cloth diapers... how we wash them

this is another major question i get related to cloth diapering - how do you wash them? is it a ton of extra work? what do you do with the "stuff" in the diaper? ;) well, i'll tell you! and you might be surprised to know that it is really not hard at all!

when i first started cloth diapering i was gung-ho - i would wash every other day and use the special "cloth diaper approved" detergent and always pull the inserts out of the covers and on and on and on. and then after about 2 months i realized that it is not that complicated and i was making it harder (and more expensive) than it needed to be! so i have chilled out a bit and now i have a routine that is most simple and convenient for me. maybe it wouldn't work for everyone but for me it works great.

i make my own laundry detergent. i have been for over 2 years and when i first started CD'ing i thought i would have to buy a special detergent. so at first i did and it was ok. but then i just thought i would give my regular stuff a try and it has worked beautifully! in my experience i feel like my regular detergent has done just as good as the special stuff, and it's cheaper and more convenient to use what i already have on hand!

whatever detergent you decide to use, i have found that simple is better when it comes to your wash routine. so i wash once on cold with a cold rinse with a scoop of washing soda to get out all the stinkies. then i wash on hot with a warm rinse, and this is where i add my detergent and another scoop of washing soda. finally, another hot wash/warm rinse with nothing to make sure and get all the detergent out. i know it sounds like a lot but i always want to be sure to get all the detergent out. and my washing machine doesn't have an extra rinse option, so in order to get another rinse i have to do another wash. to me it's not that big of a deal. it takes me less than 2 hours to do all three washes if i stay on top of it and start the loads as soon as the previous one ends. then all of the inserts and prefolds go into the dryer and the covers and pockets hang to dry. i usually do this at the end of the night so that they can hang dry overnight and then in the morning i have a bunch of clean diapers ready to be stuffed and put away! then they are ready on the changing table for diaper changes, so i can just grab and go - doesn't get much easier than this people!

i want to note here, make sure your water setting is on high when you wash. this is where high efficiency washers can be hard for cloth diapers. you need lots of water slushing around in that washer to make sure that your diapers are getting good and clean and then good and rinsed out. if you set the water level to low or medium because you don't have that big of a load it is not going to have enough water to really rinse your diapers well and you might deal with buildup issues. this has been an issue for me in the past and i wanted to make sure to note it because it was something i didn't even think about and probably others haven't considered it either.

i usually only wash twice a week, i have enough diapers to get me through 3-4 days. and i usually pick evenings when i know i will be home so that i can stay on top of it and get it done. that's it! it's pretty easy and simple to be honest. when it came down to it i just didn't really want to spend the extra money on a special detergent when i felt like my regular detergent worked perfectly fine. and i didn't want to spend the extra time doing diaper laundry every other day when i could go for three days without any issue.

one more thing i have found to be SUPER helpful for absorbency and stink is bleach! i know bleach has a bad rap with cloth diapers but i am talking about bleaching your microfiber inserts, not your covers or anything with PUL. bleach will ruin the PUL but for microfiber bleach is recommended to strip the inserts every once in a while. i have found this to help strip anything off the inserts that can lead to repelling issues. also, it helps get rid of stink when that starts to build up after a few months. i have been CD'ing full time for about six months and i think i have bleached maybe three times, so it doesn't have to be often, maybe every two or three months, but i think it helps a ton. 

another thing that is wonderful to deal with stains and stink is the SUN! one of the most recommended methods of getting out stains on diapers in to sun them for a few hours. i am so excited for the weather to warm up so that i can hang my diapers out on the clothesline again! i was able to take advantage of the line for a little bit in the fall but then the weather turned too cold and i haven't been able to for a few months. i am excited for the sun to work it's magic on some stains that have built up over the winter months! :)

that's it! i feel like my wash routine is pretty basic and easy but it works well for us. plus, it allows me the freedom to only wash every few days, which makes cloth diapering less of a burden and more of a joy!

what is your wash routine? how have you made it work for your family?


and in case anyone is interested, the detergent i make is the recipe listed first in this post -
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/05/homemade-laundry-detergent-charlies-soap-nuts.html
but i have tweaked it a bit over the years and if you would like more specific information on how i make it i would be happy to tell you! leave me a comment and i'll get back to you :)