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.