#miosolo challenge day#5 - The washing and drying challenge...

Firstly I'd like to offer a huge apology this post has taken me a over a week to finish as I have been struck down with the flu, then just as I was starting to feel a bit better of course the little ones caught it! :( Still not feeling 100% but here is the final challenge from Bambino Mio in the #Miosolochallenge....

I think this challenge is one of the most important from a 'non' cloth user's perspective as many of my Mummy friends who see me using cloth nappies on Elizabeth's botty, like the idea of them but tell me the main thing holding them back is the washing and drying!

The questions that I've been asked include...


How do you store them?


Is it messy?


How much extra washing do you need to do?


Do you need to soak them?


Will you need to boil wash?


What do you use to wash them?


How long do they take to dry?


Can they be tumble dried?


I have to admit that before I started using cloth some of these questions were in my head too! But Now we have been using cloth on Elizabeth's botty for over a year I feel confident that I can answer them,,,

 How do you store them?
I store my cloth nappies in a bucket, we originally had a proper nappy bucket, but they are tiny! Designed for when cloth nappies were terry squares and took up much less room, the one we had barely fitted a days worth of nappies in! So on the advice of the lovely Lisa at www.birth2potty.com we went to 'the range' and bought a 21l plastic lidded 'fun bin' designed for toy storage. This now allows us to store up to 3 days of mucky nappies! If we're out and about I use a wet bag to store them in and then tip them into the nappy bucket (which is lined with a Bambino Mio mesh bag) when we get home.

Is it messy?
I don't find using cloth nappies any messier than using disposables, In fact in my experience I find they don't tend to leak as often so can be LESS messy! If you use a flushable liner (such as the mioliners we used during this challenge) then this tends to catch all of the poop in a dirty nappy and you just tip this into the toilet. Simple. When the nappy bucket is full I pull the mesh bag out by its handles and stuff it into the machine, It couldn't be simpler (or less messy!)

How much extra washing do you need to do?
We have two rather mucky children, so do rather a lot of washing anyway, however now I am used to it I don't even notice the extra machine load when we do our nappy washes every 3 days! If you have at least 20 nappies (and a big enough bucket!) You should be able to get away with a nappy wash every 2 days. Most families I know have the washing machine running on a daily basis anyway so it doesn't make much difference!

Do you need to soak them?
I don't soak the nappies. I dry pail (store them in a dry bucket with a mesh bag inside) them and then do a cold rinse in the machine before putting them on to wash. This seems fine for removing any stains or marks.



Will you need to boil wash? 
You do not need to boil wash cloth nappies these days! I wash them like all my other laundry at 40 degrees. In fact if anyone tried to get my 'stash' anywhere near a boil wash I would not be a happy Mummy! It would ruin them!!

What do you use to wash them?
You do not need anything special to wash cloth nappies, I use half the usual amount of my laundry detergent (fairy non bio gel) and a scoop of Miofresh antibacterial nappy cleanser, on a normal 40degree wash. Fabric softener should not be used in nappy washes as it decreases the absorbency of the Nappies.

How long do they take to dry?
The drying time for Cloth Nappies depends on the type on nappy and the material its made of. Microfiber tends to be the quickest drying (I have had microfiber inners dry on an indoor maiden in less than 2 hours) where as bamboo takes a bit longer.

Can they be tumble dried?
Some nappies can go in the tumble drier, with most of our 'stash' the 'inners' are tumble drier safe but the outers are not. With AIO Nappies such as the Miosolo it is usually safe to pop the whole nappy in the tumble drier. Obviously using the tumble drier to dry nappies at every wash uses up a LOT of energy, so when ever possible I will line dry or maiden dry the nappies ( I think a washing line full of beautiful colourful nappies really is a fabulous sight!) However there are circumstances when I need to get them dried quickly, so in these situations the tumble drier comes to my rescue!

How did the Miosolo wash and dry?

So that covers the common questions that I get asked about washing and drying nappies but what I'm sure you will be wanting to know is how did the Mio Solo's wash and Dry? Were they easy to wash? Quick to dry? Do they have any unique features?

Washing...
I have washed all three of the miosolos a few times now and I have found they wash really well. Even after the biggest, smelliest poopy nappies they have come out totally white with not even a hint of a stain and smelling fresh as a daisy!

As for unique features of this nappy, there are a few...

The fold back laundry tabs
The Mio solo nappies fasten with Velcro, and of course if these were loose during the washing and drying process it would catch on other nappies and cause pulls or bobbling. So to prevent this the Miosolo's have handy fold over tabs to keep the Velcro tucked away. The velcro on the miosolo's is really strong and these stayed tightly fastened throughout washing and drying.

The pull out tab system
I have to admit when I first received these nappies, I was rather confused by the two loops on the tuck in 'insert' After reading the packaging I discovered they are there to help you pull out the insert when washing and drying! What a clever little idea! The loops do make it a lot easier to pull out the insert when the nappy is wet!

The pocket
At the end of the nappy inner there is a little fabric pocket, I found this really useful when I used the mio boost as it helped to keep this in place, but I also found it handy when I have washed the nappies as it is great to pop your hand in when tucking the nappy back together and ensures you have it in place properly!

Drying...

As I said when possible I try to avoid using the tumble drier but sometimes it is just necessary! So I have dried these nappies both in the tumble drier, on a maiden and over a radiator (unfortunately we haven't yet had the weather for line drying!) When the tumble drier was used the nappies dried well and came out lovely and fluffy. When drying on the maiden, I left them in the spare room overnight and they were dry in the morning, not as fluffy as in the drier but still lovely and soft. On the radiator (on a rack, not directly on it) with the heating on they dried in around two hours. I was very impressed with the drying performance of the miosolo. Although I knew they were made from microfiber (which is known for being a quick drying material) I had imagined that being an AIO (where the inner could not be separated from the outer) would hinder their drying speed. But this has definitely not been the case! The only negative thing I have noticed is that after washing and drying a few times the inside of the nappy (the part that's next to E's skin) has started to bobble, it's not too bad at the moment but doesn't look great on a nappy that's only a few weeks old. I don't know how it has happened as all velcro tabs have been tucked safely away during washing and drying. 

Overall the Miosolo's were very easy to wash and dry and performed well in this task!

So that is the final challenge! I have really enjoyed using the Miosolo's this week and taking part in the tasks set by Bambino Mio! As a cloth nappy user already I like the fact that these nappies are great fitting, reliable, easy to use, lovely to look at, wash well and dry quickly.

I am now confident that this new AIO nappy is going to be perfect for nursery! Not only is is very simple to use (Even Daddy could do it!) the drying speed means that I could easily get them dry over night, ready for sending to nursery the next morning! I would definately recommend these to Mummies  who currently use disposables but are concerned about their impact on the environment and their contribution to the 'nappy mountains' at landfill sites. These are so easy to use you will hardly notice the difference and if you don't want to pay out a large amount in one go you could easily just get a few and use them along side disposables while you get used to the difference, then gradually build up your stash!

This is the last of my #Miosolochallenge posts but I will be blogging more about cloth nappies very soon so watch this space.... and check out my latest competition!

Take a look at thoughts of my fellow bloggers and find out how they got on with their challenges on the Bambinomio website...

If you have any questions about washing or drying nappies feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer!

#Miosolochallenge Day #4 - The Daddy Challenge!

So yesterday was Day four of the #miosolochallange And Bambino mio asked us to find someone who doesn't usually change baby or is not used to reusable nappies to have a go! Now although 'Daddy' does his bit, he freely admits that the cloth nappies we use on Elizabeth confuse him and tries to avoid changing her botty when possible, claiming 'I'll get it all wrong and she'll leak!'.

On a few occasions that he has changed her we have had some 'disasters! There was the time when Daddy was on Nappy duty last Summer, we went out to the park and after playing on the swings for a bit I noticed that Elizabeth's leggings looked very wet! My first thought was that the swing had been wet when she sat on it, until I noticed the smell! Pulling her leggings down I discovered that Daddy had put an empty pocket nappy on her! Just the cover, with no insert!!

Now I don't know how much of his 'confusion' with cloth nappies is an excuse to get out of the smelly job of 'changing time' and how much is actually true. But I decided to challenge him to use the Miosolo's to see how he coped with such a simple to use all in one nappy! And to make the challenge even trickier I would not be there to help him!

Yesterday after work I was attending a meeting to discuss creating a local Abundance group as part of the Incredible Edible project I am involved in, So it was up to Daddy to pick Ben and Elizabeth up from School and nursery then feed and entertain them until bedtime!

I left him full instructions on how to use the nappies and reminded him again when I spoke to him on the phone at lunch time!

This to me was the ultimate test! I have been using the Solo's for a few days now and am very impressed with their performance but I am used to using real nappies! If Daddy can use the Miosolo then next week I will be adding it to the part of our 'stash' that I am comfortable sending to nursery!

When my daughter started nursery earlier in the month, we went on quite a few 'settlng in' visits and I demonstrated cloth nappies to all the staff that would be caring for her, they were fab about it and are really surprised how easy they are to use!  I have a mixture of different types of nappies and there are some that I favour when packing the nursery bag, these are ones I am confident won't leak or wick, and that won't confuse the lovely staff!

So how did he cope?

When I arrived home the children were tucked up in bed and the house was (relatively) tidy! There was no sign of any sort of disaster (nappy related or otherwise!) so I breathed a sigh of relief!

Daddy's verdict...

Daddy had changed E's botty twice in the time that I had been out and had even had a poopy one to deal with! He told me...

'They're really simple to use, I like the strong velcro and they feel really soft on E's skin, the flimsy bit inside (he means the flushable liner!) was a bit fiddly to put in but was really easy to just tip in the loo when it was dirty'

When I asked if he'd be comfortable using them again, his response was... 'yeah, why not?'

Now Mr Mymummyspennies YOU HAVE NO MORE EXCUSES!!

So Daddy (and Elizabeth!) survived this challenge and I now feel confident enough to send the Miosolo's into nursery next week!

Check out the thoughts of my fellow bloggers on the Bambinomio website or by searching for #miosolochallenge on Twitter.

If you have a miosolo why not Join in?

Have you challenged Daddy to try a cloth nappy yet?

If you like what you see and you haven't tried a Miosolo for your little one yet, Bambino Mio have a fabulous #miosolochallenge offer on this week (ending Sunday)...

http://mymummyspennies.blogspot.com/2012/01/miosolochallenge-week-offer.html

The photo was taken today as I was not there to watch him last night (and although Ben loveshis camera his style is quite abstract and he would have taken a photo of the carpet!!)

#miosolochallenge Day#3 The overnight challenge

So Bambino Mio have challenged me to use the Miosolo on Elizabeth overnight! Although I have been using cloth on her botty at night since she was around six months old I have a specific part of my nappy stash that I keep as 'night time nappies', (these are made of bamboo, are bulkier that the others and take longer to dry but I know that they are thirsty enough to last the night!) So I was quite nervous about using such a slimfitting, microfibre nappy overnight even if I have been very impressed with it's performance so far!

There are a number of reasons why a nighttime nappy needs to be so much more absorbent that one that we would use during the day...

Elizabeth still breastfeeds during the night, so unlike some babies who sleep through and barely wee over night in contrast Elizabeth is quite a heavy night time wetter!

The obvious issue is the length of time its on, instead of the usual three (or at a stretch 4 hours) The cloth covering Elizabeth's botty at night has to last 11 hours! That's nearly 4 times longer!

The other main issue is that Elizabeth co-sleeps with Mummy and Daddy, so if her nappy was to leak its not just a case of quickly whipping on a new cot sheet and changing her jimjams, we would have to change all our bedding, which is not something I want to be doing in the middle of the night!

To make sure the Miosolo was as absorbant as possible we u

sed the Mioboost with it for the first time. The mioboost is an addition booster made from a highly absorbent, lightweight fibre that can absorb several times it's own weight!

Getting ready for bed....

We used the peppermint cream miosolo for this challenge and I have to say I love the colour! This definitely my favourite from the bonbon collection and would again look just as gorgeous either on a boy or a girl! A beautiful 'green' nappy for 'green' parents!!

To make sure the Miosolo was as absorbant as possible we used the Mioboost with it for the first time. The mioboost is an additional booster made from a highly absorbent, lightweight fibre that can absorb several times it's own weight!

The Miosolo comes with a very handy little pocket to slip one end of the mioboost in to keep it in place, once this is in you just tuck the inner into the pocket add the liner and there you have it! An all in one nappy with enough extra absorbency to last the night...  hopefully!

When putting the nappy on Elizabeth's botty I did notice the extra mass of the mioboost, it was noticeably bulkier on her, but at night this doesn't really matter as her jimjams are nice and stretchy! (and the cloth nappies we usually wear at night are quite bulky too!)

Elizabeth went down well after a bedtime story with her big brother and seemed comfortable in the miosolo.

The next morning....

So we ended up having a really bad night, the worst in quite a while, but the nappy was not to blame....

Elizabeth is getting two back teeth through and it is causing her a lot of discomfort and pain. (Isn't teething the worst?! I just wish I could go through it for her!) We were up for about half the night and for most of it she was completely inconsolable, poor sweetie pie...

On a few occasions through the night I did wonder whether the nappy was adding to her discomfort, but I checked it periodically and it had not leaked or wicked and her skin inside was dry, so it was just those horrid meanie teeth!

We did finally get to sleep, then (what felt like) 5 minutes later the alarm went off, beginning the morning rush! I was slightly surprised but pleased to find that both the bed sheets and Elizabeth's Pyjamas were completely dry, there had been no leaks! When I removed the nappy her skin was slightly damp and the liner had stuck to her skin a little but it did not leave a mark when I removed it, and her skin was not red or appear to be sore.

So another successful challenge! Although I already have preferred cloth nappies for night, I find it really useful to know that with the Mio solos and a Mioboost I know have a spare nappy that will last the nighttime if needed!

Check out the thoughts of my fellow bloggers on the Bambinomio website or by searching for #miosolochallenge on Twitter.

If you have a miosolo why not Join in?

Have you tried it overnight yet?

If you like what you see and you haven't tried a Miosolo for your little one yet, Bambino Mio have a fabulous #miosolochallenge offer on this week...

http://mymummyspennies.blogspot.com/2012/01/miosolochallenge-week-offer.html

#Miosolochallenge Day #2 - The out and about challenge...

So today was Day 2, the out & about Challenge!

Unfortunately Elizabeth is teething quite badly at the moment and was a bit poorly today so we didn't get to go very far! However we did need to pop out for a 'top up' shop, run some errands and return some books to the library then visit the grandparents! This meant a trip out in the pram and then a car journey.

I always worry that some cloth nappies will wick when Elizabeth is strapped into the buggy or the car seat for a period of time Obviously it is important that the straps are tight(ish) and secure but with some cloth nappies this can put too much pressure on the fabric and cause wicking , meaning that Elizabeth's skin gets wet and clammy. If this happens Elizabeth is likely to develop nappy rash, which although never a nice thing, would be even worse at the moment as she is already in pain and discomfort with her poorly toothy pegs coming through! I have certain types of nappy that I am very confident to use in the car (usually minky outers) but as The miosolo was new to me I had no idea how it would cope!

So it was with quite a bit of apprehension that I got the lovely and bright 'Sherbet Lemon' MioSolo out to put on Elizabeth.

We walked out to the shops with Elizabeth in the pram, picked up our bits and pieces, ran a few errands and then popped into the library. After returning the books , I took Elizabeth over to the 'Children's corner' and got her out of the buggy to have a play. At this point the Miosolo had been on for around an hour and a half, so as I lifted her out I had a quick feel of her jeans to make sure there were no damp patches, but she was completely dry and eagar to explore her new surroundings! We has a lovely play with the toys in the library, read some books and had a little toddle around! Elizabeth is fascinated by other children so got very giggly when an older little girl came over to talk to her!

Before leaving the library I wondered whether it would be worth going in the 'babychange room' and popping a new nappy on before the car journey to Granny's (just to be on the safe side) but when I had a quick sniff of Elizabeth's botty (classy I know!!) It smelt clean and she seemed happy and comfortable so I took a chance and left it!

Daddy picked us up in the car and off we went to Granny's and Grandads!

After we had arrived and Elizabeth had been thoroughly fussed over I sneaked her away to change her. Taking the Miosolo off I was very pleased to discover her skin was clean and dry inside the nappy with no sigh of clamminess or a rash! The miosolo had been on for around three and half hours at this point which is a bit longer than I would usually leave a cloth nappy. I was quite impressed, especially with Elizabeth having been strapped in both her pram and her car seat during that time!

I flushed away the liner and popped the wetnappy into our funky green Bambino mio wetbag (not provided as part of the challenge, we already had this) ready to tip into the bucket when we got home!

So on the second day of the challenge I have been impressed again by the Miosolo and it's performance while out and about!

#Miosolochallenge Day #1 - The stay at Home Challenge...

Yesterday I told you all about the #miosolochallenge...

Well,  today was our first day of trying the Miosolo on Elizabeth and I have to admit I was rather excited, I have been eyeing the three miosolos up in the nappy box all weekend ever since they were prewashed and dried, but I managed to control myself and waited for today after work to finally try one!

When we got home from nursery I undressed Elizabeth and changed her botty. The first solo we opted for was the Cola Cube, it's a really nice bright reddish colour that I think would look fab on both girls and boys!

I found the Miosolo really easy to 'set up' and put on Elizabeth. After having folded the nappy
out to dry on the radiator rack I simply needed to tuck the inner into the pocket and snap the poppers to the right size. (At 13 thirteen months but still only 17lbs Elizabeth is a tall but skinny baby so I adjusted these to the middle setting).

I popped a mioliner into the inside and was ready to go!

Elizabeth likes to think that nappy change time is a game, I lie her down, take off her nappy, get a new one out and she crawls away with a bare bum and giggles! Now, although this may sound like fun, when it is repeated every single nappy change (and has resulted in more that a few 'carpet accidents) it can get a bit frustrating!


The strong velcro and simple shape of the Solo meant that I was able to get the nappy on and fastened in super quick time and she didn't have a chance to escape! (not until after it was fastened anyway!) (Mummy wins that round!)

The fit of the solo was nice and snug, the crossover tab at the front meant that there was no gaping at her waist which I find there can be with some cloth nappies. The elasticated leg cuffs were soft and seemed comfortable on, giving her lots of room to move and not digging into her skin.

The velcro was easy to adjust but strong enough so that little fingers couldn't pull it open (not yet anyway!) and the overall look of the nappy was really nice, It didn't look bulky or uncomfortable on Elizabeth at all!

 We spent the next few hours at home playing, Elizabeth was able to crawl about on her playduvet and cruise along the furniture following her big brother about with ease. She did not seem restricted by the nappy at all. While sitting in her highchair to have dinner the harness strap did not dig into the nappy or cause it to wick.

After just under three hours playing in her first Miosolo I changed Elizabeth into her usuall 'night-time cloth' ready for bed. (No Miosolo tonight, but we do have an overnight challenge coming up later in the week!!! eek!)

When I took the nappy off to pop in the nappy bucket, it was wet but not saturated and Elizabeth's skin was not damp or clammy at all. With no sign of leakage after a very active few hours of playing I have to say our first day of the #miosolo challenge was a complete success!

Why not pop over to Twitter and search #miosolochallenge to see how my fellow bloggers are getting on?

Don't forget to watch out for Challenge number 2 tomorrow...

In the meantime if you like what you see and you fancy trying a Miosolo for yourself Bambino Mio have a fabulous #miosolochallenge offer on this week...

http://mymummyspennies.blogspot.com/2012/01/miosolochallenge-week-offer.html

Getting ready for the #miosolochallenge...

So you may have seen me tweeting or writing on facebook about the #miosolochallenge that I'm taking part in this week and you're probably wondering what it's all about?

Well as you may know (as I can be rather vocal about it!) I use cloth nappies with my daughter Elizabeth and in the last 13 months I have become something of a cloth nappy addict!

Although I considered using washable nappies when my son Ben was a baby, it was only when I was pregnant with my second child that I finally took the leap and invested in some cloth.

As a 'penny pinching Mummy' of course one of the main factors in this decision was cost! Different sources vary in their findings but the general consensus is that from birth to potty training you will save between £500 and £700 by using washable nappies in place of disposables! (And yes that is taking into account all that extra washing powder and electricity to wash and dry them!) Another consideration was the environmental issues. It actually made me shudder to think that Ben was likely to have had around 5000 nappy changes before he was potty trained, resulting in around a tonne of household waste! As someone who sees themselves as being quite a 'green' parent I wanted to make sure I did not send even more unnecessary waste to landfill!

The first washable nappies I purchased were Bambino Mio's two part nappy system, I got them for a really good price and I liked that I could buy the accessories in high street retailers such as Boots and Mothercare rather than having to order online or go to a specialist shop.

Here's Elizabeth Modeling a Bambino mio nappy at 4 months old!

As Elizabeth has grown, and as she has recently started at childcare my nappy needs have changed somewhat and I now tend to favour the pocket nappies or AIO's (all in ones) in my stash as these wash and dry so easily and are very simple to use. This means that It's a while since I have used a Bambino Mio nappy although I do still use the accessories such as the mioliners and the Miofresh as I found these to be both effective and reasonably priced.

So I was delighted to hear that Bambino Mio were bringing out an AIO Birth to Potty nappy called the Miosolo! The Miosolo is now avaliable to purchase from their website and many other cloth nappy outlets for just £14.99, which is a very competative price for an AIO BTP nappy!

You can imagine how excited I was when I was asked to take part in the #Miosolochallenge, where myself and nine other lovely Mummy Bloggers will be putting this brand new nappy through it's paces in a series of challenges over the next five days!

The new Miosolo is available in 6 delicious sounding colours that have been dubbed the 'bonbon' collection, These are marshmallow, flying saucer, cola cube, peppermint cream, parma violet and sherbet lemon. Mmm! Brings back some childhood memories...



Our fabulous 'challenge pack' arrived last week and got me rather excited (I love fluffy mail!!)

We were sent 3 miosolos in cola cube, peppermint cream and sherbet lemon as well as everything we needed to get started and of course the all important 5 challenges!

The Solo's are now all prewashed and ready to go, so why not come back each day this week to see how we have put this new All In One nappy through it's paces!

Check out the thoughts of myself and my fellow bloggers on the Bambinomio website or by searching for #miosolochallenge on Twitter. If you have a miosolo why not Join in?

Can this new BTP AIO nappy from Bambino Mio really be as good as it sounds???


If you have any questions about the challenges or about switching to cloth nappies in general please get in touch on Twitter, facebook or leave me a comment below!