Cloth Diaper 101: Part 2

Washing and caring for Cloth Diapers

Caring 

So you have this diaper what do you do with it after the poop or pee in it?

After I have a soiled diaper if it is just pee I just throw it in my dry pail.

(which is a trash can with a PUL liner on it)

If the diaper has been pooped in I shake the excess poop into the toilet and use my diaper sprayer to get any extra stuff off then through it to into my dry pail.

You can get throw away liners for poop, you just lay them in the diaper then if they poop you can plop it into the toilet or trash. Most are biodegradable so they are safe for the environment

and septic tanks.

I wash every couple of days, some people wash every night, just depends or your 

schedule or amount of diapers used.

Washing

The hardest part about clothing diapering to me is the washing of them. You have to be picky and persistent in washing them or you will have some smelly diapers that dont hold anything.

Top Loaders

1 short cycle warm (or cool) water wash without detergent

1 long/heavy duty hot water wash with detergent

Front Loaders

1 soak cycle

1 warm (or cool) cycle with an extra rinse without detergent

1 hot wash with detergent

After I wash them I usually line dry anything with PUL, and dry everything else in the dryer.

If you have a bad lingering smell or have build up then add an extra rinse to either to wash out all the soap. Build up is the most common problem with smell. Either you are using too much detergent, not the right kind of detergent, or it is not getting rinsed out. If you find there is still a smell then you should probably strip your diapers. Which helps get all the yuck off the diapers.

What Detergent to use?

You can buy really fancy, expensive cloth diaper detergent but why spend all that money when you can buy cheaper detergents at your local store or make your own for even less money.

Soem brands you can find locally: All free and clear, Country Save (powder or liquid), Ecos, (Fee and Clear, and Scented), Purex Free and Clear, Sun free, Tide Free

,    

I make my own which seems to be amazing on diapers.

Recipe

1 Box of Borax

1 Box of Washing Soda

1 Box of Baking Soda

2 Cups of Oxi Clean

1 Dr. Bronns Soap bar

I grade the bar of soap then add all the ingredients to a big bucket, I add about 1/4C to my first wash. I also add some Purex crystal to my last load. It gives it a nice smell, and doesnt leave residue to the diaper. You can only use purex crystals because they are not fabric softeners.

Striping Diapers

You can wash your clean diapers in a couple hot washes and that usually helps with build up. 

Some items can be helpful in stripping, but beware, as excessive use of these can hurt your diapers and could void warranties:

1) Vinegar - if you have hard water, it’s best not to use this, it actually might backfire on you and make your problem worse. 1/2 a cup should be good if you don’t have hard water.

2) Bacout – This helps kill bacteria. Some people even spray the morning diapers with this before putting it in the wet bag, others put a little squirt in with the detergent every time they wash their diapers. About 1 teaspoon is good. Some babies are sensitive to the enzymes in this, so if your baby is sensitive to enzymes, you may want to steer clear of it.

3) Oxyclean – this stuff is magic to diapers. It is gentle on them, helps with stains, and helps with the stripping process. 1 scoop is good.

4) Blue Dawn – Second to breast milk, many people would argue this is liquid gold. Not pink dawn, green dawn, or yellow dawn, but for some freakish reason, BLUE DAWN does the trick. Just ONE LITTLE DROP, that’s it. It helps strip the diapers of residue. If you have a front loader, it may be easy for you to just wash them by hand with blue dawn, so you can run it under your bathroom faucet to get a bunch of water through it (since front loaders essentially spit water on the diapers).

5) Water Softener – A water softener such as Calgon may help you hard water people. This will help with the buildup that occurs because of hard water

6) Washing soda – this stuff is like a therapist for pH balance and gets it stabilized a bit. This is especially helpful if you have odor issues with your diapers. 1-2 tablespoons is good.

Don'ts of Cloth Diaper Washing

Don't use any kind of fabric softener it will cause major build up in your 

diapers and inserts and cause them to repel fluid. 

Don't use fancy Detergent, the cheapest stuff is the best

Don't use detergent with additives or brighteners

If you have any questions about detergent let me know

xoxo Nicole