Washing Routines

When I first decided to cloth diaper, I was really nervous about washing them.  I read all of this information saying that you need to soak the diapers for a few hours, use a special soap that you have to order from the internet, all these crazy elaborate routines... I was freaked out.  I followed the advice at first, I used the special detergent (first Purex Free and Clear, and then Rockin' Green) and only used 2 tablespoons of it per load.  It was fine at first, but eventually my diapers were stinky and awful.  As soon as he would pee, the whole diaper smelled like poop.  I actually almost gave up on cloth diapering because it was so gross.  Then I read that Tide was actually a really good detergent to use, and I was intrigued.  Every place said to avoid detergents with fragrance, dyes, and enzymes but Tide had ALL of those things.  I figured that I didn't have anything left to lose at that point, so first I bleached everything then started using Tide.  What a difference!

In my experience, those natural detergents just don't work and sometimes you have to use a little bleach.  I mean, think about it- what would you do if you had a bunch of shirts that had gotten peed and pooped on?  Would you skimp on the detergent?  No way.  You would use a good strong detergent that would clear the mess away, and you might even add a bit of bleach for good measure.  Some babies really are sensitive to fragrances and enzymes and if that is the case then you shouldn't use something like Tide, but most babies will be just fine.  It's all experimentation, so sometimes you have to try a few different detergents until you find what works, or add in extra rinses at the end.  But once you have it down, it's great!

So, this is my washing routine that I do every other morning.  It's easy, it's uncomplicated, and it works like a dream.  I have a non high efficiency top loading machine with hard water and I use liquid detergents.

- Cold rinse/spin cycle.  This gets the bulk of the pee/poop residue off of the diapers.
- Hot "Super Heavy Duty" cycle, Gain or Tide detergent measured to the "2" line
- 2 more cold rinse/spin cycles.  These extra rinses make sure that all of the detergent has been rinsed from the diapers.  I've found that if I only do one rinse, my son sometimes gets a little rashy so I always do 2.
After that, I take out my pocket shells and PUL covers and hang them up to dry on a drying rack
- Cold rinse/spin cycle with a cap full of plant based fabric softener- either 7th Generation or Ecover.  You can skip this step, but I like having soft diapers.
- 2 dryer cycles on medium heat.  You can dry on high, but medium will make the diapers softer. I add a dry towel to the dryer and it cuts down on drying time.

Start with a really basic routine like that, and then tweak from there as needed.  If you're having trouble and need help, feel free to contact me.  Another good resource is Diaper Swappers.  The ladies on DS can help you solve just about any laundry problems.

Frustrations For The Day

First of all, this is what my washer looks like, thanks to my detergent switch.

I usually use Gain, but the store closest to me doesn't carry Apple Mango Tango.  I've used original Tide in the past and it worked fine, so I picked up some of the "Free and Gentle". BIG MISTAKE.  You see, when you wash cloth diapers it's important for all of the detergent to get rinsed out, or it can irritate your baby's skin.  This usually involves doing at least one extra rinse, sometimes two.  Ideally, the water in your final rinse will look pretty close to this-

Nice and clear!  No bubbles!  Colors enhanced!  This stuff is getting demoted to clothes detergent, and I guess that I'm going to have to suck it up and choose a new Gain scent.  And spend the rest of my day resetting my washer to "rinse".  Fun fun.  Please, learn from my mistake and once you figure out what kind of detergent works for your diapers, DON'T CHANGE IT.  EVER.


Another thing that is going on and driving me nuts right now is chafing.  For the past few weeks, Arthur has been getting a little red and rough on his thighs.  As far as I can tell it wasn't bothering him, but I didn't like seeing it.  He would be fine when he woke up in the morning, but it would get progressively worse as the day went on.  I was starting to wonder if his legs were getting chafed from rubbing against the material that the diaper covers are made out of (PUL), so this morning I put him in a prefold and fleece pants to see if that would keep his legs clear.  After 2 changes, his legs were not chafed and he also didn't have any red marks that he usually gets from the elastic in the PUL covers.  This is honestly kind of a pain in the butt.  Fleece is not a waterproof material, but as long as the diaper underneath is not completely soaked then it won't leak.  The outside does get damp sometimes though, which is my issue with it.  Arthur is a moderate/heavy wetter, so unless I change him very often, the fleece usually gets damp.  I've been adding a bamboo insert inside of his prefolds today and they seem to be helping.  My husband will still use pockets on him while I'm at work, so he might still get some irritation on his skin, but it won't be as bad anymore.  Hopefully this is just a temporary thing due to try cold, dry air.  Plus, he is very active and gets around by scooting on his butt, so that has got to make the diaper rub his legs quite a bit throughout the day.  I guess sometimes it's a good thing that I have a bunch of different types of diapers to use, because you never know when you're going to have to switch it up a bit.