Washing Cloth Diapers

There's always that questions about...you know...the poo.  And besides that, is there a method to the madness of washing these things?!  Yes.  There is.  :o)

First, detergent.  As Katrina mentioned in a facebook comment, people have all sorts of different ways of washing and solutions they wash with.  If you're interested in looking at all the different detergents out there, reference this chart.  Otherwise, I recommend Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin (free and clear). 

I've tried All free & clear, Norwex detergent, and Rockin Green (cloth diaper specific), and they caused me problems or didn't clean good enough for my liking.  Arm & Hammer works great AND it's affordable. 

Storing the Diapers until you wash...
I got two planetwise pail liners so I have one to use while the other is in the wash.  Then I got a $10 garbage can from Target and popped a liner in there.  I just drop my dirty dipers straight from the munchkin's bum into the pail.  They sit there until I wash. 

The...poo...
Exclusively breastfeeding:  You can still follow the plan above when you encounter a dirty diaper (and let's be serious, most of the first diapers are dirty).  Just throw it in the pail!  Breastfed baby's poo is entirely water soluble and will wash away like any other dirt you put in your washer.  Yay!

Formula and/or solid food:  You need to remove most of the solids from the diaper before putting in the pail and/or washing.  As we were transitioning to more solid foods, the poo was still pretty runny and sticky so it was more difficult to remove.  I definitely used my diaper sprayer for those diapers.  Now, however, I'm able to just hold the diaper over the toilet and the poo falls off. 

Other methods for removing poo from a diaper:
*use toilet paper to wipe it off
*dunk the diaper in the (clean) toilet water
*use a diaper sprayer (separate post to come on that)

After the majority of poo is removed, drop the diaper in your pail.  If you dunked, your wet bag will contain any moisture.  Just be sure to wash within 2-3 days.  :o)

Washing Method!
1.  Dump all the diapers in the washer, along with the wet bag
2.  Select the largest load size possible.
3.  Run a warm-cold cycle without detergent
4.  Run a hot-cold cycle with detergent
5. Optional - run a cold-cold cycle without detergent to ensure everything was rinsed completely

If you have an He washer, I've heard throwing a wet towel in with the load ensure you get a lot of water flowing...which is a key to clean diapers. 

Drying
Throw all your inserts and prefolds in the dryer.  Each brand of waterproof barrier (cover or one of the new formats with a built in cover) has different instructions about drying.  You're safest if you hang dry the waterproof part.  This will also ensure that your covers last longer - we all know heat causes plastics to deteriorate, and I know I want my diapers to last thru however many kiddos we have.  :o)

So, thoughts?  Can you handle the poo??  Are there other questions you have that didn't get answered?