Removing soiling, stains and smells from cloth nappies

Having cloth nappies with smells or stains is not normal, and means that it’s time to reassess your wash routine. Examples include barnyard or ammonia smells, urine smells when your child wees in them, or stains from poo or barrier creams.

Nappies are heavily soiled items. Getting them clean means maximising the Cleaning Factors of time, temperature, chemicals, and mechanical action (agitation).

To make sure your wash loads come out smell and stain-free every time, make sure you use enough detergent, wash in warm (40ºC) to hot (60ºC), and do not overload your washing machine.

Optimising detergent use for cloth nappies

One of the biggest causes of smelly or stained cloth nappies is insufficient detergent used when washing. Cloth nappy inserts are multilayered and designed to hold urine and poo, this means they require significantly more detergent than regular clothes.

The more soiled or stained an item is, the more detergent and stain removal products (chemicals) are needed to clean it.

Each wash cycle is different, the level of soiling is never identical. You might have the same cycle length and water temperature but the the soiling and staining of each load is different. This means you need to be mindful of when to adjust the detergent dose (and chemical factors).

~ Anastasia, Environmental Scientist and founding Facebook group admin

Our detergent recommendations are based on average nappy soiling levels. However, if you have multiple children in cloth nappies, older children, hard water, larger machines or a top loader, you will usually require more detergent. Water hardness affects detergent dosage for both washes, while machine size only affects your main wash dose.

Impact of water hardness on detergent choice and dosage

Your water hardness not only determines how much detergent, but also what type of detergent your laundry needs.

Powder detergents have a water-softener base, usually sodium carbonate. This water softener binds to minerals in the water, allowing the surfactant in the detergent to work effectively. For this reason powder detergent is usually preferred in hard water areas.

We recommend starting with the manufacturer’s heavy soiling amount for your main wash and adjust from there. It is important to match the amount of detergent in your main wash to the level of soiling. If you regularly have stains, smells or residual soiling after your main wash, check for suds one-third (⅓) of the way through the wash cycle. Add more detergent if there are no suds.

Choosing the right wash cycle

Apply the Cleaning Factors of time, temperature, chemicals, and mechanical action (agitation) to remove soiling.

Removing physical soiling requires a long wash cycle with sufficient agitation. Avoid cycles with names like Easy Care, Delicate and Wool. These are gentle cycles and do not have enough agitation to properly clean nappies or dirty laundry.

On most washing machines, the full-length Cottons cycle is the most efficient wash cycle. Loading the washing machine so that items rub against each other improves soiling removal. Be careful not to overload your washing machine.

Always match the amount of detergent to the level of soiling. If items have additional soiling (for example, extra poo, mud or vomit) increase the amount of detergent.

The difference between stains and soiling

We often use the words ‘stains’ and ‘soiling’ interchangeably, in reality, they are two different things.

Soiling is something you can scrape off physically with a brush or that is physically washed away during the wash cycle. The most common soiling on cloth nappies is poo. Common soiling on household laundry includes food particles, baby spit-up (vomit), dirt and mud.

Staining is an area of discolouration that remains after washing even when soiling has been removed. Residual food stains (such as tomato sauce) on clothing, or sorbitol stains on nappies, are oxidisable stains. They are caused by leftover pigment.

Some fruits and vegetables stain, such as blueberries, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, carrots, and tomatoes. Exclusively breastfed (EBF) baby poo can also stain.

Stains from leftover pigment are predominantly cosmetic and do not always mean the item is dirty.

Spot-treating soiling

Spot-treating soiling using a bar of soap (any brand!) is a very effective method of removing soiling. Although soap doesn’t remove stains, the mechanical action of spot treatment assists in the physical removal of dirt, food and poo.

A small amount of liquid laundry detergent is also useful for spot treatment and stain removal. Be aware that prolonged contact with concentrated detergent can cause localised bleaching.

Removing staining

Using enough quality detergent, choosing an appropriate cycle and increasing water temperature are the first options for removing staining. However, even with a great wash routine, some stains remain. This is when laundry stain removal products are useful.

Choosing a stain removal product

Everyone has different priorities for time, effort, and cost, so each method meets different needs. 

Effective stain removal products include: 

• Stain removal sprays or sticks
• Laundry booster
• Chlorine bleach

Adding bleach to the first wash (prewash) is my number one tip for reliably clean nappies each and every time. It is the easiest, cheapest and most sustainable way to prevent stains, smells and ammonia. This simple addition solves the vast majority of issues that CCN members come to us with.

~ Anastasia, Environmental Scientist and founding Facebook group admin

Chlorine bleach works for all water hardness and machine types. It is the most effective and efficient way to remove biological stains such as poo and food. 

Pretreating soiled items with a softened bar of soap and then adding diluted chlorine bleach to the wash cycles removes soiling and staining.

1. Evaluated based on packaging (use-to-plastic ratio)
2. Using laundry booster in soft water may cause excess suds

Wool and silk require products that have a neutral pH level and are free of proteolytic enzymes (proteases). Use an enzyme-free liquid laundry detergent, and spot treat with bar soap or stain remover gel (liquid Vanish). Avoid using powder detergent, powder laundry boosters or chlorine bleach on these items as the pH is too high.

Non-oxidisable stains 

A non-oxidisable stain cannot be removed with chlorine bleach or a laundry booster (oxygen bleach). Common non-oxidisable stains are colour run and ink from whiteboard markers. This page deals primarily with oxidisable stains. For help removing paint, marker pens, ink, silicone and other non-oxidisable stains see our non-oxidisable stain page.

Washing out barrier cream/ nappy rash cream from cloth nappies

When not washed out effectively, barrier cream (sometimes called nappy cream or rash cream) forms a thin film on top of nappy inserts and covers. This appears as greyish or white marks. This is both soiling and a non-oxidisable stain.

If your nappies have a layer of residual barrier cream, spot-treat them with bar soap or liquid detergent. To remove a stubborn buildup of barrier cream, scrub the marks with a soft-bristled brush, an old toothbrush or nail brush works well. 

Some brands caution people not to use barrier cream with cloth nappies. If you follow a Clean Cloth Nappies routine, there is no need to avoid them. When you apply the four cleaning factors to your wash routine these marks are easily removed during the wash cycle.

Barrier creams are designed to form a barrier on the skin. Apply only a thin layer each time; a little goes a long way. Excessive amounts can rub off the skin and onto the fabric. When this happens, moisture can become trapped between the skin and the material of the nappy, exacerbating rashes.

To prevent future stains: increase the amount of the detergent; increase the wash temperature to 60°C; and increase the length of your wash cycle.

Downloads

• Clean Cloth Nappies guide – cleaning factors (233.41 KB)