATING: ****
5 Stars for Ease as this really was so simply to do!
5 Stars for Convenience as it was no more trouble than it would be to do a normal nappy wash.
4 Stars for cost as it all it cost was the the dishwasher tablet and the electricity and water to run the machine for one wash and one extra rince cycle.
5 Stars for Time Effectiveness as I really didn't need to dedicate much time to it at all other than the odd few minutes it took to load or unload the machine and hang the nappies on the line.
I only gave this method 3 Stars for Stain Removal because the stains on one of my AIOs was still very very bad, I had another which still had some staining on it and some of the pockets had a little staining around the leg elastics still but all the PUL wraps came out quite bright and clean looking. The UV light is the most important element in removing the stains from the nappies in this method (mine are sill being exposed and the stains are fading slowly).
I gave this method 5 Stars for Smell Removal as all the items came out of the machine completely odourless.
No Nappy Rash after doing this method .
My over all rating for this method is 4/5 Stars because even if it doesn't work quite as well the dishwashing liquid method and I was told that I had to repeat this method with all my nappies once a week, I wouldn't be that bothered to be honest as it's quick, easy, simple and easy on the PUL. I have been very impressed with this method. The only thing stopping it from getting 5 Stars is that scrubbing with dishwashing liquid does a better job on stains
Method 3: Vinegar Soak - for all items not containing PUL:
* Soak all items not containing PUL in a 50/50 % solution of white vinegar and water over-night
* Rinse out the vinegar in the washing machine
* Hang items on the line to dry/expose to UV
Ratings: (Stars out of 5)
Ease of Stripping: ***
Convenience: ****
Cost: ***
Time Effectiveness: ****
Stain Removal: ***
Smell Removal: *****
Reduction of Nappy Rash: *****
OVER ALL RATING: ****
3 Stars for Ease simply because you need to buy the vinegar and make the solution so not quite as easy as throwing a tablet in a machine with your nappies Also, you need to get the nappies out of the vinegar solution and into the washing machine without chocking on vinegar fumes
4 Stars for Convenience because it doesn't put you out that much, especially if you, like me, put the solution and the nappies into a clean, empty nappy bucket, put the lid on and stand it out the way somewhere so you can forget about it.
This rating drops if you have trouble getting your hands on enough white vinegar or need to use the bath tub thus not being able to use the bath until you have finished soaking your nappies.
3 Stars for cost. It cost me £3.50 for the vinegar and then there is the cost of running the machine (so costs more than the dishwasher tablet method) but it still works out a fair bit cheaper than the dishwashing liquid method due to the machine not being required to run for quite so long.
Time Effectiveness is quite good but comes second to the speed of the dishwasher tablet method as you need to soak your items over-night so 4 Stars.
3 Stars for Stain Removal as there was some lightening of the stains, perhaps slightly better than the dishwashing tablet method, but not as good a result as the scrubbing with dishwashing liquid method.
5 Stars for Smell Removal as they don't smell at all once the vinegar has been rinsed out.
No nappy rash!! 5 Stars.
My over all rating for this method is a 4. When I removed my items from the vinegar the solution was very slippery and soapy feeling and it had a very distinct yellow colour which made me feel that the vinegar had been doing it's work and it crossed my mind that the soapy feeling was perhaps as a result of the vinegar managing to remove any detergent residue build-up in the nappies. This method may take slightly longer than the dishwasher tablet in the machine, it may cost slightly more and be slightly more inconvenient to go out and bulk buy vinegar and it certainly is a smelly job, but the satisfaction was greater because I could see that something had actually happened to my nappies when I took them out of the solution. Again, this method works and it is a lot easier than the scrubbing method, but the stain removal was not as impressive.
In conclusion, my over all impression at the moment is that the Dishwasher Tablet method is best for quick strips when you think your nappies need a little help before things get worse and could easily be done once a month or so if you felt the need. The Vinegar method is a slightly more involved method that could be done every 6 months or so if you felt that something else was needed, and soaking & scrubbing your nappies in dishwashing liquid is a very big job with impressive results and best left to the completely desperate.
Hope this was interesting/enlightening and helpful and not just incredibly long-winded - sorry about that!
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