Nest Nappies Side bar If you find your nappies are suddenly leaking or smelly you may find strip washing increases the absorbency and stops the smell. Strip washing is done from time to time to deep clean your nappies and eliminate any build up of washing detergent and/or minerals. If you find your nappies are constantly leaking after strip washing, there may be other contributing factors to consider. You’re welcome to contact us for advice regarding the performance of your nappies.

Strip washing should be done sparingly (no more than once every 6 months) as the hot water required to strip nappies will dramatically lower the life span of the absorbent fibres, elastic and PUL. If you have a good wash routine (using a good amount of detergent, rinsing well, drying in part sun or shade) you should not need to strip wash unless you get a fungal infection, purchase second hand or are bringing your nappies out after an extended storage period.

This is our extremely easy and successful method;

  1. Ensure your nappies are washed – you want to start with CLEAN nappies. If your nappies have any build up on the surface or stay dry layer scrub them with a toothbrush or nail brush with a small amount of laundry liquid and rinse off.
  2. Put all your inserts or nappies into a tub of HOT water. We find a baby bath or big plastic tub works well. You can use the laundry tub if you have a good plug that doesn’t leak!
  3. Add a good dose of your favourite laundry soaker and a full dose of your preferred laundry detergent.  Give it all a really good swish to get some agitation going and some bubbles. As the water will be hot you may need to use a broom handle or wooden spoon for this.
  4. Soak for 4-6 hours or over night, before transferring your nappies to your washing machine. Wash as usual WITHOUT detergent.  If you are stripping all in ones, we recommend not leaving them overnight.
  5. Run a 2nd rinse cycle at the end of your wash to remove any detergent residue.  Check out water output during the drain setting to ensure there is bubbles.  If there are, run another rinse/
  6. Dry as usual. You may find your nappies take much longer to dry that usual due to the increase in absorbency.

Hints

  1. Don’t strip your entire stash at one time or you may be stuck without nappies! Some people like to put a symbol with fabric marker on the nappies they have stripped or do all one type of nappy at a time (ie fitteds then All-In-Ones).
  2. There is no need to strip wash covers or shells. Remove absorbent inserts and wash alone!
  3. All washing machines work differently and you may find the results with your personal washing machine vary slightly with our method
  4. Nappies are not designed to last forever and strip washing will not perform miracles on nappies that have reached the end of their life span.