6 Tips For Hand Washing Nappies (Camping Edition)

6 Tips For Hand Washing Nappies (Camping Edition)

Getting ready to go camping with cloth nappies? If you haven't already, click here to make sure you don't forget to take these 7 Must-Have Items When Camping With Cloth with you!

Now let's talk about what happens when you're there, used nappy in one hand, bucket of water in the other. 

Depending on how far you want to take it, you can either boil up some water in a pot and use that to wash the nappies in, or, if that’s more effort than need be, simply use the water from your jerrican into the bucket.

Here Are My 6 Tips For Hand Washing Nappies (Whilst Camping):

1. Scrub all your shells and inserts separately. Start with your shells first as they will have the least amount of fluid retained in them. Then move to inserts last.
2. Wash any and all wee nappies first. Night nappies (if you’re using them) should be given a bit of extra soaking / washing time as the wee has been absorbed into the nappies for a longer period than most day nappies.

3. Poo nappies should always be done last. Remember to scrape as much of the poo out of the nappy as you can before washing them.

4. Don’t be afraid to give them a good scrub. We don’t mean scrub them so hard they fall apart, but a good firm wash will help to get as much of the waste out of them.

5. Hang them up! As always we recommend keeping the shells out of direct sunlight as it can damage the PUL waterproof material.

    • We’ve found if you have a marquee, using the internal metal posts is a great place to hang your nappies.
    • Otherwise use that rope and tie yourself a wash line between any two trees you can find.
    • Failing that, tent post to tent post can work too! Just remember to keep them in the shade.

6. Once they’re dried (keep in mind this may take a day or so) pop them into a separate wet bag and keep them tucked away from any dirty nappies you may be accumulating.

Once You're Back Home...

    Once your camping trip has come to a close and your back in the comfort of your own home, put all the nappies, dirty, clean and (depending how grimy and gritty campsite was) unused straight into your washing machine and do a long hot (remember no more than 60 degrees) wash. If your machine doesn’t allow for a long wash, do a double hot wash. This will ensure that any leftover waste is eliminated from the nappies when you get home.

    Then go back to your normal routine from there. If you prewash then you can skip that step and go straight to a main wash.

    If you are worried about how clean the nappies are post camping then you can always look at doing a small scale sanitise, though it’s not always necessary.

    Camping in cloth doesn’t have to be hard work! It can certainly be a bit messy, and a whole lot more hands on, but it definitely doesn’t have to be make or break. Click here for your free downloadable Hand Washing guide! Keep this one handy as it’ll remind you of the washing tips once you're there.

    Share with us how your camping in cloth went! Did you find it easy to manage? What top tips would you give to a first time cloth camper?