How do I read a UK detergent label for cloth nappies?

What must a UK detergent label show by law?

Annex VII of the retained Detergents Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 requires consumer laundry-detergent packaging to show recommended quantities in millilitres or grams for a standard washing-machine load, for soft, medium and hard water, and to make provision for one- or two-cycle washing. If a scoop is supplied, its capacity and hardness marks must be shown.

The same annex sets a 'standard' load for the on-pack count of washes: 4.5 kg dry fabric for heavy-duty detergents, using medium hardness defined as 2.5 millimoles CaCO3/l. That is why two bottles that both say '30 washes' are not interchangeable by eye — the dose grid on your pack is the legal instruction, not a generic capful.

The regulation tells the maker what to print. It does not tell you which brand to buy, and it does not mention cloth nappies by name. Read the grid on the pack in your hand.

How do I read the heavily soiled column against water hardness?

Clean Cloth Nappies' UK label page walks the same grid the regulation requires: soil level, hardness, then drum size. It treats nappies as heavily soiled laundry. Which? reusable-nappy advice also starts from detergent plus the care-label temperature, not from a shortened eco cycle.

1. 1
   Find your water hardness first The pack's columns only work if you know whether the tap is soft, medium or hard. Use the hardness tool or water-quality page for the company that bills you. Water UK's postcode finder is one way to identify that company.
2. 2
   Open the dose table on the side or back Look for a grid with soil down one side (light / medium / heavy, or similar) and hardness along the top. Liquids and powders both use millilitres; many packs also print a ml-to-grams line.
3. 3
   Read the heavily soiled cell for your hardness Cloth-nappy wash guides, including Clean Cloth Nappies, start from that cell — not the 'normally soiled' cell the pack uses to advertise how many washes are in the bottle.
4. 4
   Add the extra the pack lists for a larger drum The regulation's standard load is 4.5 kg. Packs often print a further amount for machines above about 5 kg. Clean Cloth Nappies describes adding that extra once, and twice if the machine is 10 kg or bigger. Use the line printed on your pack, not a number copied from another bottle.
5. 5
   Measure in millilitres The legal dose is a volume or weight, not 'a cap'. A kitchen jug or an unused bottle with ml marks matches what the pack is written in.

Where do I check if my water is hard?

Hardness is a water-company figure, not a detergent-brand slogan. Search the company name plus 'water hardness' or use the quality checker on its site. Water UK hosts a postcode tool that points you to the supplier if you do not know who that is.

If you are on a private supply, the company tool will not help; a hardness test strip is the usual fallback community guides mention. Do not borrow a dose written for a different postcode.

How much detergent goes in a first wash versus a main wash?

The regulation requires the pack to allow for one-cycle and two-cycle washing. Clean Cloth Nappies' two-step routine uses that idea: work out the main-wash heavily soiled dose first, then use one-third of that dose for a daily first wash, or half if the first wash runs every other day.

This page does not publish a detergent league table. Enzyme content, powder versus liquid, and 'bio / non-bio' arguments sit on manufacturer and community sites and often disagree with nappy-care labels. If the nappy maker's warranty names a detergent type, that label sits beside the legal dose grid.

In shortRead three numbers on the pack: hardness column, heavily soiled row, drum extra. Look up hardness on the water-company tool. Community two-step routines then split that main-wash figure for a shorter first wash. There is no single millilitre that works for every bottle.