Firstly, prioritise. If there is simply not enough water to be able to justify using cloth nappies at certain stages, don’t use them, or use them part of the time. An alternative is using home compostable disposable nappies instead (for example, Eenee disposables).
Reduce your water use
Front loaders use much less water than top loaders. Choose a main cycle that uses the least amount of water. Add nappies in with other clothing for main wash.
Consider using our Single Wash Protocol, this is a long hot wash with detergent and chlorine bleach. No pre wash is required using this method.
Try elimination communication, it will reduce the number of nappies used.
Reuse water
Use bath or shower water to do a thorough hand wash with detergent instead of a machine pre wash.
Save the washing machine rinse water and recycle it for the first wash of the following cycle, or for hand washing.
Washing cloth nappies with strict water restrictions
Use terry towelling nappies (often known as flats). Flats are single-layer, making them easier to clean than multilayered inserts or AIO nappies. They are durable and can be sanitised as much as required.
- Thorough hand wash with detergent, with saved bath or shower water.
- Dilute bleach soak.
- Through hand rinse or machine rinse.
This routine may result in greater wear on modern cloth nappies and is better suited to flats.