Help- I'm officially a cloth nappy user!!

Great-
Got the email from Fancy Pants re soap nuts.
I will order from you!

Re the Probac: I used it and was quite happy with it but after chatting to Hasie (The Scientific genius amongst us) I decided to stop using it. The make up of Probac is solely from Microscopic Fungal spores and although these really do seem to tackle stains I decided to stop using it as i was a bit worried about how it would affect my Allergy prone children. I see on the webstore www.greenlove.co.za you can now buy a Natural Bleaching agent. I wonder what that is like.

I am about to load a new product on our website called "Soap nuts" by Fancy pants. here is a little more information for you. We are selling 500g @ R75 exluding postage and the postage is R25.

We are very pleased to announce that Doodle-Bums Diapers is now stocking 500 gram bags of Fancypants Sopanuts! We’ve received so many phone calls and queries about these nappy washing gems so we know you’ll be just as excited as we are that they are now available.

Fancypants soapnuts are 100% organic so safe for you, your family and the environment. Soapnuts are actually berries from the Himalayas and are a completely natural detergent that contain none of the typical substances found in laundry detergents such as enzymes, whiteners, brighteners and perfumes. They are great for washing cloth nappies and babies clothes - in fact all your laundry!

How do soapnuts work?
Simply place a few soapnuts (3-6) into the small wash bag provided and place it in the machine with your washing. The saponins in the shell of the Soapnut act as a natural surfactant in the water – freeing dirt, grime and soil from laundry. When the laundry is rinsed, the saponins and the dirt are washed away without harming the environment. You can even use the grey water in your garden. Soapnuts will leave your nappies clean and fresh without the need to add any chemical fabric softeners or conditioners.
One wash bag of soapnuts can be used to wash approximately 4 to 5 loads of laundry for washing at temperatures of 30 - 60 degrees celcius, and for 2 - 3 loads at higher temperatures. Based on this, one 500 gram bag of Fancypants soapnuts will wash approximately 90 - 100 loads of laundry. Talk about economical - that’s a lot of loads of laundry! And, even though one 500 gram package will last you months longer than normal detergent, there’s no need to worry about storage. Soapnuts are easy to store. They just need to be stored in a relatively dry, room temperature environment and should be out of direct sunlight. If you are in a very moist environment use of an airtight container may be helpful. Nothing special needs to be done by the average user for short-term storage (less than a year).
A completely natural detergent that’s inexpensive, safe for baby and harmless to the environment – now that’s fancy too!

@ Sleastie, I have heard people using the sunlight bar does cause soap build up... maybe try something else? or give an extra rinse cycle. I've heard good things about PROBAC laundry pre-spotter. The website shows 750 mls is R43.00. www.probac.co.za/site/shop
(I know we can get it at our pick 'n pay hyper here, but that's about the only place i've seen it)

@ Sleastie, you aren't using any softner at all? The nappies shouldnt' me smelling so heavily after a month if you use no detergent. yes, I will recommend a vinegar rinse definately but remember not to subject he covers to very hot water as it can degrade the waterproofing. You can soak the inner pads first and then do the vinegar rinse. It must mean that there is a soap build up from the soap bar.

Take care

Thanks, Hasie and 2kidmamma, for the response re washing bicarb/vinegar. My husband tells me that one of our snugglybum nappies has started smelling horribly of ammonia after only short wearing. Do I remember correctly that this means a vinegar rinse is needed? We use a washball only although we sometimes target poo stains with sunlight bar soap or a cheap stain remover (pre-treat spray sort of thing). We have had the nappies for about a month and haven't stripped them yet...
Thanks again!

Stegi nappies on Gum Tree (Cape Town, Pinelands):

capetown-westerncape.gumtree.co.za/c-Stu...d-W0QQAdIdZ343136511

Stegi brand

R30 each
- xsml covers (4 available)
- sml covers (3 available)
- shaped nappies (24 available)
- liners
- laundry bag
- bucket

Whole lot for R1000. R950 if you collect.

I was given these when my baby was 7mo and was already using another brand of cloth nappies anyway.

Hi all,

Sleastie, that's what I said... I use bicarb instead of soap on my nappies, then rinse with vinegar once a month to strip any excess alkaline build up from the bicarb. But even if i forget, i've never had a problem.

If you wash with soap, you should strip at least once a month with vinegar. As soap's ph is alkaline, vinegar (acidic) would strip it off.

I agree with the shock to the system when you use disposables! We did a week of pampers a while as the washing machine wasn't hooked up in our new house yet. And it STINKS!!! One pee and the kid smells horrible! Can't believe people doesn't notice that.