All about laundry...

Have you ever wondered if you're washing your cloth diapers correctly? Well, here are the answers!

Three ways to find out what you need to know:

1. Read the label. Yes, most cloth diapers do come with a label, especially pocket diapers, All-In-Ones (AIO) and fitted diapers.

2. Visit the manufacturer's wesbite.

3. Ask the person from whom you bought the diapers how to wash if you're unsure! Most diaper store owners are moms who work really hard to make their customers happy, and they are more than willing to help you!

Our general washing instructions:

1. Rinse poo off diapers if it will rinse off. If it is solid, shake into potty. The only poo that is really difficult to remove is of peanut-butter consistency. This is when a diaper sprayer or flushable liners come in really handy. Breastfed infant poo will often not need rinsing off, especially if it has all soaked in to the diaper. If you're not sure whether you should rinse or not, go with your gut instinct!

2. Store diapers in a dry pail. Wet pails are no longer recommended, for many reasons. We use a trash can (kitchen sized) with a water-resistant, washable & reusable pail liner.

3. When you are almost out of diapers (i.e. you have at least enough left to use while you're doing the laundry) put diapers, covers (not wool), pail liner, wetbags, etc. into the washing machine. Use the appropriate type and amount of laundry detergent (this is VERY important. See detergent section for more). Wash according to what works for you. Before you get started, get to know your washer. See our washing-machine info below. Our favorite wash cycle includes a pre-wash, a hot wash, and 2 rinses. We use a front-loading machine, so we just program our washer to do this. If you have a top-loader, the same thing can be acheived by doing a cold wash, then a hot wash. You will have to start your washing machine twice. It is NOT necessary to use detergent on both washes unless your diapers are extremely soiled. Be sure to rinse all detergent out (no bubbles left).

4. Drying. Air-drying is always an option. It may or may not take a long time. Our preference is to put all fitted diapers, prefolds, and inserts into the dryer and dry on hot (this is fine as long as there is no PUL on the diapers). We hang dry all pocket diapers, all-in-ones, pail liners, and wetbags. If you desire to dry everything in the dryer, it must be on medium. Hot dryers wear out the PUL fabric and other water-resistant fabrics. The exception to this is that some manufacturers will tell you to dry your diapers or wetbags on hot the first time to seal any tiny holes made by sewing machines. Feel free to do this if the manufacturer tells you to!



Washing Machine Info:
If you have a top-loading machine, you'll notice that some cycles are longer than others, or some have numbers next to them. For instance, Cold-6, Warm-8, Hot-12. This means that the machine will go through six cycles (all cold water), 8 cycles (1 warm, the rest cold), or 12 cycles (1 hot, the rest cold). In general, the higher then number, the more times water is filled into the machine and emptied/rinsed/spun.

If you have a front-loading machine, you will probably be able to program exactly what you're looking for. My favorite is to add a pre-wash, extra rinse, and extra fast spin. I set the machine for hot water (not sanitary) and cold rinses. The pre-wash is automatically a cold wash in most machines, since hot water sets stains, and the reason for the pre-wash is that things are DIRTY!

If you're not sure what will happen, watch your machine. It's sort of interesting. Alternatively, you could read the manual. If you don't have the manual, try searching online for your washing machine model.


About Detergent:
Please be sure to use only an approved detergent. There is a great list of HE detergents and Regular Detergents (many of which can be used both in HE (front-loading) and Regular (top-loading) washers).
Be sure to read the instructions on the deteregent packaging, and always use 1/2 the amount recommended on the package for washing your cloth diapers. Many of these detergents are fantastic for use on all of your clothes, including baby's clothes.

Our Favorite Detergent: Country Save. We've tried several, and this is the one we've liked the best so far.