Washing cloth diapers
Washing cloth diapers is often a big hindrance for people wanting to cloth diaper their child. Over complicated wash routines and poopy diapers may seem like an impossible task to take on. But it doesn’t have to be.
When washing cloth diapers you don’t need to over complicate things. These diapers are not made of unicorn hair or phoenix feathers, these are fabric diapers. So as long as you can wash your clothing and bedding, I have faith in your abilities to wash cloth diapers. Sometimes it will take some trial and error but usually it is a very simple task. Sure some diaper systems are multilayers, but with a good detergent and a routine they will get clean, use your best judgment.
A General guideline for washing cloth diapers is
Wash every other or every third day
Do two cycles - A pre-wash followed by a full cleaning cycle
Rinse pooped diapers before washing
Wash on warm or hot (40-60c)
Use good mainstream detergent, that fits your water hardness
Dry your diapers, line dry and/or low heat in the dryer
Re-use & repeat
Detergent
Most laundry detergents on the market are safe for cloth diapers, with few exceptions. When selecting a detergent for your baby's cloth diapers, avoid homemade laundry soaps and detergent with strong fragrances or fabric softeners. Aim for a quality detergent with enzymes.
Usually 2 tbsp of detergent goes a long way and is enough to get your diapers clean. Households with hard water, might need to increase by 1 tbsp or consider adding a water softener like calgon or baking soda to help the detergent do its job. Powder detergent generally contains more water softeners and is typically preferred for households with hard water.
Households with soft water should consider using liquid detergent or very minimal powdered detergent, and be careful as too much detergent can easily cause detergent buildup. With soft water an extra rinse cycle at the end of the washing cycle might be a good idea.
How to store between washes
When storing dirty cloth diapers between laundry days, airflow is key, to keep mold and smells at bay.
We recommend using an open pail, preferably a basket with holes, to store your diapers in between washes. And wash every 2-3 days at the latest, to prevent staining, mold, ammonia and other nastiness.
There are families that wash less often, and don’t have problems, but more days between washes can take a toll on your diapers so they wear out faster. Urine breaks down and becomes ammonia, which can be hard on the fibers if not washed frequently enough. Ammonia starts to form really quickly, so especially diapers of natural fibers, will degrade faster if they are kept with ammonia for a few days.
What to do with the poop?
Before washing the cloth diapers you should discard the poop into the toilet. There are many ways to dispose of the poop.
Popular ways are
Using a diaper sprayer
Dunk and swiss the diaper in the toilet
Using a poop spatula
Diaper liners to help catching the poop
Newborn poop from babies that are exclusively breastfed (EBF) is water soluble and doesn't need rinsing and can go straight into the washer. As soon as the baby starts their first solid foods, or if they get any formula supplementation, poop diapers should be rinsed thoroughly before washing.
Washing by hand
Not all families have access to a washing machine. Washing in the bathtub or in a 5 gallon bucket with a plunger is an effective way to clean your diapers. Sure it will take some active muscle work, but it can be worth it for families that don’t have access to a washer or for traveling families. Washing diapers by hand is an effective way of cleaning them.
How to use the bucket and plunger method
Pre-wash
Fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and 1 tsp of detergent
Put your plunger in the bucket
Dump diapers in to make a stew (depending on system, maybe 6-8 diapers)
Work the plunger for 5 minutes or about 100 strokes
Wring out the diapers
Clean
Repeat the steps with 1 tbsp of detergent
Rinse
Repeat the steps with water only
Hang to dry, ideally in the sun.
Prepping new diapers
Prepping new diapers before first use is essential, but how much prep work is needed depends on the fibers they are made of. Covers and pocket diapers should only need one wash before first use. Absorbency made of synthetic fibers also only needs one wash before being used for the first time.
Natural fibers need a few more washes than synthetic fibers. The general guideline for natural fibers is that it needs about 8 washes to reach their full absorbency.
A great way to prep diapers is to throw them in with your regular laundry after the first wash, that way you can get them washed a few times without needing to do many separate loads while prepping. Unbleached cotton and hemp diapers, need more prep work than bleached white cotton.
Often it is enough to wash new cloth diapers of natural fibers, a couple of times and then just change the baby's diaper frequently in the beginning and keep prepping them like that the first few weeks. Especially if cloth diapering a newborn from birth, as they need so frequent changes and usually need less absorbency in the first two weeks, that it makes it convenient to prep them while using them, even though full absorbency is not reached before use. When starting diapering a toddler or when adding to your diapers during the toddler stage, it is best to make sure to prep diapers well to prevent leaks. Couple of washes might not be enough for unbleached cotton diapers or hemp, as they have more natural oils preventing them from absorbing and therefore need more prep work before first use.
Washing pre-loved diapers
Cloth diapers are meant to be passed down between siblings, gifted or sold between other families. That is one of the things that make cloth diapers economical and so amazing.
Before using pre-loved cloth diapers for the first time it is best practice to strip them, followed by a sanitation with bleach before adding them in with the rest of your diapers. Stripping them strips the diapers of mineral or detergent buildup if there is any, as you don’t know the previous owner's wash routine. Sanitizing them kills any lingering bacteria and viruses if there are any, like yeast, that the former user might have been dealing with.
Stains, sun bleaching
Sun bleaching is the best stain treatment there is. No harsh chemicals needed, just wash as normal and lay or hang the diapers out in the sun to dry. Laying your diapers out on the line or in the window on overcast days will also help with stains, it will just take longer time.
Stained diapers don’t mean soiled diapers and stains will not affect the absorbency or the effectiveness of your diapers.
Newborn yellow milk poop is famed for causing staining in clothes and diapers, but if rinsed right away or dried in sunlight after being washed, will usually fade away the stain completely. Poop stains will also lift over time with repeated washing, without sun bleaching.
If you prefer using stain treatment before washing your diapers, a simple bar soap will usually do the trick. No need for fancy stain treatments or extra harsh chemicals to treat the diapers.
Wool should not be hung in direct sunlight and left to dry in the sunlight. As the sunlight will ruin the fibers over time. Using a bar soap or wool wash is more helpful with stains in wool diapers. Washing diapers as soon as they are soiled will prevent the stains from setting in.
Another tip to prevent staining is also to do your pre wash in cold or warm water rather than hot, as hot water is more likely to bake the stains into the fabric.
