Wash Routine
Wash before use minimum 3 times. You can wash the nappy shell once but the inserts have to be washed first multiple times to build absorbency. The fibres naturally repels water/liquid therefore each wash will reduce the natural oils in the fibres and will absorb more after each wash. Some inserts can take up to 10 washes to build up to full absorbency, so its important to keep that in mind when your starting off. The inserts might not be washed enough yet. You can wash the them in with your regular clothes wash provided you are only using powder detergent and no softener. I recommend drying them between each wash.
Wash Routine varies among everyone. I wash typically every 2 to 3 days. I store the nappies in a large wet bag or a lidded bucket between washes.
Prewash your nappies first at max 40 degrees and if you can adjust the revs, max 1000. Then put your nappies on a 40-60 degree cotton wash. 40 is sufficient but you may feel from time to time you need a deeper clean. The cotton wash typical lasts any where between 2-4 hours. Its important that its not the eco wash as this uses less water and will not clean your nappies properly. Again max 1000 revs.
If you do not have enough nappies to fill the load you can add baby clothes, towels into the main cotton wash also to bulk up the wash.
I now use bio washing powder. I used use non-bio when I first started off but I used it with Bio-D nappy sanitiser. I use Tesco bio powder. Some people like daz also.
Do not use liquid or softener as they can coat the fibres in the inserts and reduce the absorbency.
Drying of nappies – its important not to put them directly on the radiator. You can use a clothes horse to dry near a radiator. I find a socktopus very useful in drying the inserts and saves on space. In summer months you can hang the nappies on the line. You can tumble dry your nappies on low but obviously this is not the preferred option for environmental reasons.
Machine clean - Every month put your machine on the highest setting and give the departments and trays a wipe clean, along with removing and cleaning the water filter. There will be video online how to clean the washing machine you have.