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WASHING INSTRUCTIONS
******************************NEW DIAPERS************************************
Wash and dry new cloth diapers 5 to 10 times to remove chemicals and/or natural oils. This will also increase the absorbancy of your cloth diapers. We recommend drying on with high heat between wash cycles or a minimum between every other wash cycle in this initial washing process to promote full absorbency. Use low-residue detergent the first wash cycle or 2, then plain water the following 4 washes or so. If you have heavily chlorinated city water, 3 washes will probably be adequate. Diapers will continue to increase in absorbency with the next washes.
Do not worry if you notice that your cloth diapers "quilt up" during this process. This is normal. To extend the life of our cloth diaper covers, we hang them dry. It is especially important to do this with diapers with elastic such as AIO's, fitted diapers, and diaper covers to preserve their elastic and their waterproofness.
The washing instructions are for a full load of cloth diapers. You may include nylon and polyester diapers covers in this load. Handwash all wool covers.
****************************Everyday Washing************************************
No Soak Method
If you only have access to a coin operated machine follow this method:
Cold Wash. Place all your soiled cloth diapers in the machine with baking soda for a cold water wash.
Hot Wash. Add your wet cloth diapers to load, add detergent and baking soda and wash in hot water.
Rinse. Rinse cloth diapers with cold water and vinegar.
2nd Rinse. Rinse cloth diapers with cold water.
SUPER SIMPLE METHOD – what we use here. We recommend disposing all solid waste in the toilet with minishower or swishing prior to placing in diaper pail if using this method.
Hot wash. With about ½-3/4 the manufacturer’s recommended amount of detergent. Add baking soda if desired. You can also choose to add water softener additive in this cycle if you have hard water. You can find some in the laundry isle in most local grocery stores under the brand name Calgon (different from the bubble bath stuff!)
Warm rinse. You may need to switch the dials on your washer between the wash and rinse cycle to accomplish this. OR stop the washer after the wash cycle and restart the entire cycle with no detergent - I haven’t tried this on a HE washer to know if this works. This is the cycle to add vinegar if desired. Avoid vinegar if you have hard water, it contributes to odor problems.
2nd rinse. A second rinse of either warm or cold water
For any washing method- If your diapers do not smell clean and fresh when you take them out of the drier, try using more detergent. If they have an overwhelming ammonia smell with urination, try using less detergent.
What about stains? Place the diaper fresh from the wash, stained side up in the sun- watch the stain disappear like magic. No further additives or treatment needed.
CAN YOU RECOMMEND A RECIPE FOR CLOTH WIPES?
There are several recipes you can use for cloth wipes. Here is one: 2 or 3 drops of tea tree oil- this can be found in the band-aid isle of most pharmacies, with 1 tablespoon of Dr. Bronner's soap or baby wash and 8 oz of water.
To hold your wipes you can use an empty disposable wipes container or a wipe warmer. You can store wipes dry and spray or squirt them as you need to as well. Do not store wipes wet for more than a few days as you may find mold growing!
WHAT DETERGENTS OR CLEANING AGENTS SHOULD I USE TO CLEAN MY CLOTH DIAPERS?
Stick with enzyme and optical brightener free detergents. Avoid labels with “brightens whites” and “keeps colors like new” Generally you should use ½ of the manufacturer’s recommended amount. More than this amount can promote detergent build up which leads to odor problems in diapers and sometimes wicking problems in covers. Borax and bleach are not recommended, especially bleach on PUL covers. Brands we like here are Country Save which can be found and purchased at countrysave.com or on our website.
For more indepth information on detergents residue and detergents please see
http://www.bummis.com/en/Detergent-Residues.html
WET PAIL AND DRY PAIL METHODS
There are 3 basic methods for storing wet and soiled cloth diapers, wet pail, dry pail and wet/dry pail.
Dry pail: All cloth diapers are placed in a covered pail. Sprinkle baking soda to control the odors.
Wet pail: All cloth diapers are placed in a pail half filled with water. Make sure this pail is covered to prevent infant drowning.
Our preferred method is the dry pail method. We used to use the wet pail system (for dirty diapers only), but it was messy and unwieldy. Now we simply dunk dirty diapers (and swish if necessary) or spray with minishower into the toilet bowl before tossing in the dry pail. We keep our diaper pail in the bathroom for easiest transfer to the diaper pail.
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