Washing cloth nappies the Clean Cloth Nappies way

Welcome to Clean Cloth Nappies, the home of cloth nappy washing. With our help, your cloth nappies will be free of smells and stains, and the rest of your laundry will be sparkling. Some might call it magic, but we call it laundry science.

We are a source you can trust, combining science expertise and hands-on cloth nappy experience. Our team of qualified chemists and health professionals develop and test all our advice. The result is wash recommendations that are as simple and effective as possible.

Before we talk about washing nappies we need to introduce the four cleaning factors. These are time, temperature, chemistry (detergent, chlorine bleach, stain removers) and mechanical action (loading). Optimising these four factors gives you the cleanest laundry for the least amount of effort.

Creating your own wash routine

If you spend time in our Facebook group you will notice people talking about a “three-day routine” or similar. They are referring to the amount of days between main washes. Most members run their main wash cycle on day two or three.

How often you run a main wash will depend on the size and type of your washing machine, as well as how many items you have to wash. Someone with a large front loader might run a main wash every five or six days. Someone with a smaller machine and multiple kids in cloth might main wash every day.

If you want to run a main wash on day five (or later) we suggest running a 60ºC prewash or adding chlorine bleach to your prewash cycle.

Our recommendations are best practices. Take time to read over the information and adapt the advice to your washing machine type and size, detergent choice, water hardness and individual requirements.

Remember your wash routine doesn’t have to be perfect. Mistakes happen and a long hot wash with detergent fixes a multitude of issues.

Want this information on the go? Download our free cloth nappy resources.

Choosing a detergent

Using enough of a good quality detergent is one of the best things you can do to achieve clean nappies. With our wash routine recommendations, you can use most commercial detergents, along with laundry boosters and optical brighteners.

Homemade detergents are not strong enough to clean cloth nappies.

Some members join our Facebook group with concerns about using the ‘wrong’ product or ‘harsh’ detergents against their baby’s skin. These are often based on well-meaning but misguided information surrounding detergents and washing cloth nappies.

These days members know that they can use basically any detergent in the supermarket and get clean laundry. That idea seems normal now but was revolutionary in the CCN of 8 years ago.

~ Clean Cloth Nappies admin team

Using the right amount of detergent

Start with the heavily soiled amount of deterrent for main wash and adjust as needed. We recommend using one-third (1/3) of the suggested main wash dose if prewashing daily or half (1/2) the dose if prewashing every second day.

Remember: anytime soiling increases, more effort is required to remove it. For example, having multiple children in nappies, older children in nappies and/or having hard water all require more detergent.

Ever notice you need more detergent on the day your baby does three (or more!) poos versus the day they skip their morning motions? That’s the cleaning factors in action! When there’s increased soiling, the cleaning factors need to increase to compensate. With laundry, one of the easiest ways to improve results is to add more detergent.

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

If you notice smells or soiling after your main wash then it is a good idea to review your suds level. If there are no suds one-third (1/3) of the way through the main wash cycle, increase the chemical factor. This usually means more detergent, but can include adding laundry booster, chlorine bleach or water softener.

Preparing the nappies for washing

There is no need to soak nappies before washing. Wipe excess poo (soiling) off with toilet paper. If there is a large amount of soiling it can be helpful to rinse in a laundry sink or bucket. Some members use a handheld bidet attachment for this process.

If you do rinse soiled nappies make sure to wring/ spin out any excess water and leave the absorbent parts of the nappy over the side of your airy basket or laundry sink. Removing excess water reduces ammonia formation.

Newborn babies have a liquid diet which means their poo is water soluble. There is no need to rinse newborn poo unless it is thick like peanut butter (trust us – you’ll know when you need to rinse). 

You can remove soiling all at once at the end of the day.

Running the first wash

The first wash, or prewash, is an initial wash to remove the bulk of urine and soiling.

For front loaders look for a cycle that is 45 – 70 minutes in length and 40-60ºC. Common cycles are Cottons with a timesaver option, Synthetics or Mixed. Cycle type is as important as cycle length so avoid cycles with names like Easy Care, Delicate and Wool cycles. These are gentle cycles and do not have sufficient agitation to clean nappies. 

There is no need to dry nappies after the first wash, place them in an airy basket until it is time to main wash. Setting a high spin speed on this wash ensures items will come out of the cycle damp, rather than wet. If you live in a humid environment and mould is an issue, hang items over the side of the airy basket to dry out.

Running this cycle daily reduces the likelihood of ammonia development and significantly reduces smells in the laundry.

Night nappies require some extra care due to the high volume of urine they hold. Our tips for washing night nappies.

Remember: loading does not matter for this wash.

The main wash

Run the main wash when you have enough items to fill your machine. Many members add baby and children’s clothing, as well as small adult clothes. 

Like the first wash, the main wash should be done in 40-60ºC water.

For front loaders

For front loaders aim to load the drum loosely full (between 2/3- 3/4 full wet). Be careful not to overload the drum as this can damage the bearings. The main wash cycle needs to run for 2.5 to 3 hours and be rated for the full capacity of the machine. This is often the Cottons cycle.

For top loaders

For top loader aim for a ‘stew’ consistency. Make sure the items agitate against each other and are periodically pulled down. Add small items as needed to bulk the load. A ‘stew’ can be achieved with any level of laundry, most machines work best at 1/2- 2/3 full.

A note about loading

An appropriately loaded main wash helps make your wash routine as economical as possible, in terms of energy, water and detergent. It can also reduce the amount of other laundry you run each week.

With a full-time cloth nappy routine, we encourage people to optimise their machine loading. While good loading helps remove soiling it is not necessary to remove urine. With the right combination of cleaning factors (time, temperature, chemicals and the mechanical action provided by your washing machine) your nappies will get clean in an underloaded cycle.

As a general rule stick to items that are no bigger than 60cm x 60cm. Avoid large items like fitted cot sheets as these can wrap around smaller items and reduce agitation. 

Our washing machine index lists cycles for 58 different washing machines different washing machines. Machine-specific cycle information and videos are also available on the Front Loader Wash Routine, Traditional Top Loader Wash Routine or High-Efficiency Top Loader Wash Routine pages.

Reducing energy and water consumption

Cost of living pressures are hitting many families and the cloth nappies community is not immune. Many of our members are affected by rising energy costs, and some are finding it less economical to continue with cloth nappies. There are several ways to minimise the cost of cloth nappies while maintaining a great wash routine.

Adding bleach to the first wash

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

Using bleach allows you to use a lower water temperature, which reduces energy costs, and saves money on your power bill. It is also less expensive and more effective than oxygen-based laundry boosters. The bleach dilution is safe to use on nappies and does not cause premature degradation to PUL nappy covers or inserts. While using bleach is not an essential part of a Clean Cloth Nappies routine, it does make nappy washing easier and more affordable.

Using eco-cottons and energy-saving cycles

Many front loaders have an eco-cottons cycle. They are usually slower to heat water and consume less energy than a regular cotton cycle. These programmes are often the most efficient option in terms of combined energy and water consumption.

Keep in mind that water and energy use in front loader machines is not linear. The greatest energy draw is in heating the water. A 3-hour cycle does not consume three times as much water and energy as a one-hour cycle, and in some cases consumes less.

This advice is specifically for front loader machines. Do not use eco-cottons or eco-rinse on top loader machines.

The importance of thoroughly washing absorbent items

One of the most common questions people ask us is “why do nappies need two washes?” Modern cloth nappies often contain multilayer inserts. Urine and soiling penetrate deep into the fibres and are difficult to remove. Urine contains a compound known as urea. After being excreted from the body urea changes into ammonia. The best way to remove soiling and prevent ammonia is to run the first wash (prewash) within one or two days.

Nappy laundry (along with all laundry) benefits from a combination of time, temperature, chemicals and mechanical action. Collating several days’ worth of nappies until there are enough items to run a main wash is the most economical use of time, energy, detergent and water. A well-loaded main wash provides improved mechanical action and this helps remove soiling from any items added to the wash.

Think about it like washing extremely dirty dishes. For best results, you scrap off food, run an initial wash to remove and change the water it if it appears greasy or no suds are left.

Washing non-absorbent covers

If non-absorbent covers are clean, smell, and stain-free after the first cycle, they don’t need to go into the main wash. If they smell or have stains after then put them into the main wash. Alternatively, you can put them into the main wash only. Non-absorbent covers encompasses covers made from PUL/ TPU, with or without a stay-dry layer

Learn more about our updated recommendations for washing non-absorbent covers.

Avoid using inbuilt machine prewash cycles

Most front loader washing machines include an inbuilt ‘prewash’ function. This is added to the start of the wash cycle and ins on the front loader washing machine don’t do a complete rinse and spin before the main wash. They also usually run on cold water, regardless of the temperature set.

If your machine has a separate detergent compartment for prewash, agitates, removes the prewash water, rinses and spins, then try this function instead of a stand-alone cycle for your first wash. If smells, stains, or other issues occur, revert to a standalone cycle.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Additional information to support our advice. Think of this as an “extra for experts” section.