Cloth Diaper Laundry 101

Wondering about how to wash your cloth diapers?  It's pretty simple actually, keep reading....

General everyday laundry for cloth diapers:

Step 1.  Cold water rinse/short wash--this helps to get out any remaining solids and minimize staining.

Step 2.  Hot water wash, add soap.

Step 3.  Extra rinse-helps to rinse out any remaining soap.

Step 4.  Throw into dryer, or hang dry--whatever your preference is.

Tips:  If your diapers still smell stinky use more detergent.  If your diapers start to leak suddenly, or you feel they are no longer absorbing well, you may have detergent build-up from excess soap.

The Skinny On Detergent

Do you need special detergent?  That depends on several factors-your machine, your water type, and your child's skin sensitivities.  Personally, I use Purex Free and Clear, and have not had any problems with that detergent.  Other families report problems with that detergent.  The owner of Happy Heiny's says that Tide is her preferred detergent.  And of course several cloth diaper manufacturers make their own detergent, all of which work wonderfully.  I like Rockin' Green because they make different formulas for hard and soft water which is very helpful to some families.  When looking for detergents make sure there are no natural oils that might stick to your fabric.  ALWAYS avoid fabric softener and bleach.  

Special Diaper Instructions

Prefolds:  Prefolds when purchased are flat pieces of cotton.  These need to be "primed" before use.  Wash and dry in dryer 4 times.  The prefolds will shrink about 15% and quilt up.  This is normal and necessary to help your prefolds become absorbant.  After 4 wash/dry cycles they are ready to go and will be at maximum absorbancy.  Now you can hang dry if that is your preference. 

Hemp:  Hemp diapers have natural oils on them when purchased.  If not primed properly and separately, these oils will stick to other diapers and cause repelling.  Hemp diapers need to be washed separately in hot water with soap 1-2 times before including them with diapers of other fabrics.

Wool:  This is HAND WASH only.  I recommend Eucalan as your wool wash.  Eucalan has lanolin in it, which makes it a perfect choice for wool covers.  Wool and lanolin work together to kill any bacteria caused by urine, which makes wool covers self-celaning.   Wool only needs to be hand washed about once a month, unless it starts to stink earlier than that.

Still have questions??  Call or email me and we can discuss your issues and troubleshoot.