Cloth Diapering 101: Laundering
Now comes the biggest part of cloth diapering: taking care of them!
Before I go into the how-to's and our wash routine, I will start by talking detergent. Not all detergents are safe for cloth diapering. Detergents need to be "free and clear." Fragrances, dyes, and other detergent additives are not good for your diapers! By this point you have paid a nice amount of money for your diapers and you want to take care of your investment (otherwise you're wasting your time... and money!) Using the wrong type of detergent can cause build-up (which can cause rashes) and make your diapers leak! There are all types of detergents you can use on your diapers including those specifically designed for cloth diapering. There are other detergents, such as Tide free and clear that are ok to use too! Some people prefer certain types of detergents over others. It's more of a preference thing. I got Rockin Green detergent as a gift and so far that is the only detergent I have used.
THIS seems to be a pretty nice comprehensive list of detergents that are and are not safe for cloth diapering... and it tells the reason why certain types are not recommended.
Before you use them
Just like you wash your new clothes, your new diapers need washed too! There are different recommendations for different fabric types. As I mentioned in a previous post, for my covers and my microfiber/cotton inserts (Flip stay dry) - I ran them through one wash cycle and threw them in the dryer. For my flats, I washed/dried them about 5 times to get them nice and ready. You have to do this with flats to shrink them up and help them reach their maximum absorbency!
The Pail and Prep:
There are two different approaches to the diaper pail: wet and dry. Wet = you fill the pail with water with baking soda or detergent or something and your diapers soak. Dry = you just throw the diapers in. I've done a lot of reading and the best method seems to be the dry pail. If you use a wet pail, bacteria can start to grow in the water.. and I dont know about you, but a bucket of water in my baby's room doesnt sound like a good idea (drowning hazard!!). We dry pail.. and it works great! So when Annie dirties a diaper, we take it off of her and throw it in the pail. The end.
I talked a little about this in my post on "Day to Day." If your baby is breastfed and eating nothing else, you don't have to do anything to the diaper other than throw it in the pail. No rinsing, no washing anything out. Formula fed babies have firmer poos and it needs to be removed as do babies who are eating solids. You can shake them off, you can spray them off, or you can dunk the diaper in the toilet!
Washing: (top load washing machine)
I wash diapers every 2-3 days, depending on what is going on around my house and how low the diaper stash is getting. I wouldn't recommend going longer than 3 days.
The basic washing routine is this:
1. Prewash (no detergent) in cold water to get the stinkies out
2. HOT wash with detergent (just a normal cycle with a rinse)
3. extra rinse, spin (water temp doesnt seem to matter)
I have found that if I follow the guidelines above, sometimes my diapers still have a little odor to them or they don't get quite as clean. What I do (with my regular old fashioned top loader).. is this:
1. Prewash in cold water
2. Turn the washer on for a HOT cycle (with detergent) and let it fill up.
3. Turn the washer off and let the diapers soak for an hour or more, depending on what kind of time I have and whether or not I need to wash something else.
4. Turn the washer back on and let it continue on with the wash cycle and then the rinse cycle
5. Extra rinse and spin.
6. Put flats and inserts in the dryer, hang covers to dry.
I recently purchased an HE top loader and have yet to do diapers in this machine. I'll have to let you know how this process changes!
Staining:
The majority of the time, my wash routine gets everything out of my diapers. However, there are times say, that Annie has a poopie diaper as I'm washing diapers. This diaper sits in her pail for 2-3 days... allowing the stink to sit a little longer. This sometimes causes stains in my diapers. In fact, poops that we wash same day can still stain. You aren't supposed to use Oxi clean or bleach (though you can use 1/4c in a full load once a month) or anything like that with cloth diapers because it can break down the fabric and cause issues. Stains are common. Your baby is pooping on white fabric.
However, there is a way to get them out without ruining your diapers. The trick? SUNSHINE. No, I'm not kidding. As soon as my diapers come out of the wash and I notice that they are stained, I hang them on a drying rack and put them either outside or right inside of my doorway in direct sunlight (since it has been cold I usually take them down once I notice the stains are gone and toss them in the dryer to finish or fluff them up). I have had the dirtiest of diapers sit in the sun for an hour or so and come completely clean! My mom thought I was crazy when I told her this... but I promise its true! Sunshine = natural bleach. In fact, there are times when I'm in a hurry and I throw even my stained diapers in the dryer (again, stains are ok) and go... and then the next time I wash them I'll sun them and they will be bright white. Let me tell you, there is not a single stain on any of our diapers or covers thanks to the sun!
Stink:
In the beginning we had an issue with our diapers still being slightly smelly (and by this they just had a faint odor. The only way diapers should ever smell is fresh). It seems this happens when you dont use enough detergent or when your diapers don't get rinsed well. When you do your second rinse, you shouldn't see bubbles. If you do... they need to be rinsed again. By adding a little extra detergent to my wash and soaking our diapers, it took care of the problem. If you ever have other stink issues, there are tons of resources out there to help you troubleshoot the problem! Just google it!
Sometimes you have to strip diapers because of build up or they start to smell like ammonia (b/c of detergent or other residue build up) and there is a process for that. We haven't run into this yet and I think its partly because I let my diapers soak in the wash almost every time I clean them.
So, that's that!! That concludes my cloth diapering 101 blog series!
There is a TON of information online and you can find an answer to almost any problem you face and as questions are presented to me, I'll try to blog about them since others may be curious as well!
You can also check out cottonbabies.com "cloth diapering 101" for other questions!
Before I go into the how-to's and our wash routine, I will start by talking detergent. Not all detergents are safe for cloth diapering. Detergents need to be "free and clear." Fragrances, dyes, and other detergent additives are not good for your diapers! By this point you have paid a nice amount of money for your diapers and you want to take care of your investment (otherwise you're wasting your time... and money!) Using the wrong type of detergent can cause build-up (which can cause rashes) and make your diapers leak! There are all types of detergents you can use on your diapers including those specifically designed for cloth diapering. There are other detergents, such as Tide free and clear that are ok to use too! Some people prefer certain types of detergents over others. It's more of a preference thing. I got Rockin Green detergent as a gift and so far that is the only detergent I have used.
THIS seems to be a pretty nice comprehensive list of detergents that are and are not safe for cloth diapering... and it tells the reason why certain types are not recommended.
Before you use them
Just like you wash your new clothes, your new diapers need washed too! There are different recommendations for different fabric types. As I mentioned in a previous post, for my covers and my microfiber/cotton inserts (Flip stay dry) - I ran them through one wash cycle and threw them in the dryer. For my flats, I washed/dried them about 5 times to get them nice and ready. You have to do this with flats to shrink them up and help them reach their maximum absorbency!
The Pail and Prep:
There are two different approaches to the diaper pail: wet and dry. Wet = you fill the pail with water with baking soda or detergent or something and your diapers soak. Dry = you just throw the diapers in. I've done a lot of reading and the best method seems to be the dry pail. If you use a wet pail, bacteria can start to grow in the water.. and I dont know about you, but a bucket of water in my baby's room doesnt sound like a good idea (drowning hazard!!). We dry pail.. and it works great! So when Annie dirties a diaper, we take it off of her and throw it in the pail. The end.
I talked a little about this in my post on "Day to Day." If your baby is breastfed and eating nothing else, you don't have to do anything to the diaper other than throw it in the pail. No rinsing, no washing anything out. Formula fed babies have firmer poos and it needs to be removed as do babies who are eating solids. You can shake them off, you can spray them off, or you can dunk the diaper in the toilet!
Washing: (top load washing machine)
I wash diapers every 2-3 days, depending on what is going on around my house and how low the diaper stash is getting. I wouldn't recommend going longer than 3 days.
The basic washing routine is this:
1. Prewash (no detergent) in cold water to get the stinkies out
2. HOT wash with detergent (just a normal cycle with a rinse)
3. extra rinse, spin (water temp doesnt seem to matter)
I have found that if I follow the guidelines above, sometimes my diapers still have a little odor to them or they don't get quite as clean. What I do (with my regular old fashioned top loader).. is this:
1. Prewash in cold water
2. Turn the washer on for a HOT cycle (with detergent) and let it fill up.
3. Turn the washer off and let the diapers soak for an hour or more, depending on what kind of time I have and whether or not I need to wash something else.
4. Turn the washer back on and let it continue on with the wash cycle and then the rinse cycle
5. Extra rinse and spin.
6. Put flats and inserts in the dryer, hang covers to dry.
I recently purchased an HE top loader and have yet to do diapers in this machine. I'll have to let you know how this process changes!
Staining:
The majority of the time, my wash routine gets everything out of my diapers. However, there are times say, that Annie has a poopie diaper as I'm washing diapers. This diaper sits in her pail for 2-3 days... allowing the stink to sit a little longer. This sometimes causes stains in my diapers. In fact, poops that we wash same day can still stain. You aren't supposed to use Oxi clean or bleach (though you can use 1/4c in a full load once a month) or anything like that with cloth diapers because it can break down the fabric and cause issues. Stains are common. Your baby is pooping on white fabric.
However, there is a way to get them out without ruining your diapers. The trick? SUNSHINE. No, I'm not kidding. As soon as my diapers come out of the wash and I notice that they are stained, I hang them on a drying rack and put them either outside or right inside of my doorway in direct sunlight (since it has been cold I usually take them down once I notice the stains are gone and toss them in the dryer to finish or fluff them up). I have had the dirtiest of diapers sit in the sun for an hour or so and come completely clean! My mom thought I was crazy when I told her this... but I promise its true! Sunshine = natural bleach. In fact, there are times when I'm in a hurry and I throw even my stained diapers in the dryer (again, stains are ok) and go... and then the next time I wash them I'll sun them and they will be bright white. Let me tell you, there is not a single stain on any of our diapers or covers thanks to the sun!
Stink:
In the beginning we had an issue with our diapers still being slightly smelly (and by this they just had a faint odor. The only way diapers should ever smell is fresh). It seems this happens when you dont use enough detergent or when your diapers don't get rinsed well. When you do your second rinse, you shouldn't see bubbles. If you do... they need to be rinsed again. By adding a little extra detergent to my wash and soaking our diapers, it took care of the problem. If you ever have other stink issues, there are tons of resources out there to help you troubleshoot the problem! Just google it!
Sometimes you have to strip diapers because of build up or they start to smell like ammonia (b/c of detergent or other residue build up) and there is a process for that. We haven't run into this yet and I think its partly because I let my diapers soak in the wash almost every time I clean them.
So, that's that!! That concludes my cloth diapering 101 blog series!
There is a TON of information online and you can find an answer to almost any problem you face and as questions are presented to me, I'll try to blog about them since others may be curious as well!
You can also check out cottonbabies.com "cloth diapering 101" for other questions!
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