Washing Cloth Diapers?
I am new to cloth diapering and have just started to wash my diapers. Here is how I’ve been washing them:
Cold wash with 1/3 cup baking soda
Hot wash/Cold rinse with 1/3 cup baking soda and All free and clear w/ half of recommended detergent
Cold rinse w/ downy ball half full of vinegar
Cold rinse again to remove vinegar smell.
How many times do I wash them this way? Is it ever ok to just wash them on hotwash/cold rinse with half of detergent and vinegar? Is it common for cloth diapers to create lint balls when you first start washing them and does this ever stop? Also how do you know when you need to strip your diapers?
Like I said I’m totally new to cloth diapers and want to make sure I wash them right so I get the maximum absorbancy and softness.
Tagged with: Cloth • Diapers • Washing
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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What kind of diaper are you washing? Pre-folds, pockets, AIOS? I ask because there are some types of diapers, such as the bumGenius pocket diapers that should not be washed with baking soda, as per the manufacturer’s instructions! You are using a lot of extra stuff. The vinegar and baking soda is really unnecessary in most cases. The less stuff you put on the diapers the better, well except in the case of water!
Do a cold rinse cycle to spin out urine and any remaining solids. Wash with a full hot cycle/cold rinse with 1/4 the recommended amount of detergent. And then run another cold rinse cycle.
I would stop using the All Free and Clear detergent. It contains optical brighteners that can cause build up on diapers and cause smells and leaks … which would lead you to need to strip your diapers! I recommend Country Save detergent! Here is an excellent chart regarding the best and worst detergents to use with cloth diapers:http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/de…
You need to strip diapers if they are leaking or wicking. You may also need to strip them if they smell even after being washed. The most common cause is detergent build up. Also, if you use fabric softeners they can cause build-up on diapers too (even if you don’t use the dryer sheets with your diapers your whole dryer is coated with the residue from the sheets and can transfer to your diapers — if this is something that could be happening at your house you need to clean your dryer’s interior with some vinegar).
My mom cloth diapered all of us, the last was 7yrs ago. She just did two washes in hot with cold rinse. We never had problems with stains or smell.
The lint balls are from putting too much in one load. Limit the wash to 18-24 diapers.
Good directionshttp://www.diaperjungle.com/washing-clot…
Okay I washed for twin boys for 2 years in cloths here is how I did it. xxx
1) Remove Nappy Liner if soiled and throw away. If not soiled wash with nappy
2) Two bucket filled of a morning (or when ever you wash) with boiling hot water. Add to these buckets 1/2 a cup of plain nappy detergent.
3) Next wash day put the wee nappies in washing machine for warm wash with 1/2 cup vinegar. Full cycle
4) Rinse Cycle soiled nappies. Then Hot wash with 1/2 cup detergent. When the machine drains & refills add 1 cup of vinegar. The leave to rinse and spin.
5) Hang out those beautiful white nappies for the world to see.
Your Questions
Every day or every couple of day, depends how many nappies you use.
I wash nappies in either hot or warm cycle. Rinse in cold.
Lint goes with towelling nappies, don’t stress.
Strip nappy?? I don’t understand what you mean there.
I never used anything else, except what I have said and occasionally I would have extremely dirty nappies. I would soak in a low grade bleach for 4 hours then wash with no added soaps, in a hot cycle.
you are doing fine–it is better to wash them in cold or warm water, but not hot–hot will usually set stains in. Vinegar cuts the laundry soap, and you can use amount recommended for softener and lint should either stop or diminish. Putting baking soda in wlaundry soap should be enough. As baby gets older you can revert to fab. soft. and use small amounts at a time until you see if baby reacts to it–you can also try fabric soft. sheets–sometimes young babies can handle them better than liquid. In general, you are doing fine