Comments on: How to Wash Cloth Diapers

on 7/7/2009 My son's grown now, but oh I remember how proud I was to see those beautiful white diapers gleaming in the sunlight out on the line. Sure saved a lot of money!!! Good article;)

on 7/7/2009 My son's grown now, but oh I remember how proud I was to see those beautiful white diapers gleaming in the sunlight out on the line. Sure saved a lot of money!!! Good article;)

on 2/25/2009 This type of routine would be an absolute no-no on the new highly absorbent microfiber diapers like all in ones cover attached), or one size(pocket diapers), even some fitted(contoured to fit baby snugly, but needs a cover. For these types of diapers use a DRY pail, no poop soup allowed. Also avoid vinegar because it can damage some of the leg and waist elastics that are commonly used. No to baking soda too. The best thing to do is use an additive free detergent - no softeners, dyes, fragrances or enzymes. There is a great diaper sprayer for those of you who like the hands out of the water approach - it is available on most cloth diapering web-sites.

on 2/25/2009 This type of routine would be an absolute no-no on the new highly absorbent microfiber diapers like all in ones cover attached), or one size(pocket diapers), even some fitted(contoured to fit baby snugly, but needs a cover. For these types of diapers use a DRY pail, no poop soup allowed. Also avoid vinegar because it can damage some of the leg and waist elastics that are commonly used. No to baking soda too. The best thing to do is use an additive free detergent - no softeners, dyes, fragrances or enzymes. There is a great diaper sprayer for those of you who like the hands out of the water approach - it is available on most cloth diapering web-sites.

on 11/14/2008 I use cloth diapers and have found that as long as the baby is exclusively breastfed, you don't have to dunk in the toilet or soak. It just washes out like yogurt.

on 11/13/2008 I had one of those washers that drained into one side of a cement utility tub before going into the pipes. On laundry day I would wash a load of clothes while the diapers sat in the tub. As first the wash water, and then the rinse water drained into the tub the diapers got an additional couple of rinses before they were placed in the washer.

I saved tons of money by using cloth diapers for everyday and disposables only for trips or emergencies. Now that my baby is grown my husband has a nice stash of rags to use in the garage.

on 10/5/2008 You are all braver souls than I am. I'm still sticking to disposable for now, tough choice.

on 3/29/2008 Diaper pins? Gak! Use snappis. So much easier and safer: http://www.snappibaby.com/generic0.html

on 11/1/2007 Never soak diapers in a bleach solution. Harmful ammonia vapors will result.

on 5/6/2007 I always heard that hot water congealed feces.

on 6/30/2006 So many mothers I talk to are intimidated by cloth diapers. The changing, the folding, the pinning, and of course, the laundering. But the truth of the matter is, laundering cloth diapers is easy!

When my kids were in diapers, there were cloth diapers in our house 24/7. I pinned, used rubber pants, and home laundered from start to finish.

First, now that you have removed that wet or dirty diaper from baby's bottom, what to do: If the diaper is wet, toss it into the diaper pail. If it's soiled, rinse, wring, and toss into diaper pail. Rinse the cloth diaper out in the toilet. I would sit on the edge of the bathtub beside the toilet, and while holding the diaper inside the toilet water with a good firm grip, I would flush the toilet and while the toilet water swirled around, I would dunk the diaper up and down in the swirling toilet water to flush the poop out of the diaper or diapers. I never used rubber gloves. Baby poop is baby poop. All part of being a mom.

With the diaper now rinsed, I gave it a quick twist to wring it out, then tossed it into the plastic diaper pail. Simple. Sometimes with extremely soiled cloth diapers, a little soaking time may be required to loosen the poop from the cotton diaper fabric. On just such occasions, I would plop the dirty diapers into the toilet bowl, and let them sit soaking for a while. Maybe 20 minutes or so. Then follow the steps as outlined above.

Now for diaper laundering. Once the diaper pail has 2-3 days of wet and dirty diapers inside of it, it's time to wash diapers. Note: Try not to exceed the 2-3 day time frame when cloth diaper laundering. Anything in excess of 2-3 days will put baby's diapers at risk of developing mold spots, called (Saprophytic fungi). Since I dry diaper pailed, meaning "no" wet solution inside the diaper pail, I simply dumped the entire contents of the diaper pail into the washing machine, and turned the washer on. A cup of laundry detergent, something mild such as Sunlight or Ivory, and ta-da! Freshly laundered diapers! On warm sunny days, it was out to the clothesline where everything got pinned up to dry.

One thing I should mention is rubber pants. I never, or seldom laundered the rubber pants in the washing machine. I found that the rubber pants lasted way longer if I hand washed and rinsed them, and pinned them up on the clothesline to dry.

Tip. If when you take your baby's diapers down off the clothesline and the diapers are a bit stiff, don't worry. You can soften and fluff them up again by tossing them into the clothes dryer on "air" cycle for a few minutes.

Final last hints and tips. Never use fabric softener on cloth diapers. It will prevent the diapers from absorbing properly, and makes diapers feel greasy. Never over dry cloth diapers. Over drying cloth diapers reduces the life of cloth diapers greatly, and makes the fabric hard and stiff. Use bleach sparingly. Bleach weakens fibers causing cloth diapers to wear out quickly!

Final word. Now quit worrying, and change your baby's cloth diapers with confidence, now that you know the basic "How to do" of cloth diaper laundering 101.

on 11/22/2005 After a year of cloth diapering, this is what works best for me. For solid matter, shake or swish the diaper in the toilet. A "diaper duck" is a great item to have for this. If the diaper is poopy (i.e., of a breastfed baby), or really wet, I put it directly into the wash and run a rinse cycle so that it is relatively clean enough to wait for wash day.
On wash day, only put up to 24 diapers in the washing machine at once. Rinse them out on cold. Using 1 tbsp. detergent, run a hot cycle with an extra rinse on cold. Then run a full cycle again on cold with no detergent and another extra rinse. All the rinsing removes all the detergent which eliminates the chances of rashes or bad odors. Toss them in the dryer or line dry (the sun naturally removes stains).

on 11/22/2005 I use vinegar for so many things. One of the best things I use it for is rinsing my vinyl floor. I get so many people asking me how I keep it so shiny. It works great. I also use it to clean my fridge. It helps with the odor.

on 11/22/2005 I have found that the diaper liners last longer if I just wipe them off with a baby wipe for the wet diapers. If the liners are soiled then I wash them right away. It saves on the wear and tear of the waterproof liners.