Home Laundering Tips

Home Laundering is a Snap...

1. Shake "poop" into toilet. Newborn stools will be too loose to shake clean. You can optionally dunk newborn diapers in toilet bowl, use a diaper sprayer, or simply set your washing machine cycle for an extra initial rinse. Our machine has a pre-wash cycle that we love for this reason. If you do not have a pre-wash cycle on your washer, then consider running your diapers through an initial short cycle followed by a heavy cycle.

2. Collect soiled or wet diapers in a lined plastic pail. You can purchase a special made diaper pail, but we have found your basic Kitchen garbage can with a foot petal lid, is more affordable, and is available at your local department store. You can optionally add a sprinkle of baking soda to your diapers and pail to help neutralize odors. Once mixed with water in your washer, the baking soda will help to lift stains.

3. For optimum cleanliness, limit the size of your load to no more than 24 diapers. As a general rule, the fewer diapers per load, the cleaner they will be.

4. Then, use WARM or HOT wash (no higher than 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and COLD rinse with high water level. Use a mild detergent with no phosphates, and minimal additives. Add only 1/2 the recommended amount of detergent for top-loaders and 1/3 the recommended dose for high efficiency and front-loaders.

5. Dry in dryer on low heat. Add a dry towel to the dryer to speed the drying process. Occasionally you may wish to dry in dryer on high heat to help with sterilization. Drying in direct sunlight is also an excellent method; it helps to preserve the textiles of your diapers and is great at getting rid of stains. Hang drying will leave your diapers somewhat stiff. So to soften sun-dried dipes, you may choose to use the dryer for the last 10 minutes.

6. Some parents like to add 1/2-cup vinegar to the final rinse to reduce residue of detergent or hard water. Do not use vinegar when washing cloth diapers made from synthetic textiles...this includes most all diaper covers and some brands of cloth diapers. Synthetic fibers tend to hang on to the vinegar smell.

7. Even if you follow all the rules above, you still might end up with the occasional stinky diaper and less absorbent diapers due to pre-wash, detergent, and/or mineral residue. Then the process of diaper stripping comes into effect.

8. Finally, if your diapers are in need of a thorough deep cleaning, you can use a bit of Oxyclean in place of your regular detergent. Do this only when needed.

 Tips: Washing Tips

1. Never use fabric softener or laundry soaps w/ softeners or oils. This causes fleece diapers to have build up which creates leaky diapers.

2. Sun diapers outside for several hours to get rid of stains and unpleasant odors.

3. Use a Downy ball with vinegar in the regular wash cycle to help with stains, build up, and odors.

4. If using a sprayer to remove poop from diaper, wet the diaper a little before putting into pail. This will reduce staining and make it easier to come clean in the wash.

5. Use a washcloth or diaper liner when baby has a rash. This will protect the fleece on the diapers and allow you to use any diaper creams or ointments whether or not they contain oils.

Diaper Stripping:

For those of you with toddlers in diapers, this title may take on a completely different meaning, but for many of us diaper stripping is something we all encounter at one time or another during our diapering days. Often times we wonder when to strip our diapers and how to do it. Here are some answers and suggestions to help out.

What is diaper stripping?

It's a process used to remove build up or odor from your cloth diapers. Build up may occur from using a detergent that contains enzymes and therefore does not rinse out completely from diapers. Other culprits are fabric softeners, free and clear detergents, and diaper creams.

How do I know I need to strip my diapers?

The two main indicators that your diapers might need to be stripped are leaking throughout the diaper and strong odors (most commonly an "ammonia" smell) when freshly washed or just after baby wets in the diaper. Sometimes a bit of leaking, also called wicking, at the legs (especially when wearing a onesie) is common for cloth diaper users. The type of leaking that leads to stripping occur when baby wets and very little gets absorbed by the diaper. All the wetness goes out of the diaper and onto baby's clothes. This is most likely happening because the inner lining of the diaper is repelling due to build up on the diaper.

How do I strip my diapers?

There's more than one way to strip a diaper, but here is the manufacturers' most commonly suggested method:

•  Add 1 Tbsp. Dawn dish soap to 1 qt. water and mix in a good size bowl.
•  Put diaper in solution to wet thoroughly.
•  Using a soft bristled brush (like a toothbrush or baby brush), scrub the fleece or inner lining of the diaper. You will need scrub rather aggressively and all over the inside of the diaper.
•  Hand rinse with warm water until all soap is out.
•  Wash in washer on hot w/a regular cycle (adding detergent is optional).
•  Dry in dryer.
•  Test dry diaper by adding a small amount of water to the inside of the diaper and applying a gentle pressure. You must apply pressure especially with fleece lined diaper because all fleece is designed to wick away moisture. Just running water over the diaper will not tell you if the problem is solved. If water goes through the fleece, congratulations, problem solved! If water beads up and rolls off (even with gentle pressure), repeat the process.