How to avoid nappy smells or stains

Once you are in a good routine, washing your nappies is really simple and they should be some of the cleanest items you own. Ensuring that you are using a good quality detergent and following Clean Cloth Nappy (CCN) guidelines is key to avoiding smells, stains or issues with your nappies, inserts and wipes.

Our pro-tips to avoiding smells and stains are;

• Follow CCN wash routines
• Pre-wash daily
• Store your dirty and pre-washed nappies in an open, airy dry pail with plenty of ventilation until main wash
• Use a good quality detergent and in wash booster

If you are experiencing stains or smells, our first suggestion would be to review your wash routine against our full washing instructions. Most often, your wash routine may require a small tweak to have your nappies cleaner than ever.

Ensuring your nappies are thoroughly cleaned requires a balance of;

• Temperature; Higher temperatures are more effective at cleaning but ensure not to exceed 60 degrees to minimise potential damage to your nappies

Washing nappies in cold water is not recommended as it is not able to achieve an adequate clean

• Detergent; strength/dosage/type. Please note that not all detergents are recommended for washing reusable nappies. You can find our detergent suggestions here.
• Machine cycle length; Minimum of 45 min prewash, 90 min main wash
• Agitation; washing cloth nappies requires specific machine loading, to allow the nappies and inserts to agitate each other, providing an effective clean. Your machine should be approximately 2/3 full when wet for optimal agitation.

Ideally, all of these factors should be well-balanced to achieve an optimal clean each wash.

If one of the factors above is lacking, the others need to be adjusted to accommodate, and give the best possible wash for the circumstance.

For example; If your machine does not have access to warm/hot water, you will need to increase your detergent dosage and wash cycle length to counterbalance.

However, you could also consider adding in a manual hot water hand wash or bucketing in hot water if possible.

If you have reviewed the above and are still having trouble with stains or smells, we are here to help. We want to see you achieve the best results from your wash, and maintain your nappies long term.