bleach really a thing from the devil? (help me!)

[Lis]

Originally Posted by mokster26

it couldn't be critters could it?? All our towels are getting holes which sh*ts me no end and I wonder if it's moths or something.....

my DH just asked the same thing ... it's definitely not anything eating it, they are gradual wear holes, not chunks bitten out or anything like that.

Originally Posted by HG01

I am tempted to go back to hemp for that very reason.

me too

Originally Posted by mum2miya

I have a theory that some washing machines are harder on nappies than others. I have a top loader that has never killed a nappy. I have a friend with a front loader that appears to be very hard on nappies.

My mum has a very rigorous top loader, and it has chewed nappies before, it's a different problem, the holes aren't on stress points in the fabric, they seem to be wearing where the wee is, so I think we have the same problem as Bron.

Originally Posted by ~*Bron*~

i wouldn't think the stains are causing the holes, and i've always believed bleach eats fibres. our holes are caused by toxic wee

toxic wee is definitely adding to it.... the holes are almost always in the wee zone of the nappy.

Originally Posted by hippi_chick25

I agree with Donna Lis I would say it would be your machine, I have heaps of bamboo, and never a prob but I have a twin tub and they are supposedly better on clothes, perhaps a wash in a pillowcase or lingerie bag? sorry I cant be any more help, could your washing powder be the prob? I use earths choice mainly because its cheap

I don't think the washing powder is the problem, I've been using mostly the planet ark one. it's very gentle.

Originally Posted by jayne

I've seen a few (2 customers) bamboo nappies completely destroyed by top loaders whose rotation is seriously hard core.
You can start to see where the fabric is being pulled away from the seams etc, really obvious stress points. It's a different kind of wear to holes.

I agree with you Bron as to wee being another possible cause for holes, and highly recommend a really good saturation before throwing in the nappy bucket, it's worked well for us so far.

yep, definitely different wear than that from a harsh washing machine.
I have been trying to rinse the nappies and wash more often, and it seems to help... but having them too wet for more than a day seems to cause problems too, and I don't always get the chance to rinse when I take them off him.
I would wash every day, but I really hate wasting water, and my machine won't let me change the amount of water in the load.... so I may have to handwash the wees

thanks everyone

[*Tracee*]

Lis, rather than one load a day just for nappies can you add some other washing to the machine?
I often prerinse the nappies (especially as we only use night nappies so they need washing every 2 days at least or they're gross) and then add in clothes or linen. They all come out fine and you're not wasting water as such then.

[Lis]

Originally Posted by *Tracee*

Lis, rather than one load a day just for nappies can you add some other washing to the machine?
I often prerinse the nappies (especially as we only use night nappies so they need washing every 2 days at least or they're gross) and then add in clothes or linen. They all come out fine and you're not wasting water as such then.

I have lately been washing them both at the same time and using the extra rinse function on the machine, and they have been fine. I don't usually wash every day though... I mostly do 2 or 3 washes every 2 or 3 days lol..... I should change my habits.

[lesley4]

I would suggest rinsing your nappies, especially if it seems to be where the wee hits.

I really think that some washing machines are much harder on nappies than others and also water quality imo has alot to do with how your nappies wear. We've noticed ours wearing more - both hemp/bamboo in our front loader as much as I love saving water, this particular one seems to be hard on nappies - I have another friend with the same model and she says the same thing.

We also wash every 2nd day - no longer than that. Water coming out of our taps is at times brown - so heaven knows what it's doing to our washing, I blamed the low dam levels for that.

To be honest we don't have any stains apart from panadol ones, we rarely use the dryer - except when we had those weeks of rain.

Our wear on nappies seems to be on seams and elastic areas.

At the end of the day even if I loose a nappy after 12mths. A $30 nappy has only cost me about $1.70 a week, which is still wayyyy less than any disposable, and the excuse to buy more

[Lis]

Originally Posted by lesley4

At the end of the day even if I loose a nappy after 12mths. A $30 nappy has only cost me about $1.70 a week, which is still wayyyy less than any disposable, and the excuse to buy more

see that would be totally fine with me, and is my point of view too... but one nappy that died this week was a $40 night nappy that is only like 2-3 months old
I have to somehow figure out how to put a patch over the hole... which is basically in the wet zone near the left leg elastic.... so not really easy

[alchemy]

Almost all of my nappy stash is bamboo - and I only have 1 nappy with a problem. It was one of the first I ever made, and it was used in a really high rotation (and wasn't that well sewn, with snaps moved around etc). I will easily be able to use most of my stash on the next bub without buying anything else (of course, I will and have bought some NB stuff, LOL - and will have to replace more if it's a boy!) as it's all still in great condition. We wash at least every 2nd day with other whites in our top loader, use minimal euclan detergent, line dry...
I'd be using a small bucket to wet pail your nappies for the toxic wee factor and washing every 2nd day. Better to save your nappies (and the environmental costs of replacing them) with a bucket of water every other day IMO.

[Lis]

Originally Posted by alchemy

I'd be using a small bucket to wet pail your nappies for the toxic wee factor and washing every 2nd day. Better to save your nappies (and the environmental costs of replacing them) with a bucket of water every other day IMO.

I decided last night that that was my plan of action..... wet pailing now and will see if that makes any difference

[missymoo84]

Originally Posted by Lis

I would wash every day, but I really hate wasting water, and my machine won't let me change the amount of water in the load....

There is another alternative. I had a machine that wouldn't let me change the water amount, dial was broken, and I would let the washing machine fill to where I wanted with the washing powder, then stop it, put in the clothes, forward the wash dial so it wasn't filling up anymore, then turn it back on. Either that or turn the tap off when it is full enough then turn it back on when it starts to wash.

How did you end up going with the wet pailing? Fix the problem?

[ikis84]

I was also going to suggest wet pailing... so it's been a few months now, how is it working for you?

[Lis]

Originally Posted by missymoo84

There is another alternative. I had a machine that wouldn't let me change the water amount, dial was broken, and I would let the washing machine fill to where I wanted with the washing powder, then stop it, put in the clothes, forward the wash dial so it wasn't filling up anymore, then turn it back on. Either that or turn the tap off when it is full enough then turn it back on when it starts to wash.

How did you end up going with the wet pailing? Fix the problem?

Mine is all electronic...buttons, no dials lol. so, sadly that idea wouldn't work here.

I have had success with just rinsing the nappies, squeezing them out and then chucking them in the bucket. I hate the smell of a bucket full of nasty nappy water

But not every nappy gets rinsed, probably because I'm lazy... and we don't seem to have the same problems, or at least they aren't falling apart as fast as they used to be... so I'm thinking maybe it was a toxic wee issue.
Certain brands of fabrics seem to be falling apart more than others. I have one bamboo night nappy with a booster of bamboo fleece that is almost completely destroyed, the booster looks like a rag, it's almost broken in half it's so completely broken down, but the outer bamboo velour of the nappy itself is still in good to very good condition. Obviously the booster and outer have been used in the same way, and had the same treatment, and yet the booster is pretty much destroyed.
So I think in conclusion, the main issues are fabric quality and time that toxic wee is left on the nappies.
And so concludes my report