Thursday, May 14, 2009 How to wash Cloth Diapers

When you first start cloth diapering you might have a million questions like I did such as: What do you do with the diaper when it gets dirty? Where do you put it? How do you clean it? Is it safe to put it in the washer & dryer?

For those that are new to cloth I decided I would share my laundry routine starting with the moment the diaper gets dirty. One of the biggest questions or concerns I get all the time is "How do I get all the stuff off the diaper?" That is a very good question! I used to have the same concern before I started using cloth. The old fashion way was to just "dunk & swish". But now I have found the perfect solution that makes my life so much easier. It is called a diaper sprayer. If you weren't convinced about using cloth I'm pretty sure this awesome invention will push you over, as it did for me.

There are several places online you could purchase this from. I don't remember where I actually purchased mine from but if you google diaper sprayer you will find many options. For a better understanding on how it actually works I have given step by step instructions and even added pictures.

1st step in my Laundry Routine

This is how the diaper sprayer is mounted on my wall next to my toilet for easy access.

This is how it connects to the toilet and where the water supply comes from. When you leave the knob down like below it shuts off the water supply to the sprayer.

When you are ready to use the sprayer move the knob to the right, like shown below.

This is the lever that you push to spray the water out.

This is what it looks like when you spray the water out, very strong water pressure!

Now before you start, I always fold the laundry tabs back. As you can see in this picture on the left side I folded the 2 touchtape (velcro) sides onto each other. The right side is not folded together. The purpose of folding these together is so that they don't get caught on each other and snag the fabric in the washer & dryer.

Once I'm ready I hold the open pocket side up, because I don't want any of the "stuff" to fall into the pocket.

Now I'm ready for spraying. You will see how easy this sprays all the "stuff" out. Piece of cake!

2nd Step in my Laundry Routine

So where do you put the diaper after you spray off the stuff? What if he only pees, then where does it go? When you exclusively use cloth diapers you will want to have at least 2 days worth of diapers so that you have a set of diapers on hand while the others are washing.

You will need a diaper pail to collect dirty diapers until laundry day. Now a diaper pail can be anything: a bucket, trash can or anything you want to use. I have 1 big diaper pail (trash can) in my laundry room and 3 mini buckets that I constantly rotate. I really should have 2 more diaper pails, one for each bathroom but the buckets work great for me.

Once you decide what you want to use as a diaper pail you will next need to decide if you want a wet diaper pail or a dry diaper pail. I use a dry diaper pail. So let me explain what this means.

A wet diaper pail is a pail with water and a little soap so that your diapers can soak until laundry time, but keep in mind this pail will get very heavy when filled w/all the diapers plus all the water. A dry diaper pail is a pail with all your diapers without any water so the pail itself is "dry". You can decide how you want to manage your pails as well. I prefer to rinse my diapers first before dumping them in the diaper pail so that the "stuff" rolls off easily & quickly. If you let it sit for a week it might take you a little longer to get everything off but it's still manageable.

So the 2nd step is to toss your diapers into the diaper pail. I toss both the pee & poopy diapers in the pail but once I've sprayed off all the stuff from the poopy diapers!

3rd Step in my Laundry Routine

When it's time to do laundry I dump the pocket diapers, inserts & cloth wipes all in my washer. You don't have to pull out the inserts from inside the pockets but I like to do it. There are many detergents out there, so how do you know which ones to use? I recommend using a plain & simple detergent that doesn't have any extra scents or fabric softeners. The 2 detergents that I have used are All and Tide both liquid and powder. Right now my preference is powder Tide HE but you can use either. The most important thing to remember when doing laundry is not to use too much detergent. I fill the detergent up to the first line of the cup.

My washing routine is a cold prerinse, hot wash and an extra rinse. I like to first do a cold wash so that I don't get any stains and also to help remove anything I missed when rinsing with my diaper sprayer. After the hot wash I run it through one more time without adding any detergent to make sure I got out all the detergent out of the diapers. The reason you want to make sure you get all the detergent out is because too much detergent buildup can clog the pores of the fabric and cause the diaper to repel the urine and leak. Also make sure not to add any fabric softener for the same reason.

4th Step in my Laundry Routine

Once the diapers are done washing I throw only the solid diapers, inserts & wipes in the dryer! I don't have a clothesline so I have to depend on my dryer. Your diapers will last you longer if you don't put them in the drier. If you have to put in the dryer like I do I recommend you at least air dry your printed diapers. Over time they can get beat up if put in the dryer everyday. Also I do recommend that you put all your diapers in the dryer at least once so that the pul that is used in these diapers can be sealed.

All this might sound like a lot but once you start doing it you will realize how easy it really is. If I was unclear in anything or I didn't expand enough please email me and I will try my best to answer all your questions or concerns!