Wash & Care

There are about as many cloth diaper washing routines out there as there are diapering options. So, I will tell you the two most popular methods and you can try them both to see what works best for your baby.

Method One (top loading washers)

• Works best with top loading washers that allow you to choose the water level.
• Use plenty of water.
• You may want to run a rinse on cold first to get out most of the poo.
• Then wash with hot water.
• An extra rinse is recommended. It is very important to make sure that the diapers have been rinsed enough to get out all of the soap.
• Experiment with how much soap to use. I find that using the recommended amount is usually too much. Try half or ¼ of the recommended amount.
• Dry on medium or hot.

Method Two (front loaders/how we do it at our house)

• Works best for front loading washers. Because they use so much less water, they require more washes.
• Rinse on cold first.
• Wash them 2-3 times on warm (you can use hot).
• An extra rinse is recommended. It is very important to make sure that the diapers have been rinsed enough to get out all of the soap.
• Experiment with how much soap to use. I find that using the recommended amount is usually too much. Try half or ¼ of the recommended amount.
• Dry on medium or hot.

In my experience…
We have been using cloth diapers since 2000. Twice we have had two in diapers. Here are some answers to questions we've been asked or have needed answers to ourselves.

Dunking. You can dunk your cloth diapers if you want to. We don’t. Soiled newborn diapers go right into the bucket. When the poo is a bit more formed we just gently shake it into the toilet and put the diaper into the bucket.

Sorting & buckets. Some like to separate pees & poos. We don’t. It all goes to the washer at the same time. Some also like to have wet buckets (meaning they have water in the bucket). We don’t do this for the safety of the baby and also because if that bucket ever got tipped over - yuck!

Water Temp. I have heard that unless your water heater is turned to boil (which it shouldn't be if you have children), you are not accomplishing much by using hot instead of warm water.

Skin Irritation. If baby develops a red diaper area you may want to consider the following:
You may still have soap in the diapers. Check by wetting diaper with clean water. Then ring it out into a container - do you see soap? Try less soap and/or more rinses. A bit of vinegar in the rinse cycle can help to get all of the soap out.
If you are adding enzymes to the wash it is possible that they may not be fully rinsed out and when baby urinates they are reactivated. Try not adding enzymes.

Cloth Diapers wear out. It’s true. Hanging covers and diapers out to dry is something I like to do when I have time. However, I have not found that it significantly reduces the wear & tear. I think most of the wear occurs in the washing machine. You can bleach out stains in the sun. Cloth diapers are great because they have less impact on the environment than disposables. So use and enjoy them! Wash them with love and know that they are wonderful for your baby.