[Loz07]

Hi

So I'm about to launch into the world of MCNs and have a couple of quick Q's before I purchase....

Charcoal liners... Anybody used them? Are they better than normal liners/boosters? The place I am looking to buy my mcn's from has them..

Liners/boosters - how many do you use at home (1?) vs out (2?) vs overnight (2?3?). Planning to start gradual and probably continue with disposables overnight until I figure out mcn's during the day and how many liners etc (DD sleeps all night, so I don't want her waking coz she's wet or have to change bedding every morning)

Zinc creams (eg sudocrem) and nappy rash - I tend to put sudocrem on DDs bum before bed (mostly preventative - I figure if she's in that nappy all night, it doesn't hurt to have some protection there) and occasionally during the day if she gets a little red (again, mostly to stop any redness developing into a full rash). But is zinc cream a no-no with mcn's? If I use it should I use a liner to stop it being absorbed by the nappy? Are liners recommended to help prevent nappy rash? Any other tips for preventing nappy rash?

Washing - I know you don't have to soak, but does anybody? Even just in water? At the moment I tend to rinse then soak poo-ey cloths/clothes etc in water until they're washed. I already use earth choice washing liquid, I also normally use napisan liquid - omit that in my mcn washes?

Thanks!!!

[divineM]

I can inly answer some of your q's. I have never used any boosters (but I use disposables for night) and have not had any issues. I use liners (these are only to make it easier to dispose of the poo.She gets changed every 3 hrs or so. In terms of creams I use the Weleda nappy cream and it has had no effect on the nappies. I never soak but put them through a rinse cycle just prior to the wash. Drying in the sun whenever possible is great for stains.

[greenthumbs]

I haven't even heard of charcoal liners, but charcoal is supposed to be good for smells I guess?

We use pocket MCN's. We use flushable liners so I can just lift out poo and flush. I started using one insert during the day, but found it wasn't enough. We now use two all the time. Three have been needed on occasion overnight, but at 15mths he doesn't seem to need that now, but all babies are different with the wee output

I drypail them and wash every few days on an extra long cold wash using prewash and extra rinse using a tiny amount of our normal detergent, a heap of bicarb and white vinegar in the rinse compartment. In the last year, I have given the inserts only one warm wash as they seemed to be getting a bit smelly and this sorted the problem. Check the instructions on the nappies as they usually shouldn't be wash at more than 35degrees (the part with the PUL fabric anyway).

I soak the outside shell if I didn't happen to have a liner in. I just take out the inserts, and put the shell in a small bucket of water until the next wash. I scrape it first of course.

Nappy cream - we're lucky that DS rarely gets a rash. If he does, we use sudocream and always use a liner or even two. If the cream gets onto the nappy it can create a waterproof barrier that doesn't really wash out (well I guess it would in hot water, but you can't use hot water on PUL fabric) - obviously not a good idea on something you want to stay absorbent

And as per pp, drying in the sun bleaches out any stains so no need for napisan. I hang my nappies facing outwards on the line so the sun goes straight on the stained area.

[Joey11]

I haven't tried charcoal, sorry. I use pocket nappies with a microfibre insert - one insert during the day both at home or out. Overnight I use two microfibre inserts with a tri-fold bamboo insert between. It's pretty bulky but I rarely have leaks (DS is 9 months).

I use microfleece liners (I purchased microfleece online then just cut to size). I rarely use nappy cream but make sure I have the liners in if I do. I don't think liners help nappy rash - although microfleece will keep the nappy drier against baby's skin than no liner or flushable liners if that helps. I have used flushable but found them expensive (and also worried about them getting stuck in the pipes after some comments about that on EB).

I usually roll the poo off the liners into the loo then rinse the liners, and the nappies if there's been any spill over, and leave them in a bucket of water until wash. I dry-pail wet nappies.