The In's and Out's of Cloth Diapering: Washing!

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Ask 20 different people that you cloth how they wash them and you will receive 20 different answers.  That is because a washing routine really depends on what kind of machine, you have, what kind of water (hard of soft), and how often you will be washing.

So what I am going to do is give you some basic info on washing your diapers and you can go from there. Sound good? Okay, here we go!

The basics of washing

1. Do NOT use a wet pail, essentially a bucket full of water. This is something of the past. And not only is it a drowning hazard for young children but it could also lead to a case of the "stinkies" or mildew. YUCK! Today most people use a diaper pail with a liner inside of it or a hanging wet bag.
1. Choose a detergent that is free of enzymes, dyes, and fragrances.  In last weeks post I shared my recipe for homemade detergent with you.  But if that is not your thing you can check out this chart for a list of safe detergents.
2. Look at what type of washer your have. HE (High Efficiency  or a regular washer and even if it's a top loader of front loader.  These matter because what settings you use or how you wash will depend on these.

A basic Routine

In last week when I shared my recipe for homemade detergent I also shared two different washing routines that I use depending on the amount of time I have and how many diapers there are (we only CD part time). 

But here is a basic wash routine that most people use:

1. On wash day throw all of your diapers and pail liner or wet bag into the washer
2. Do a rinse cycle on cold with no detergent. (If you use hot water you might cause stains to form from any residue.
3. Do a full wash cycle on HOT with about 1/4- 1/2 the amount of the recommended detergent.
4. Do a second RINSE cycle to ensure all of the detergent is rinsed out.
5. Shells and covers should be line dried in order to keep the waterproof material effective but every things else can be thrown in the drier.

This is pretty much the same routine that I follow BUT I only use 2 Tablespoons of my homemade detergent and sometimes skip the pre-rinse or the final rinse. 

And Remember everyone's wash routines are different and what works for me not work for you and vice versa.  You will just have to experiment to find out what works for you and your washer.