Washing Cloth Diapers
Washing cloth diapers is the part of using cloth that makes most people cringe. Fret not! It’s not difficult, scary, or disgusting. If a baby is breastfed exclusively, there is no reason to rinse off the stool before washing the diaper. Breastfed babies have bowel movements that are completely water soluble since breastmilk has very little by-product so these diapers can go straight into the diaper pail.. Once a baby has started solid foods, the stool will likely just shake into the toilet. This is a practice that even parents of babies in disposables should be doing. Waste that goes into our garbage could contaminate our resources. When it is flushed, then it is cleaned and disposed of properly. If the poo gets stuck on the diaper, a simple scrape with an old spatula (obviously a retired one) will do the job. Another great tool is a sprayer nozzle that attaches to the toilet. I admit that I am rather addicted to mine and use it to spray out the tub as well as my mop bucket.
Dirty diapers should be kept a container that has a lid but not one that is air tight. The air flow will help to keep your diapers from getting funky. Honestly, they really don’t smell bad. If you find that your diaper pail is giving off an offensive odor, try putting some baking soda in the pail. Baking soda odor tabs are easy to make too. Just make a paste of baking soda and water, put it into a mini-muffin pan (or half fill regular muffin molds), and let dry. These can be put in the oven for a bit to dry out faster. Some people fill their diaper pails with water, but this is not necessary. Keeping diapers in a wet pail can encourage bacterial growth, damage your diapers, and can create a drowning hazard.
The frequency that you wash your diapers will depend on your diaper stash and preference. Diapers should be washed at least every 3 days, but if you’re willing to wash every other day, you can have a very small stash of diapers. On laundry day, just dump your dirty diapers into the washing machine, add 1/2 cup baking soda (optional but useful), and run a cold cycle. Some people like to let the water run and then stop the cycle for a while so the diapers can soak for 20 minutes or so. They can soak longer if you get busy as forget them. After running the cold cycle, run a hot cycle with about 1/4 the amount of detergent recommended for a regular load of clothes. Lastly, run another cold cycle with a vinegar rinse to help remove any detergent or otherwise residue. Vinegar can be placed in a Downy ball (fill to about half full). After this, smell you diaper. It’s okay. It’s clean… hopefully (haha). If it smells like anything, it needs another rinse. Some times (and really only sometimes), diapers will need to be stripped to remove residue. This is really not as scary as it sounds. This simply means that you need to wash your diapers with a little Dawn dishwashing detergent to dissolve any oils or soap residues that may be effecting your diapers. Stripping is performed on clean diapers, though they don’t need to be dry to begin. So if you make it through a usual wash routine and find your diapers are not as clean as you would like, you can strip them before drying.
After your diapers are clean, you’ll need to dry them. You can place them into your dryer but remember not to use a dryer sheet. Dryer sheets (and fabric softeners) can cause your diapers to accumulate reside that will make them less absorbent. Another great way to dry diapers, is on a line outside. It’s such a beautiful and peaceful sight! I don’t know why but seeing cloth diapers clipped to a clothesline just seems soothing. A benefit of line dryer (aside from it being free and totally eco-friendly) is that the sun will help to bleach the diapers. Using chlorine bleach in your washing routine is not encouraged. Bleach damages the integrity of the diapers and will cause them to have a much shorter life. The sun will naturally remove stains (it’s amazing to see what the sun will do to a stained diaper) and will also kill bacteria. Bacteria is not something that anyone should worry about on a usual basis. If your diapers were sitting in the pail for an extended amount of time or there was a serious illness, then it might be. If you are particularly worried, diapers can be boiled to kill bacteria and yeast.
