Cloth nappies have so many advantages to them, from eco reasons, to no chemicals, plus so much more. However, one area people tend to worry about is how they’re going to get them dry when the weather takes a turn for the worse…when the rain or real cold sets in.
But don’t worry, this blog is here to share some key information as well as lots of tips and tricks to help with drying your cloth nappies this winter:
How long do different nappies take to dry?
One of the first important things to think about, when considering drying cloth nappies, is what affects drying time and how long different nappies/types tend to take to dry.
The main things that affect how long nappies take to dry are the types of material they are made from and how many layers they consist of (the air/damp has to travel more either way to dry when there are more layers).
As you might expect, anything made from the thirstiest materials is likely to take longer to dry as it will lock in more of the moisture from washing, then anything made from the less absorbent materials will make for quicker drying.
At the same time, the more layers a nappy or insert is made up of, the slower they tend to take to dry. This is why flat nappies tend to be such a quick drying but also absorbent option; it’s the folding and creating layers that creates the absorbency, but when it comes to drying, you can lay it out flat again to dramatically speed up the drying time. Now, it’s worth noting here that flat nappies don’t just mean the traditional terry style nappy, but also things like cotton prefolds and birdseye cotton flats that can really simply be folded into a rectangular pad to create brilliant inserts for something like pockets or wraps (plus be really cheap too)!
Then, some nappy types tend to be quicker or slower drying too. Lots of AIOs and fitted nappies tend to often take much longer to dry (with the exception of ones which have mainly microfibre inserts), as well as inserts varying considerably. On the other hand, nappy shells (pockets or wraps) and flat nappies tend to be quicker.
How to dry & top tips for speeding things up:
First and foremost, if the weather is still sunny (even when cold) or dry but nice and windy, drying outside on a line can still be a great option. Just remember to get them back in before the evening starts to set in or they can start to get damp again.
However, if drying indoors, some of these tips may really help too:
Place your airer next to a radiator or heater to make the most of that warmth (just don’t place anything with PUL or bamboo directly on radiators as high heat can damage them).
Place your airer by an open window as air circulation is essential to drying (as well as the air quality in a room).
Invest in a dehumidifier to help speed up removal of the moisture.
Invest in a heated airer (even an old bed cover can be used to create a heated tent to speed up drying too). Although the bars may not get hot enough, it may be good to be careful to not place PUL directly on the bars just to be safe; we hang a socktopus from the top to hang any shells off of or hang them over the very top itself.
Anything that’s not go PUL can even be popped in the tumble drier if need be, just make sure they’re on a low heat. This can be handy even for just stripping out more of the damp at the beginning or to finish dying off at the end.
Firstly, place things depending on how long they take to dry (i.e. longer to dry, hand up higher, nearer heat, etc) and remember to rotate items around as they begin to dry more too.
Be sure to get good airflow to the whole absorbent section of any All In Ones, whether that’s opening inserts out or even turning nappies inside out.
Adjust your stash maybe? This could look many different ways: investing in some flats to use as quicker drying inserts/options, investing in more inserts so you can stuff pockets again once dry without having to wait for inserts to dry or if you still live by AIOs, you may need to invest in some more, or some quicker drying AIOs perhaps.
So, although drying in winter may be a worry for us all, I hope you’ve managed to find some helpful hints and tips to see that it doesn’t have to be as much of a concern as you may have first thought.
Personally, I think I will be swapping out some of our trusty normal inserts for some more quick drying flats, pad-folded to take their place in our pockets.
What will you do to help your drying dilemma?
Fancy grabbing a few super quick drying flat nappies to help you get through winter too? Just click below.