Fighting mould on modern cloth nappies

This week I decided it was time to really fight some mould growing on my cloth wipes. Part of this was driven by testing several recommended methods to see if they did anything.

Firstly I started with my two mouldy wipes. Both looked about the same.

The first wipe went into a solution of vinegar. It was pretty strong. About half vinegar and half water. It sat and I watched. For over 24 hours I watched as absolutely nothing happened. Now, I don't know if the vinegar killed my mouldy friends but left their stained existence behind (I am not a biologist and do not have the equipment to check the 'vital signs' of mould). What I do know is, my wipes still looked awful with bit black dots everywhere (it does look worse than the first picture due to being wet and really showing the extent of the mould).

So I decided to try a natural eco soaker and Napisan. I soaked each wipe for 24 hours. Once again - nothing happened. There didn't even appear to be any fading of the staining.

Eco Soaker

Napisan

I decided I would wash them in between this and the next test to ensure that nothing had worked. Sure enough they emerged still stained.

Before bleaching, after previous attempts and a wash cycle

Next I decided it was time for the big guns. I pulled out the bleach. I put probably 1/8 cup of bleach and 1 litre of water. I soaked... and I watched. Within a couple of minutes I could see changes.

And then 15 minutes later...

And another 20 minutes... Pretty much gone.

The second wipe I spot treated. So I poured the bleach directly onto the bamboo terry. It went brown, then clean.

You can see the mould immediately went brown as the bleach hit it.

I got a much thorough and even affect from soaking. I think it would also do less damage to the fabrics as its more dilute (however more widespread). Here are both wipes below. The cleaner one on the right is the one I soaked, the left was spot treated (only in one section).

Both wipes after treatment (left spot treated just in the top right cnr, right was soaked)

In neither bleach treatment was my minky affected. So the colour lasted through the bleaching process. It didn't take long to treat, I ensured I ended the soaking as soon as I was happy with the affect, and I washed thoroughly and rinsed too.

Minky unaffected by bleaching

I am led to believe that Milton will work as bleach does, because it is a mild bleach. You may want to try milton before your household bleach if you have some. It is still applying a bleach to your nappies, just a very mild form.

I am VERY hesitant to recommend using bleach - we all know it is a strong chemical. It will also void warranty on your nappies due to the effect it can have on the fabrics and components.

BUT, if I had mould stains all over my nappies I would deem them useless until I could get those marks off. So to me, even if it shortened the life of my nappies (and its difficult to determine by how long or how much), it is worth rescuing them from sure death and getting whatever use I can.

So... Remember:

1. Try to avoid mould. Mould loves moisture, lack of sunlight and warmth (humidity).
2. The quicker you get onto the mould the better. In my case the mould was quite set in and had covered a lot of the fabric requiring longer soaking and less affect from the milder treatments. 
3. Try using the sun to bleach them if the stain is mild. I do think tougher staining will require a very strong attack to get them working again. You may get some results on very mild surface staining.
4. If you resort to bleach:

• You are voiding your warranty (this is the last resort and only as a way to continue further use of your otherwise destroyed nappies).
• Only bleach for as long as you need to lift the stain (from a few minutes this could be working)
• Use diluted bleach - water it down A LOT so it has the least affect on your fabric while still attacking your mould stains. 
• Ensure you wash well and rinse after treatment - get all that bleach out!
• I recommend if you had mould on covers (with waterproofing and elastics) to spot treat very carefully as soaking the PUL & elastics should be avoided if possible. 

Comparing our modern cloth nappy styles

We have two nappy styles at Baby Bare. Our all in one & our all in two. Below we have written a guide to help you select the nappy that is best for you.

	All in One	All in Two
Requires Assembly	No	Yes
Absorbency	Microfibre & Bamboo	Bamboo Only
Number of pieces	1	3 (Cover, Snap in & booster)
Pocket for extra Boosters	No (secure boosters under the flap)	Yes
Drying	Fold out flap	Disassemble all pieces and dry separately
Fit	OSFM	OSFM
Sizing	approx 3.5kg - 16kg	approx 3.5kg - 16kg
Stay dry lining (microsuede)	Yes	Yes

If you'd like to try one of each, we recommend out trial pack which comes with both styles for you to try.

At present, the all in one is only available with a minky outer. The Silky Bare Nappy is identical to the All in two Bare Cub, just with a PUL outer.

 All in Two Best suits:

• Parents who like to change the inserts and reuse covers/shells.
• Parents who do not mind assembling nappies
• Parents who like pockets, these nappies can double as a pocket nappy, or have extra boosting in the pocket.
• Parents who prefer all bamboo absorbency.

All in one best suits

• Parents who change the entire nappy with each change (as opposed to reusing shells and clean boosters)
• Daycare, grandparents and others looking for a super easy to use nappy.
• Busy parents who don't have time to assemble their nappies (simply wash, dry and use).
• Parents who like a mixture of bamboo and microfibre in their nappies. 

Introducing our all in one cloth nappy

Do you love cloth nappies but are not a fan of assembling all the pieces?

Are you after a fast drying all in one nappy? 

Do you love the original Baby Bare Cub nappy and are looking for something just as great?

Well we are so happy to introduce our new All in One Nappy. Another exclusive Baby Bare design, it is a transformation of our original nappy design - but even easier and more absorbent.

This new nappy:

• Is all one piece. There is a pad of thirsty microfibre sewn in, and the previous snap in booster is sewn into the nappy for ease of use. 
• Is fast drying. The microfibre in the shell is a fast drying fabric. The sewn in insert can be flipped away from the shell for easy drying.
• Is super absorbent. An extra large pad of microfibre teamed with three layers of bamboo makes for a brilliant day time nappy. 
• Is OSFM design for babies from soon after birth till toilet training.
• Has 10 waist snap adjustments for even greater fit and larger sizing.
• Is wonderfully trim and built on the same trim cut of our other nappies. 
• Has a small section of fabric to hold your 'flap' in place and any other boosters you need to secure into the nappy. 
• Requires no assembly.
• Is soft, gorgeous and comes in all the new colours and patterns available in our New Bare Cub Design. 

Who will this nappy suit:

• Parents who change the entire nappy with each change (as opposed to reusing shells and clean boosters)
• Daycare, grandparents and others looking for a super easy to use nappy.
• Busy parents who don't have time to assemble their nappies (simply wash, dry and use).
• A new baby from about 3.5kg - child of approximately 16kg.

Modern Cloth Nappy Terms - What Do they mean?

Do you feel like learning about modern cloth nappies, is like learning a new language?

So many terms, brand names, fabrics, styles, washing lingo, fabrics - the list keeps going.

Imagine the scene - someone is telling you all about their AIO, OSFM, snap down, that wicks, but uses the best bamboo fabric with suede cloth lining. They only wash it with eco detergent. They use an MCN safe nappy cream to stop the fabric from repelling water. At night they use a prefold booster.

So here is a list of terms to get you started in the cloth nappy language.

AIO (all in one) - A nappy that is just one piece. That is, all the absorbency is built into the nappy and it should have a waterproof outer (does not require a cover)

AI2 (all in two) - A nappy that has a shell with no built in absorbency and boosters/inserts that are put into the nappy as separate pieces.

Pocket Nappy - A cloth nappy with access to a section (usually the lining) so you can put the absorbency into the pocket area and it holds it in place.

Fitted - A cloth nappy that is usually made of fully absorbent materials and requires a cover.

OSFM - One Size Fits Most, a nappy that should go from birth (or soon after) to toilet training.

MCN - Modern Cloth Nappy (the kind that is generally shaped like a disposable when put on the baby as opposed to the old fashioned squares that you fold up).

Prefold - A square/rectangle of fabric with a thicker section down the middle. These are quite like the older style nappies as you fold them up and secure them with a pin or Snappi, or a cover that can hold it in place.

Booster - An extra piece of fabric that helps the nappy to hold more liquid. Usually used in addition to the main insert.

Trifold - A square or rectangle that is usually folded into three, and placed in the nappy. Designed to unfold so it can dry easily.

Snaps - They are like plastic press studs.

Minky - A fluffy fabric much like you find on stuffed animals (with the shorter pile).

PUL - Sometimes known as TPU, a polyester, waterproof and breathable fabric used to waterproof nappies.

Cloth Nappy Experiments - A good warning

So you've bought a stash of beautiful cloth nappies and you are planning for the next six babies that will us them. You've bought wonderful eco detergents, you don't soak them, you've rid the house of Sudocream and banned anyone else from washing them. You are on a mission to protect them. But you've forgotten one thing…

In my experience, the biggest enemy of the cloth nappy is 'Wee'.  'Wee' is attracted to your nappies like nothing else. He instantly invades as soon as a clean nappy is applied. He wakes your child in the night, causes horrible rashes on their soft bottoms and worst of all, he is eating your cloth nappies. 

This horrible enemy is very hard to deter, for he is the main reason you are using nappies in the first place. Though I have heard of mothers using disposables under their gorgeous cloth nappies to protect them from this ghastly creature, I have another solution.

Rinse & Wash Regularly. Do not leave your nappies soaking with 'Wee'. He likes nothing more than this opportunity for a great feast. He will mainly take great joy in eating into your elastics–- the most delicate part of your cloth nappies. 

We recently had a bad experience with 'Wee'. After a trip to the grandparents, one of our beautiful nappies was left behind. Secured in a plastic bag to hold back the terrible odour of this foul perpetrator, the nappy was forgotten. Two weeks later the nappy was returned home. The smell was ghastly, and I did everything I could to save our poor little nappy. 

I have taken some pictures of the nappy. Little Blue was seriously injured in this incident and I warn you, these pictures may be disturbing to some. 

Below is Little Blue, with his sister Pinky. She has been well cared for and is the same age, having joined us at the same time. Both nappies are just about 18 months old; they joined our family in August 2012 (these are our Classic Bare Cubs).

You can see in this picture that the elastic along the back is still ok. This is because this part of the nappy was not fully soaked with 'Wee' and this has helped preserve the elastics in this area. Many will notice that the elastics on the legs goes long before the back. This is because of the damage wee can do over time to nappies.

Nappy on the top has dead elastics. Compare with nappy of the same age underneath.

Below the inside of the nappy. You can see the elastic is totally gone on the lower side. This is a perfect example of 'dead elastics'. Whether this occurs from age, bleaches, overexposure to sunlight or 'Wee', the outcome always looks the same. 

The bottom side of this nappy has no stretch left in the elastic. 

Little Blue shows some scars from his ordeal. The wee has actually scolded and discoloured the PUL and the elastics.

The elastic has been discoloured by the urine damage. 

Now, this may be worrying to some of you. I know you worry about 'Wee'. After all, it is unavoidable that he will make his way into your nappies. What this article is meant to explain is the importance of regular washing of your nappies. Wash regularly, not more than about 48 hours between washes. If you suspect your child has particularly strong wee (or you want to be extra careful) you should rinse the nappies with some water before putting them in a dry pail (it is not recommended to put them in a wet pail). The 'Wee' here was very strong and this is quite an exaggerated outcome. But it demonstrates the potential damage wee can do as it is an acidic fluid. 

So wash regularly and take care of your little cubs!

Our website has plenty more information on washing your cloth nappies.