What to do with the Poop in Reusable Diapers. Cloth Nappies for Beginners.

One of the most common questions I get asked when it comes to cloth nappies is “but what do you do with the poo? Isn’t it gross?” The fact is as parents we have a lot of poo disasters and dealing with the brown stuff is an everyday occurrence. However what if I told you using cloth diapers could mean you have to deal with less poop? Sounds crazy but because of the containment there is no poo explosions.

I’m gonna be honest with you, sometimes dealing with poo with cloth nappies is totally easy… sometimes much easier than disposable nappies and then there are times when it’s totally awful (I'm talking weaning and teething poo).

Tigger warning, this post is going to be a positively grim pooey chat so only read if you need this advice.

Do I need to get rid of the poo in a cloth diaper?

You will need to shake any poo on your washable diaper or liner into the toilet before storing until wash day. If some is left on the nappy you may need to also rinse. This can be easily done with the toilet flush or a bidet hose. Note that pre-weaning any kind of rinsing is unnecessary.

It is important that any poo goes down the toilet and not in the bin. Poo turns toxic in landfill so the toilet is where it belongs. This is true for disposable nappies but is a little known fact among parents.

As mentioned above if your baby is on a pure liquid diet (the first 6 months of their life) the poo is water soluble and does not need to be rinsed, soaked of treated in anyway before washing.

To get the poo off your reusable nappy hold your nappy or just the nappy liner over the toilet to shake any solids off. If it doesn’t budge there are three ways you can remove the poo.

1. Hold the nappy or liner in the toilet flush.

The toilet flush is the most effective way of rinsing off any poo and the method I have always used. However this is easier with just a liner rather than the whole nappy.

2. Use the shower head.

If your bathroom layout allows it and the shower head can stretch to the toilet, hold the nappy over the toilet and shower off any poop. If your shower head does not reach but you still want to use this method you can use a bucket in the bath/shower to shower off the nappy into the bucket, then empty the bucket into the toilet.

This method is a but faffy for my liking but can be handy when your baby starts weaning and poo is thicker but not yet plopable.

3. Use a poo knife.

This a specific knife or spatula (you might want to label it to ensure no other use) you keep in your bathroom, perhaps in the toilet brush hold, to use to scrape off the poo into the toilet.

Again the method can be good during the weaning phrase.

4. Invest in a bidet hose.

This is a spray hose that can be plumped in to your toilet. In many Asian countries they use these to clean with instead of toilet paper and are very effective and clean in my experience. They are also extremely handy for spraying down nappies. So if you have one or plan on installed one I’m very jealous.

5. Use a hose pressure bottle.

Simply put it’s a pressure bottle you fill with water and spray. Just like the bidet hose you can hold your nappy over the toilet and spray and poo straight off not mess no touching.

Here’s and example of one.

Can I rinse cloth nappies in the sink?

There’s no reason you can not rinse your cloth nappies in the sink, however I still would get any large bit off into the toilet and rinse in the sink if your struggling to get excess off. If you choose to do this make sure you wash the sink well after and flush the pipes though too, any build up in the sink could result in smells. The same goes for bath and shower drains.

However don’t worry about the nappy being overly clean before storing because your going to do a pre-wash of your nappies (see below). As long as the majority is washed off in the toilet and you store in a lidded bucket or wet bag you will not get any smells.

Pre-washing nappies.

You’ll also want to make sure you run a rinse cycle or pre-wash on your washing machine even if you have throughly rinsed off any poo. This will insure any poo residue and urine is rinsed off before begin to wash your nappies. If you unsure about washing follow my step by step guide to a great cloth nappy wash routine here.

Should I be using a liner to catch poo with cloth nappies?

Whether you use a liner or not is up to you and also depends on what type of nappy you are using. For a baby over 6 months who is eating solids a liner either reusable or disposable can help with shaking the poo into the toilet but it is not necessary unless it is there to keep baby dry.

Milky poo under 6 months is water soluble and does not need to be rinsed therefore liners are pointless. However if your nappy does not have a stay dry layer built in you’ll want to use a fleece liner to keep baby feeling dry.

Fleece and other stay dry layers are there to wick moisture away from your babies bottom, leaving them feeling comfortable and will help avoid any nappy rash. Lots of diapers such as pocket nappies and all in ones have this built in. If your using a two part system these usually don’t so you WILL need to add a fleece layer no matter age of your baby. It is handy that these also work well at poop removal.

Do disposable liners make getting rid of the poo any easier? Do I need even DISPOSABLES lines in a washable nappy?

Many parents like to add a disposable liner on top of their fleece liner or nappy to help them deal with the poo. However this is not really necessary and can cause more work. Fleece liners are much easier to shake poop off and work at keep baby feeling dry whereas disposable ones do not.

Personally I found disposable liners much more faff than they are worth and would NOT recommend them at all for a number of reasons. Firstly because they become wet and cling to babies bottom. I feel like this negates the reasons for using a fleece layer. Especially if you use a fleece liner for dryness and a disposable on top for poop removal.

Secondly you still need to get rid of the poo into the toilet unless your going to put the disposable liner in a nappy bag and in the bin, which I feel negates using cloth nappies in the first place. This also means your heading to one bin with the cloth nappy and another with a nappy bag. Too much faff.

If you do decide to get rid of the poo in the toilet with a disposable liner, what do you do with it now? Either take it to the bin, see point above, or you ball it up in the cloth nappy, wash it with the nappies (which is fine to do) and then put it clean into the bin or compost. Might as well use a reusable then. Note if you do decide to do this you can actually use disposable liners a number of times until they start to break down.

However, disposable liners do sometimes have their place. They can work well for weaning poo which can become a more sticky substance and it hard to rinse off.

These are the reusable fleece liners I use here.

Do i need to rinse formula feed babies poop off washable nappies?

Formula fed poo is also wash dissoluble and can go straight into the washing machine in the same way breastfed poo can. However it can become thicker so some parents prefer to rinse.

It’s a common myth that only breastfed babies poop can be put into the washing machine and make formula feeding parents worry they now have a lot of extra work. Especially when milky poo isn’t exactly rinse-able and soaks into the nappy. The truth is you can treat it all the same however your baby is fed.

How to deal with weaning poo in Washable diapers.

While your baby is getting used to solid foods their poo can only be described as wall paper paste. Meaning it can’t go straight into your washing machine but neither is it plopable into the toilet. When I mentioned the awful bit at the beginning, I’m afraid this is it.

My trick for getting rid of weaning poo is simple. Use the power of your flush. Hold your liner or the whole cloth nappies if needs be in the flow of the flush to blast it off. This can take a few goes depending on how strong your flush is and the state of the liner.

Hold the clean end and keep hands out the way but also be careful not to drop it, (I have lost a liner down the toilet once. Luckily it didn’t cause any blockages, that I know of), or wear some rubber gloves if you feel the need.

If it’s still too bad, pop it in the nappy bucket and come back to it (make sure you remember) it’s grim but once it’s dried a little it will be much easier to budge.

Please note that a really bad nappy is rare to deal with. This might all sounds like a lot of work but it is not very often I’m spraying, flushing or scraping and the weaning phase doesn’t last too long.

Do i need to soak cloth nappies with poo on?

Soaking reusable nappies is not necessary in any situation, even if there is poo or staining. Soaking nappies only creates smelling, horrid water you need to deal with and could shorten the life of your nappies.

Rinsing off as much as you can in the toilet, making sure you have a good washing routine, with decent washing powder, the correct amount of powder and a long hot wash you will not come up against stains or smells.

An extra tip for cleaning up with poo when using cloth wipes.

Have some tissue paper to hand. I wipe excess off babies bottom with some toilet roll first and throw this straight in the loo. Then use cloth wipes to get nice and clean. That way you don’t have to do any extra cleaning or shaking of your wipes before throwing them in the nappy bucket.

Note. Cloth wipes are the best thing for cleaning number two’s as they are larger and more grippy. Makes the job super easy.

Read: “A Complete Guide on Cloth Baby Wipes and How To Use Them.”

will washing my nappies make my machine dirty?

Washing nappies will not make your washing machine dirty nor will it effect anything else you wash in your machine as it hasn’t for generations. However, it is good to run a cleaning cycle once a month.

To clean your washing machine while using cloth nappies simply put it on an empty wash at 90 degrees with no washing powder. You can add in a cup of vinegar or soda crystals to the drum before. This will help any build up of limescale in the pipes.

Now for the not so bad bit.

Now that my son is properly on solids this whole process is so so easy and the horrors of weaning poo are long behind us. I change him in the bathroom, do one quick shake over the toilet, throw nappy and liner if I used one in the nappy bucket, wash hands and go on with my day. Easy peasy. No bagging up a horrid nappy and trudging out to the outside bin.

Even with disposables nappies you should be putting the poo in the loo.

This is one of the most unknown facts in the history of parenting, but according to the small print of many disposable nappy companies solid poo should be going in the loo and not to landfill. When human waste goes to landfill it turns toxic. It should be going in the sewage system and treated correctly. Who knew? Certainly not me.

In the long run using cloth nappy means you deal with far less poo.

Here’s a happy note to end on if your still worrying you’ll have to deal with too much poo by deciding to use cloth nappies. Using reusable nappies means 100% you will deal with less poo. How? Because they contain everything so much better. We’ve all been there or heard about a poo explosions up the back. Disposables do not have any elastic at the back so when something big happens its goes straight up the back and all over their clothes, Que and entire outfit change. One friend told me she got these nearly everyday, another told me it was so bad she had to throw the clothes away!!! I’ve experienced it once when using disposables on holiday. Trying to get the soiled clothes over her head was impossible without getting it in her hair and even on her ears. YUK! It was the worse thing I’ve ever had to deal with and I ended up having to sit in her the bath and shower her down. Definitely more work that having to rinse a nappy.

This has NEVER happened with cloth nappies, and it’s one really good reason to start using them.

Plus if it does ever get on their clothes for whatever reason just chuck them in your nappy bucket, your all set up for storing and washing soiled stuff and you’ve got the wash routine to fix any stain.

What is the best nappy for poop containment.

All reusable nappies (cloth diapers) are excellent for poo containment, as long as they are fitted nicely around babies legs. But if you are looking for extra containment opting for a cloth diaper with a double gusset will ensure your nappy is bomb proof.

What is a family member is worried about washing in the same machine as cloth nappies?

• Explain or show them you remove the poop.

• Assure them you run a rinse cycle once a month to keep the machine clear as I explained above.

• Explain how efficient modern washing are and how your nappies are always freshly clean after.

• Send them to this blog for a read of the facts.

I wish you all the luck with this sometimes (always) grim process.

Hannah xx

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