Nappy washing help

If there are a few poopy nappies I use 2 capfuls of my Ecover - I find it works better then as it's a fairly mild detergent anyway sometimes it just needs a little more in the wash. Also I won't put more than 12 nappies in the wash as otherwise they don't get clean properly anyway as they don't have so much room to agitate

I was thinking it might make sense to use a bit more. I got into the habit of using less because my work clothes didn't really need much and I didn't want detergent build up in the machine, but that doesn't really apply to the nappies. The last couple of loads I've done, I rinsed the nappies in used bathwater first and they came out loads better so I might get into the habit of that or do a quick prewash or rinse on the machine.

What about dying them a darker colour that doesn't show up the yellow stains - like purple?

Good idea! Although I went to work with blue hands for 2 weeks last time I used the hand dye (who needs gloves )!!

The machine dyes work quite well too so you can avoid purple/blue hands

Just noticed your last thread said you might try a prewash - I would say pre-wash is an essential part of our nappy-wash cycle and agree with pp that it's a good idea not to fill the machine too much or they just don't wash as thoroughly...
Also the hot water can 'fix' stains and smells if you don't rinse first so when he's older you might get ammonia-y nappies without the prewash...

Do be careful about using too much detergent altho' more works better to clean them you also don't want detergent build-up in your nappies as they will be less absorbent and can also cause rashes - I'm sure you'll be fine but just keep an eye out for it... I use the extra-rinse button (same as super-wash etc) on our machine for the nappy wash too to make sure the detergent comes out...

Hope you get to the 'bottom' of this

Just noticed your last thread said you might try a prewash - I would say pre-wash is an essential part of our nappy-wash cycle and agree with pp that it's a good idea not to fill the machine too much or they just don't wash as thoroughly...
Also the hot water can 'fix' stains and smells if you don't rinse first so when he's older you might get ammonia-y nappies without the prewash...

Do be careful about using too much detergent altho' more works better to clean them you also don't want detergent build-up in your nappies as they will be less absorbent and can also cause rashes - I'm sure you'll be fine but just keep an eye out for it... I use the extra-rinse button (same as super-wash etc) on our machine for the nappy wash too to make sure the detergent comes out...

Hope you get to the 'bottom' of this

Thanks, I've done last few washes on 60prewash instead of the 60intensive stains one that I was using. I've stuck to a half dose of ecover and not used stain remover/bleach powder and everything is coming out clean, Except some of the washable wipes I'm using and I think thats partly down to size. Dh got into habit of using cotton wool balls /pads so I made small wipes the size of the cotton wool pads, but when they escape the laundry bag in the wash, they get stuck between the door frame and the door seal and don't clean. Going to make some larger washable wipes size of wet wipes and see if we can crack it xxx
Thanks for all your help. Maybe I should have read the washing machine manual...