Raise your hand, if you are one of those who want to adopt cloth diapers in life but are hesitant thinking about laundry. We all know cloth diapers are safe, economical, environment friendly, and cute. But eww, what happens to poop? Or you are one of those parents who just got few cloth diapers and confused about how to clean it once soiled. Allow me to help you with my tired and tested cloth diaper laundry routine.
I hope you have prepped the diapers and little baby is in one. Later your little one is all set to get in another fresh diaper and you are having a soiled or dirty diaper now. Did the baby poop? What’s next?
What about the poop?
Simple, knock off the solids. During the initial months when the baby is either breastfed or formula-fed, poop won’t be solid. Gross, I know. But actually, it’s not. You can use a liner for that purpose. I hope your shoulders are relaxed now.
Well, knock off the solids (if any), give it a spray in the toilet, and put in a waterproof bag.
If there isn’t any solid, still giving it a spray before storing would be a good practice. But it’s not compulsion.
When to wash the diapers?
Parenting is tiring and you just won’t have energy or time to wash each one by one. So, let them pile up. You can do laundry either daily or on alternative days. But try not to extend beyond 3 days.
How to wash cloth diapers? A cloth diaper laundry routine.
Before getting into the process, let’s talk about detergent to use. After cloth diapering for over 2 years I can say, the simpler detergent, the better it works.
Always choose a detergent without optical brighteners, whiteners, or extra enzymes. So, from our Indian market one can choose Surf excel, Tide original, or Rustic art. We have used Rustic Art Natural Little Laundry for years and would highly recommend that.
You can choose either to hand wash or machine wash. No brainer, machine would save some energy from the already tired parent.
Hand washing cloth diapers
For our babies, every parent goes the extra mile. If you are a parent who prefers hand washing or even if machine wash regularly, at times difficult things just happen. Or you are traveling and using these cloth diapers there and there is no machine. So, you have hand wash soiled diapers.
Steps:
- Fill the bucket with hot water depending on the number of diapers to wash. It should be enough to immerse all diapers in hand.
- Add detergent in the right quantity and give a stir.
- Add diapers in the bucket and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes. It would reduce your efforts.
- Then give all diapers a good scrub removing stains.
- Drain all water. Rinse diapers in cold water. Rinse well to make sure detergent is washed off.
- Squeeze gently to remove excess water. Shake them.
- Line dry all diapers. And you are done
Pro tip: If you run out of hot water, you can continue as previous steps just do it a little longer. Little extra soak, rub, and rinse.
Machine washing cloth diapers
Steps:
- Unload your diapers from wet-bags or waterproof bags where used ones are stored.
- Set the machine and add detergent. If you can choose settings for a wash then go for cold pre-wash, then hot main wash, long rinse, and medium spin. For pre-wash add about ¼ of the recommended amount with respect to diaper count.
- After the wash, if you feel diapers are still soapy. Then give it another wash.
- Line dry all.
Pro tip: Line dried diapers might feel a little stiff. To bring back your fluff, toss it back and forth. That’s another fun responsibility for my toddler.
I have a stack of cloth diapers. Minimal and basic. Some of them are from Bumberry, some from Superbottoms. I love the fact of how absorbent both are. It fits well for my little one. It is easily available, pocket friendly and a quick responding customer care service are huge plus points to sticks with the brands for my cloth diapering journey. However, there are other brands coming up in the Indian market as well like Alva baby, Tushions, Cloth Diaper Shop, Fig-O-Honey, etc.
Can I wash other clothes with diapers?
Yes, you can. Once diapers are done with pre-wash, add all required clothes in the mix.
Remember avoid using any type of fabric softener or antiseptic liquid. They would adversely impact diaper’s absorbency levels.
Now, if you have religiously followed all the steps yet diapers are stinking. Maybe the culprit is hard water or the detergent wasn’t right or amount was not sufficient. So, maybe you can use a hard water softener or do stripping once in a month. Stripping means removing mineral and other deposits from cloth diapers. You need to stripping only in need. Stripping is done only for absorbent parts like inserts and not outer shells.
I hope this helps you. Maintaining a strong cloth diaper laundry routine aids in the care of diapers, longevity, and hygiene.
Happy cloth diapering!
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Sure can with due credit. Do add my Facebook page while sharing.
Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thanks
Informative post. Good job done Pradnya. Bumberry is my first choice too…
Thanks for reading. 🙂
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I have only machine washed the diapers until now. These laundry tips are definitely a keepsake for me especially when I try hand washing.
We did a machine wash routine too. If only every mom knew the first steps to wash and caring for cloth diapers and how easy it is to cloth diaper, we would have more moms readily taking up cloth diapering.
that’s really an informative post for us. thanks for sharing
I have used cloth diapers for my toddler and found those really good. These laundry tips are going to help lot of moms who struggle and don’t know how to keep these strain free.
Thorough post on cloth diapers buddy. I didn’t know about them ehrn kiddo was young.
This is a superb post, Pragnya! I have used cloth diapers for almost 2 years but never knew the right way to wash these diapers. This is a must read article for all new parents who want to start cloth diapering their baby.
Cloth diaper laundry is one of my favourite tasks! Glad you have given a detailed description it will help the new moms for sure.
Cloth diapers are really good but one should be really careful about its proper laundry technique to avoid infections.
Cloth diaper are good as they dont create rashes and also can be u sed for lomg time
I haven’t used cloth diapers for my son because i wanted to evade all the cleaning process. Your laundry routine sounds good for keeping diapers clean and baby’s skin rash free or germ free.
I recently gifted my cousin cloth diaper. They are so great saviour and even I used for my kids and really its laundry routine is important for no more infection to babies
I have used cloth diapers for daughter when she was a baby, however not these smart diapers. And yes they were a mess and I had to shift to disposable ones leaving her skin vulnerable. But this is a very good option.
It is wonderful to see you spreading some good words about cloth Diapering. I am sure this will help all new parents to adopt cloth diapering.
Cloth diapers are not only environment- friendly option but are a;lso cost-effective. You have explained the entire process of cleaning them in detail. Nice.
What an informative post! It takes a few extra minutes to wash diapers, but when done the right way, they easily last 2 kids.😁