Caring for Cloth Diapers
How do I wash my diapers?
First, you will need a place to store your diapers. A small diaper pail, trash can, or a waterproof bag will work. There are two methods to storing diapers: wet pail or dry pail. To use the wet pail method, fill a pail with water and soak diapers until wash day. You will need to change your pail water at least daily and if you soak your diapers for long periods of time in certain solutions, it may affect the life of your diapers. There is the added danger of having a deep pail of water in areas where young children often play unsupervised. We do not recommend the wet pail method. We recommend the dry pail method. With a dry pail, as the name suggests, no soaking is required! You may use this method with or without a pail liner. We recommend a liner because it keeps the pail clean…and you can toss the liner right in with wash! Pail liners can be found here. For exclusively breastfed babies, you can throw all the diapers directly in the pail. You may choose to rinse off the dirty diapers, but it is not necessary. Once the baby is on solids the dirty diapers will need to be rinsed off before placing in the pail. You may choose to use a minishower to rinse your diapers off. Minishowers are a wonderful way to clean soiled diapers without having to “dunk and swish” them in the toilet. We have used ours for over 4 years now and couldn’t live without it! Wash as often as you need to…or at least every 3 days.
• Start with a cold rinse or short cold wash.
• Then wash on hot with a small amount of detergent and follow with a cold rinse.
• Follow up with another cold rinse with no detergent to make sure diapers come out clean and soap free! Sometimes diapers can get a buildup of detergent. You can check for suds when doing a rinse. If you see suds in your water during the rinse cycle, keep doing rinses until you no longer see suds. In areas with hard water, build up can occur. In such cases, stripping might be necessary.
You may use any detergent that you would normally use, with a few exceptions. Free & Clear detergents aren’t recommended because they have been known to cause build up on the diapers (especially synthetic fabrics).
Do I have to use a special detergent?
We are reluctant to promote one detergent as being the best for cloth diapers. As water hardness/softness varies around the country and different children have different reactions to the chemicals and enzymes in detergents, there is no one best solution. As with all things in life, we find simple and natural is best and have always washed our families’ diapers in the most natural detergent we can find.
How to make my diapers smell good?
In order to combat any unpleasant odors, many families use Deo Disks. Deo disks are small citrus scented deodorizing disks designed to fit in a slot on the top of diaper pails. If your pail does not have the appropriate slot, they can be taped to the inside of the pail. These last 3-4 weeks and are a huge help combating odors, especially if you wash infrequently.
Another option is to use Diaper Buddies. Diaper buddies are scented soap products that both help deordorize your diaper pail and also act as a laundry booster.
What about stains?
Occasionally diapers will develop small stains. We have found that sunshine is the best remedy for stains. The sun eliminates both stains and germs wonderfully. Wash your diapers as usual and then place in the sun for one or two days and the stains tend to drastically lighten and disappear.
Do I need to strip my diapers?
On occasion, especially in areas with hard water, detergent build up can occur. In such cases, the diapers need to be stripped. You will notice the detergent build up if the diapers develop an odd scent or if they suddenly become less absorbant.
How to strip my diapers?
First do a normal was as described above. Then, do a second wash USING NO DETERGENT with the washer set at the highest setting allowed (be careful with water temperature with any diaper that includes a cover). Some people opt to put a drop of liquid Dawn in this second wash to help cut the oily build-up although we rarely have found this necessary. Do a third rinse with a dash of vinegar added to the cycle. Finally, do a fourth and final rinse. Check to make sure there are no suds in the washer. If there are suds, detergent is still present, and the diapers will need to be rinsed again. Continue to rinse until no suds appear. Diapers can then be dried as usual…either line dried or put in the dryer.
Can I use bleach?
Using bleach on a regular basis is not recommended and can void the warranties of some of the diapers. However, you may find it useful to use a small amount of bleach occasionally to sanitize your diapes if they develop an odor. If you choose to use bleach, we recommend a 1/4 of bleach added to your wash no more than once every 2-4 weeks.