add-on to 'washing nappies in water'

[cindy]

it was great to read this thread and i will be giving it a go.
just a query though......i always do a warm to hot wash and my nappies come out like new but i hear from others that that is probably the reason the elastic in my d'lish nappies are completely gone
any thoughts?

[~*Rebecca*~]

I used to do a cold rinse and then a cold wash and always came out fine.

I think hot wash is recommend as a one in a while thing just to give them a super clean.

[davina]

I wash my nappies in hot every single time (60 degrees) with no probs? I prefer it actually as they come out cleaner and never, ever get a stink issue.

Some other things to consider:

1) Size of rotation- how many nappies do you have?
2) How old are your d'lish?
3) Does your detergent contain any optical brighteners, or built in stain removers?
4) Are nappies left to hang in the sun for much longer than they really need to be? (sun can make elastic brittle if overexposed)
4) Is baby right at the end of the weight range...possibly meaning the elastic needs to be reallllly stretched to have the nappy fit nicely? Over stretching elastic can break it's memory, gradually lessing it's chance of being able to 'spring' as it should.
5) Is the water in your region super hard? My mum lives in Alice Springs, and apprently since moving there, the water has meant a lot of her clothing has worn out much more quickly.

Hot water should not really cause elastic to die. Not unless it is like, 90 degrees (close to boiling)...I could understand the possibility in that instance. But a 40-60 degree wash is not what I would consider hamful. So, the prob may be one of (or a combination of) other reasons.