Cloth Diaper Care- What you need to know!

I recently made a post on cloth diapers.  That was probably a little overwhelming, especially if you knew nothing about them to begin with.

What the hell are these?

Well, Princess Girl Face and I loooove us some cloth diapers, but you know the most interesting thing about cloth?  You have to WASH it!  You don't just throw it away like a disposable.  

Caring for your cloth can be daunting at first, but soon enough you'll get a routine down.

One thing you need to do is pick a laundry detergent.  This can be trial and error, depending on where you live and the quality of the water.  If you have super hard water, you may need to add a water softener.  If you have super soft water, prepare to rinse like a maniac.  There are a variety of detergents labeled "Cloth Diaper Safe."  In my opinion, any detergent that does NOT have any additives (like Febreze, strong scents, bleach, etc) will work just fine.  The reason for this is build up.  If you get build up, your diapers will not be as absorbent or will even repel liquid, obviously causing leaks.  No good!  

I just about gave up on using cloth before I started because I was scared out of my gourd about picking a detergent.  Looking online, I thought I'd have to buy some wacky, overpriced specialty detergent.  but don't fret, it's really not so bad!  I use original Tide powder.  I started with All Free & Clear, and it just didn't seem to get the job done, so I switched to Tide liquid, which worked fine, I just happen to like the way the Tide powder smells (Weird, I know).

Freak, they're the same thing!

Anyways, here's a short list of what's generally considered "safe" for cloth diapers.

Rockin' Green (this is a definite favorite I've noticed)

Country Save

Eco Nuts (they seriously look like little weird acorns, but they clean your diapers!)

Tide - The cloth diaper community is kind of split on this.  A lot of people say it works fine, others say to steer clear.  I've been using it for 9 months without a single issue.  And we have pretty hard water.  

All Free & Clear - I think any detergent that's "mainstream" is considered debatable in the cloth world.

Ruby Moon

Charlie's Soap

Diaper Jungle has a chart that compares detergents.  (Please note, they say to absolutely not use Tide.  As stated, I disagree wholeheartedly.  It's up to you though, as there are plenty of other great options out there!)

Another thing to steer clear of is fabric softener, of any kind.  The liquid or the dryer sheets.  They cause build up.  Which is bad. 

The first thing you need to do when getting Fluff Mail (what we cloth diaper fanatics call getting diapers in the mail) is to prep them.  You need to do this to make sure they're either absorbent (inserts) or thoroughly waterproofed (covers, shells, etc).  Different items and materials require different kinds of prepping.  

Prepping your diapers!

To prep covers, shells, and just about anything with PUL or TPU (the laminated layer that makes the fabric waterproof), you don't need to do anything extraordinary.  You can wash in cold with a little bit of detergent.  This will get the original chemicals off.  Some manufacturers recommend that after washing, you dry on high heat for 30 minutes to seal the PUL.  Other companies don't.  I always do.  Even if I plan to line dry them later, they always go in the hot dryer at least once.  I don't like to risk leaks.  An exception to this is anything with exposed PUL, such as a regular cover.  I think the high heat may be bad without an extra layer of fabric in between.  You can dry those on a lower setting, or opt out of the drying all together.

Inserts, flats, prefolds, fitteds and the like, should be washed and dried MULTIPLE times (probably 5 at least) to make sure they're super absorbent.  The more you wash and dry, the better they get.  HOWEVER.  You must be careful with natural fibers.  They have oils in them.  You don't want to wash a brand new hemp insert with your diapers, as the oils will come off and make your diapers repel.  The way to get around this is to boil them.  Yep, make insert soup.  Put them in a pot of boiling water for about 20 minutes, then wash and dry like normal.  

Mmm tasty.  Don't forget to wash the pot!

In my other post, I touched on wool items.  They should be hand washed, and never put in the dryer.  You have to lanolize them.  Here's a great resource for wool, as I don't know much about it:  Lanolizing Wool Diaper Covers

In cloth diaper land, the dryer is a constant debate.  It's generally accepted that the BEST way to dry your diapers is in the air.  The heat is said to break down the waterproof layers faster, rendering your diaper useless and leaky.  I like to use the dryer because I live in Oklahoma.  It is SO windy here.  And I don't have a clothes line.  I will hang them to dry if I do diaper laundry late, as most are usually dry by morning.  This is only for the shells and covers though.  Inserts, prefolds, and fitteds always go in the dryer.  They're just fluffier that way.

If I didn't live in the windiest place ever I'd totally do this.

I'm getting one of these though.  It's ALMOST as cool.

To recap:  

• Wash natural fibers separately from your synthetic fibers to make sure the oils don't transfer.  A sure fire way to take care of this is to boil them first.

• Wash and dry until you can't handle it anymore.  Probably 5 or 6 times.

• Your diaper shells shouldn't need much prepping.  A quick wash and dry should do it.

After your diapers are prepped, you get to put them on the baby!  Then your baby uses them as intended.  Yep, despite their cuteness, they will get pooped and peed on.  

True Story.

So now what?  Well, let's start with where you store the dirty diapers.  Most people use a wet bag or a diaper pail liner.  These are waterproof bags, usually made out of the same PUL material that the diapers are lined with.  

Pail Liners.

A pail liner is usually big enough to fit into a kitchen sized trash can.  Some have handles, drawstrings, or elastic sewn on so you can hang them if you choose.

Ridiculously adorable wet bag.

Wet bags are typically smaller than pail liners, as these are what you'd take in your diaper bag for on the go dirties.  They come in a variety of sizes, and most have a zipper (not all though, so look out for that if a zipper is important to you).  Some people use one or more wet bags as storage instead of a pail liner.  That's up to you!

Washing your diapers! 

You won't want to wait too long in between washes.  This can lead to stinkies!  How often you wash will probably be dictated by the number of diapers you have in your stash.  I'm up to like 40 pocket diapers alone, so if I got super lazy, I could go like 4 days without washing.  I wash every other day though.  As far as the stuffing all the inserts into the pockets?  That could take me a while.

Seriously, no one's laundry room looks like this.  Wait, is that a man?  

Let's talk about poop.  How fun!  Now, poop is obviously the worst part of cloth diapering your kiddo.  But it's unavoidable.  

When your baby is very little, if you breast feed exclusively, you won't have to rinse the poopy out before the diapers get washed.  The poop from exclusively breast fed babies is water soluble, a little like yogurt (only a little), and will dissolve in the wash.  This is SUPER EASY.  I recommend it.  

Once they're older and you introduce solids, or you have a formula fed baby, the routine is a little different.  And more disgusting.  

This is how I feel when it's time to rinse a poopy diaper.

I suggest you get a diaper sprayer and hook it up to the toilet.  It's like a mini shower to spray the poop away.  If you don't use one, you'll need to find a different method.  You can "dunk and swish" (exactly what it sounds like) or rinse in the sink.  If you use the sink, don't forget to disinfect!  I prefer the sprayer so I'm not reaching down towards poop water.  Watch the pressure on the sprayer though, if it's too high, you'll get spackled.  And you don't want to get spackled, I promise.

Dunk away!

Ahhh.

After you've rinsed them, you'll throw them into the washer.  No detergent at first.  You'll use a cold rinse to get any remaining solids off, so that when you are washing on hot, you're not washing in poop water.

Next, add your detergent of choice.  Wash on warm or hot.  I always wash on hot to make sure the diapers are sanitized.  It's up to you what temperature you use, though.  If you're worried about the heat hurting your diapers, choose a cooler setting.  

After the hot wash, I suggest at least 1 extra rinse.  During this cycle, open up the washer and check for suds.  If it's still sudsy, rinse again.  Repeat until no more suds.  If you leave the suds, that means soap isn't completely washing out of the diapers.  That causes the nasty build up we talked about.  Eww.

Your drying method is up to you.  You can choose to utilize the dryer to get speedier results, or hang them up to dry.  I always dry anything that doesn't have a waterproof layer.  Like I already mentioned, it all stays fluffier that way!  (Don't forget though, DON'T DRY WOOL!!!!)

I shall call him, Mini Me!

If you do end up with stains, put your diapers out in the sun!  Always make sure they are clean and WET.  The sun is a great bleaching tool, and you don't have to use actual bleach!  Always a plus.  For very stubborn stains, try spritzing some lemon juice on before hanging the diapers outside.

Stripping!

If you do find yourself with build up issues, don't despair!  Your diapers can most likely be saved.

Start with clean diapers.  They can be fresh out of the wash, they don't have to be dry.  Run a hot wash cycle like normal, but instead of detergent, use original blue Dawn.

You'll add a small squirt of blue Dawn to your wash cycle.  This will help strip away any of the oils or other built up gunk you may having going for you.  Next you rinse.  Rinse your brains out.  Rinse until there's not a spec of soap anywhere.

I'd like to note, though, that I've heard that some washing machine companies will void your warranty if you use this stuff in them.  Not sure why, but if you're really worried, contact the manufacturer.  If that's the case, you can strip by hand.  NOT FUN, but doable.  Just fill up your bath tub with hot water and scrub each diaper.  Then rinse until the water runs clear.

And I will now leave you with Princess Girl Face being awesome again.