Cloth Diapering, washing your diapers!

While cloth diapering means cleaning them, it still can be as convenient as using disposable diapers. No late night trips to the store when you’ve run out of diapers, simply turn your washer, dump your pail in and walk away.

Our grandparent likely soaked their diapers in wet pails full of bleach. Not only is that unnecessary but it can be harmful to the fibers of your diapers causing them to wear out sooner, develop holes and irritate your babies sensitive skin. Most people find that washing every 2-3 days works out well. Depending on the age of your child and the frequency of changes, you will need 24-26 diapers to follow this washing schedule. This amount will allow for extras while the diapers are finishing and being dried. Newborns generally go thru 10-12 diapers per day while toddlers will need less; 6-8 each day.

When you first get your order of diapers it’s important to pre-wash them several times before putting them on your baby. This helps fluff them up and absorb to their full capacity and also removes any natural oils as well as dioxins if they are bleached (white) material. Brand new prefold diapers will arrive looking like thin, flat linens but will quilt up nicely and become more absorbent with each wash. For the first pre-washes you can use a drop of dawn dish soap or about a teaspoon of plain laundry soap. To speed up this process of breaking them in, add a pot or two of boiling hot water.

It’s recommended to do between 4-8 pre-washes to prêt your new diapers. Some made of hemp may require a few more washes in order to be absorbent enough to use. The retailer will usually provide you with specific washing instructions depending on the type of diapers you purchased. If you have any question or are unsure, don’t hesitate to give them a call or send an email. Those in the cloth diapering business are generally helpful and want you to succeed and not resort to using disposable diapers so they will teach you whatever is necessary. The above information about several pre-washes does not apply to covers or pocket diapers. These generally only need one wash to prep though cotton and hemp inserts require several pre-washes. Micro fiber inserts will be fine with one or two quick wash cycles.

Now that your diapers are ready to be used go ahead and try them on your little one and wait for that first diaper change. You should have some type of container to store dirty diapers until wash day.

Some people prefer a tradition type of diaper pail with a flip top lid. Others like an open basket or plastic storage container. A wet bag can also be used, either as a liner for your “diaper pail” or on its own sitting somewhere or hung on a doorknob. This diaper pail can be thrown in with your diapers and washed each time. Some of the dirty diaper container designed for disposables may work well as long as they are big enough to hold a few days worth of cloth diapers.

Urine only diapers do not require anything special just toss them into the diaper pail until wash day. The same goes for exclusively breast-fed babies pooped in diapers. They can also go straight into the same pail and the waste is water-soluble and will come clean during the wash cycle. If your baby is formula fed or has started to eat food it may be necessary to dump whatever is solid enough into the toilet prior to putting in the diaper pail. Anything that doesn’t easily fall off will come out in the wash and get drained into the sewer where it belongs. Many people are afraid of the poop factor but honestly it isn’t bad at all. Today’s washers are heavy duty and eliminate the need to dunk or swish dirty diapers in the toilet like what was done in the past. To make the solid poop even easier to deal with some parents purchase and install a toilet sprayer designed for use with cloth diapers. These are helpful but pricy - between $35-80 and are not a necessity. Another option that may be useful, especially when making the transition from disposable to cloth, is flushable diaper liner. These catch any waste and can be easily flushed away making clean up even easier.

When you have enough dirty diapers for a full load (or run out of clean ones) simply dump your pail into the washer. A pre-wash cycle on the cold setting helps get anything left over out before the main wash. Soap is not necessary for this step. After the pre-wash you should do the longest heavy duty cycle on the hottest setting. Now is when you can add a tiny amount of laundry detergent . Front loaders generally require the smallest amount of soap while traditional top loaders may need just a little bit more. Amount of detergent used also depends on what type of water you have (hard or soft) and the diapers you are using. Amounts needed are generally one to a couple of tablespoons. What is important to remember is that less is more. You can always add soap to a load if you find that your diapers are not coming clean but getting extra suds out is a lot harder to fix. The detergent you use should be as plain as possible. Those containing fragrances, enzymes, fabric softeners, bleach or other whiteners are not recommended. These can weaken your diapers, cause them to repel, coat them resulting in repelling and easily build-up which leads to diaper rashes and stink issues. Some good detergents are: Charlies Soap, Allens Soap, and Tide Free. An extra rinse is helpful in getting some extra soap out. Small amounts of vinegar and/or baking soda may be useful if you are having issues with urine smelling diapers or they aren’t getting clean enough.

Most diapers can go straight into the dryer and will take one to two cycles to become completely dry. Certain covers and some pocket diapers should be line dried so refer to the manufactures directions.

If you have an outside clothesline and it’s a sunny day this is an even more economical way to get your diaper dry.

While most diaper covers such as PUL, nylon and fleece may be washed along with your diapers, wool requires special care. Wool needs to be hand-washed, generally once a week or when soiled using a special wool wash product such as Eucalan. This contains lanolin which will help keep your wool cover from leaking. Some prefer to use gentle baby shampoo but will need to do extra lanolizing after each wash. Lanolizing refers to treating your wool with lanolin. Lanolin can be found in drugstores or online by the brand name of lansinoh or purelan. These are generally sold to heal sore nipples when breast-feeding and you may have gotten a sample at the hospital. A tiny amount is needed each treatment so a small tube will last a long time. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of lanolin in a cup of hot water. Add warm water to cool it down slightly and pour in a basin large enough for your cover. Then put your wool in the solution to soak for at least 15 minutes. This process will help keep your wool cover from leaking, even overnight. To dry your wool cover roll it in a thick towel and gently press. You want to be careful not to stretch it out or shrink it as wool is sensitive. Hang or lay to dry, this may take several long hours but then when ready can be used for another week or so before the process needs to be repeated.

Diaper may very well get stains and they may wash out after a few cycles. It’s important to not use any liquid stain remover as this can damage your diapers and cause build-up issues. (although I found that SHOUT does work wonders) If the stains are persistent and bother you hang them in the sun to dry after washing. The sun is a natural bleaching tool and will whiten any dingy diapers in a matter or hours. If necessary you can place a few open diapers on the dash of your car and the sun will be magnified by the windshield and erase the stains away.

Washing cloth diapers can be easy and even enjoyable. It may take a little while to figure out your method and tweak your wash routine but it will be worth it in the end. You will be grateful you aren’t throwing out cans of disposable diapers every week; instead a couple of machine washes will keep your cloth diaper stash clean and available.


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