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By beansproutmumma, December 17, 2009 12:22 am

Do people really use wool as a nappy cover?

How does it work?

Wouldn’t it be too hot for the baby?

What on earth is lanolising? Sounds hard…

Some of you know exactly what it entails and are nodding furiously. But I can guarantee most of you may not have even heard of lanolising, let alone use wool as a very effective nappy cover.

If I mention about using wool as a cover over an absorbant cloth nappy, people would look at me quizzically, and wonder what I’m going on about. It works extremely well as a nappy cover, due to the properties of the wool fibre itself, plus the added lanolin (‘wool fat’) in the wool.

Wool absorbs up to 30% its weight in moisture without feeling wet. Great for heavywetters at night, they won’t feel wet unless they outwee the nappy and completely saturate the cover.

Lanolin neutralises odours and protects the wool fibre from the wetness. It makes wool a very low maintenance nappying item: it only needs a wash and lanolising (replenishing lanolin) every 2-3 weeks or if whiffy. In between uses it just needs to be aired like all wool items should be stored.

The fibres are also hydrophobic (‘water-repelling’) due to the lanolin, a bit of an oxymoron hey… therefore whatever moisture it touches and absorbs would be transferred to the area of lesser moisture. In nappy terms, a wool cover would absorb moisture from an absorbant fitted nappy yet not feel wet, then transfer whatever moisture that is touching the inner surface of the cover to the drier outer part of the cover.

This property of wool, plus the inherent breathability of wool due to the structure of the fabric makes wool covers a cool option, even in summer. In fact, from experience, on a hot day the nappy under a wool cover dries out really quickly and keeps baby’s bottom dry.

Alright, so now we’re full bottle on wool nappy covers and how it works with nappies.

How do we care for them? Simple.

Hand wash with a little wool wash and warm water, gently squeezing the solution through the cover.
Let soak for 15-30min, then rinse in clean water until it runs clear.
Next step is to lanolise: melt a little lanolin in hot water, dilute this with cool water to make a warm lanolin soaking solution. Squeeze through and soak your cover in it for at least 30min, then remove excess water by rolling in a towel and dry flat in the shade.

A visual learner? Here’s a video I made a few months ago, washing and lanolising a handknit wool soaker.

On the shop front: Currently I still have some Bubba J wool nappy covers in medium and in small. The large size is sold out, and I intend to make them again after tweaking the pattern a bit following feedback from previous customers (especially around the legs). If you are after any wool covers and can’t find the size you are after in the shop, simply contact me and I will do my best to make you one or two or three.

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By beansproutmumma, November 28, 2009 9:35 am

One of the biggest barriers to using cloth nappies is the perceived ‘extra work’ cloth nappy laundry seems to be.

Disposable nappies are then generally touted as the most convenient option because ‘you can put it all in the bin and forget about it’.

I’m not anti-disposable, in fact I believe there is a place for disposable use, just as there is a use for disposable plates and cutlery at different situations.

Anyhow, when a baby does a number 2 in any nappy, have you thought about where the waste should end up?
In the bin? or in the toilet?

“But I use disposable nappies, I don’t need to worry about that problem.”

Ok. If you have a packet of disposables, please spare a minute, go and grab the packet or box, have a look at the instructions for use and disposal.
Where do they recommend the waste to go? Into the toilet, of course!

“Are you sure? Everyone I know just rolls them up and chucks them in the bin.”

Yeah I know that. However did you know that in most council and shire regulations it is an offense to dispose of human waste in the bin?

If the packet recommends flushing waste into the toilet, and the law is against throwing waste in the bin, why are we doing the opposite?

For most reusable nappy users, where waste goes is a no brainer as it all needs to be rinsed out with a nappy sprayer, or flushed down the toilet with a flushable liner, before the nappies are drypailed until wash day. Flushable liners are convenient when going out for all nappy users as there is no need to carry a dirty nappy around.

Disposable nappy users can also do the same by rinsing and/or using a flushable liner.
In fact by doing this, it keeps solid waste out of landfills, and it is good practice before deciding to switch to cloth nappies.

A friend of mine mentioned that she washed all pooey disposable nappies after her toddler had a messy incident with the nappy bin.
She remarked, “The bin actually doesn’t smell too bad any more, and definitely no more messes if the toddler goes into the bin again.”

What do you do? Does waste go in the bin or into the toilet?

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By beansproutmumma, September 4, 2009 12:04 am

Medium cuddlefleece cover over Bubba J hemp fitted nappy. 8kg baby

To use, simply fasten over baby’s bottom.

To wash, simply:

1. Drypail – clean/wash off solid matter first into the toilet before storing in a dry pail
2. Cold pre-rinse – dilutes urine
3. Machine wash between 40º-60ºC
4. Line dry (recommended) or use dryer on low setting
5. Pre-stuff pockets, match boosters to nappies and they’re ready to use again

Considerations:

1. The quickest changes are nappies in one piece: All-in-ones (AIOs), All-in-twos (AI2s) and prestuffed pocket nappies. Just put it on like a disposable.
2. Ensure the nappy is absorbent enough for the baby. Add a booster to increase absorbancy if required.
3. When fastening the nappy with velcro/snaps/snappis, make sure there are no gaps around the waist and around the legs. Snug, not too tight!
4. When baby is teething, you may wish to drench the nappy in cold water before storing in a drypail, as teething wees tend to be corrosive to cloth nappy fabrics.

Large pocket nappy stuffed with a thin hemp prefold, 14kg toddler

Some nappies have a stay-dry liner sewn into the nappy already. For nappies with no stay dry liner, if you would like baby to feel dry, simply line the nappy with microfleece (available at Spotlight, just cut into strips) or use a disposable liner.

Some nappies have a water-resistant outer layer to protect clothing from getting wet. These include PUL, fleece or wool. If you are using a fitted nappy, simply add a cover over it.

There is a place for 2-piece nappy systems: fitted + cover (see pic below). For a very young infant, the two layers of elastics prevent poo leaks. For the heavy wetting baby, the entire fitted nappy is absorbant compared to only the middle part in a pocket nappy/AIO/AI2.

Very Baby fitted nappy with nappy cover for a newborn baby (made by me)

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By beansproutmumma, August 26, 2009 11:26 am

Found in the Bubba J archives (emphasis is mine):

Dry Pailing

We recommend dry pailing for the easiest management of your cloth nappying system. This means that nappies are placed straight in the nappy bucket (after disposing of any solid matter in an appropriate manner) without the addition of any bleaches or sanitising agents. Use of these agents may affect the longevity of the elastic in your Bubba J products, and can be harmful to sensitive skins.

When your nappy bucket is full simply place the contents in your washing machine and wash as per your usual method. We choose to run a prewash rinse cycle followed by a normal wash cycle, and only use a half of the recommended detergent amount. We also add vinegar during the final rinse cycle which acts as a natural fabric softener, (BSB note: not too sure about that one!) and recommend line drying whenever possible as the sun will aid in naturally bleaching and sanitising your nappies. (Please note wool covers should not be hung in direct sunlight).

Would you try cloth nappies if you knew about dry-pailing?