Review: MioFresh by Bambino Mio

You may remember back in July I reviewed the MioSolo washable nappy... And loved it! Well, at the time Bambino Mio also sent me a sample of MioFresh to try, but we were only a few weeks into our cloth journey and I decided that I'd let our nappies get some more use before putting it to the test.

The teacher in me likes to do everything at the end of the summer holidays, "before the new term starts". Why sanitising my nappies was important to me, three days before going back to work, I am unsure, but it seemed like a good time!

A couple of weeks back D and I were scratching our heads as our nappies seemed to only be lasting a couple of hours tops. We had initially put it down to the hot weather and E drinking gallons (she's the girl that finishes everyone else's drink at a playdate!), but this was getting silly. I was convinced that the nappies didn't smell 100% clean, but D was sure they were fine, so I took his word for it... And set to work on picking the brains of some of my cloth friends... After a lengthy conversation with one friend, it came to light that my choice of washing powder might have been the root of the problem. I knew you weren't meant to use fabric softener as it clogged the material, reducing absorbency, but I didn't know you couldn't use liquid full stop. Ah! So, last week, ALL the nappies ended up in the bath with some washing up liquid before being rinsed about 10 times in the machine and then washed with powder. Problem solved, hello absorbency! But I still wasn't absolutely sure that they smelled as good as they could... I guess these things take time, but this was my other reason for deciding it was a good time for the MioFresh.

So, yesterday, all our nappies, boosters and wipes were thrown into a big bucket for a soak. Following the instructions I added 15ml per gallon of water (I used 4 gallons) and left them while we went out for the day. I was expecting the MioFresh to have a smell - a good one, like pine, or something antibacterial - but it was completely odourless. After a good six hours of soaking I stuck the nappies in the machine to rinse, as per the instructions, and then for good measure added another 15ml to my normal non-bio powder and stuck them all in on a 60˚ wash (although MioFresh claims to be effective as low as 30˚!). When they came out of the wash, there was no smell. No washing powder smell, no pine, no lemony fresh, no nothing. And now they are dry on the line, they are still without smell. That to me is an indication of exactly how clean they are! No powder smell, no sanitised smell, just fresh. And, I'd go as far as to say they just look a bit brighter, a bit fresher, a bit like they have a new lease of life! 

The instructions on the MioFresh were simple and clear to understand, giving the method for hand washing, soaking and use in the machine. The instructions are also clear to stress that coloured nappies could fade with prolonged use of MioFresh, which is worth bearing in mind if your nappies are all brightly coloured with gorgeous prints! It is 100% chlorine free, for the eco-conscious amongst us and is antibacterial, deodourising, hypoallergenic, biodegradable... All words us mums like to see on products that are coming into contact with our babies skin. MioFresh retails for £4.60 for 750g, which would do 50 washes, or 12 soaks in 4 gallons of water... But I don't anticipate needing to do that for a while! I think that represents great value for money, especially as it's probably something you wouldn't throw in to every wash, to protect your colourful joy, and maybe just use once a month to give everything a good perk up. 

So, here's another product that I will buy, use and recommend. Us cloth parents know that our nappies aren't just nappies, they're an investment, and anything that keeps that looking and smelling good, in my opinion, is worth having, especially if it doesn't hurt the environment or my bank balance in the process. Thanks, Bambino Mio! 

E enjoying what my husband has declared
as his "favourite reusable nappy".

You can visit Bambino Mio here, or visit them on Facebook or Twitter. 

Bambino Mio kindly supplied the above products for free for the purpose of review, however all opinions are my own and completely uninfluenced by Bambino Mio or any other party.