Cloth Nappy Soap/Detergent

You can use any laundry powder or liquid (half or less of the recommended amount) as long as it has no enzymes or fabric softener in it... Also optical brightners are supposed to be a bit of a no-no too but I never had any problems with Persil Sensitive when I used that.

I now use Rockin' Green which is perfect for cloth nappies...but only available online.

Edited by Jaune

Thanks!

I had a look at the Rockin' Green website Jaune, and was just wondering how the price compared to normal detergent? I couldn't tell how much was in each bag, etc.

I've just invested in the Laundry Balls System. Cost $60 to set up, and using them for EVERY wash I'll need the $30 refil pack every 8-10months.

Only been using them for a couple of weeks but so far so good. I had looked at other options but wanted something where I didnt need to count how many washes they'd been used for (i.e. soap nuts) or seperate powders/liquids for the naps.

They also dont require the rinse cycle which cuts down on power / water usage

Linky to have a looksie - they were at our local home show, that's where I brought the Everything kit for $60.

Rockingreen has just arrived in New Zealand and we've just done our first order and uploaded onto our website. I've compared the price to other powders available and it seems to be fair enough. About 1.3 kg for $22. Ecostore powder is cheaper though if you prefer that.

CrazyCass wrote: I've just invested in the Laundry Balls System. Cost $60 to set up, and using them for EVERY wash I'll need the $30 refil pack every 8-10months.

Will also look into these laundry balls. They sound great! How do they go for poo nappies?

Sally - that table is actually not accurate, I think it's a bit old. For example, Persil Sensitive does not contain enzymes and Earthwise is now ok for nappies. Also, when washing nappies 1/4-1/2 of the amount recommended should be used.

I used to use Persil and then Persil Sensitive when they changed the recipe and i didnt like the smell and never had any problems with my nappies. I also used soap nuts and found them good too.

Jaune wrote: Sally - that table is actually not accurate, I think it's a bit old. For example, Persil Sensitive does not contain enzymes and Earthwise is now ok for nappies. Also, when washing nappies 1/4-1/2 of the amount recommended should be used.

Sorry!! :-/
I thought it looked pretty good when I was working out our system last year
....but I'm not an expert on washing powders by any stretch of the imagination!!

I use the Ecoballs (similar to the Laundry balls I guess? if you Google Ecozone Ecoballs you can find the email for the NZ distributor in Dunedin and email him to find your local distributor). They are great. Work really well on dirty, pooey, whatever nappies. Some things I've noticed about them: They get natural fibres (hemp, bamboo etc) cleaner smelling than synthetics (microfibre). They do leave stains sometimes (but I guess there's an Ecover laundry bleach that goes well with nappies for that). You need a lot of water to nappy ratio, but I guess that's similar to proper use of soaps as well. Before getting them I had to strip once a month at least, now not at all.
There's a separate thing you need (magnaball) if you have hard water, but we don't, so haven't used it.