Washing cloth diapers at home is a cost-effective alternative to using a diaper service. The process involves washing every other day, flushing solid bowel movements down the toilet, using hot water and mild soap, and occasionally using a vinegar rinse or bleach cycle. Air drying is recommended, but tumble drying is also effective.
Many parents argue that the best way to wash cloth diapers is to have a diaper service. This is expensive, with services ranging in price from around $25-75 US Dollars (USD) per month. Since part of the motivation for using cloth diapers may be to save money, this is not an appropriate choice for many parents. Instead they have to navigate the world of washing diapers at home which is pretty simple if you follow a few basic steps.
First, there is a difference between how you treat the diapers of a breastfed baby and those of the formula-fed baby or any baby who consumes solid foods. If a baby is exclusively breastfed, there is usually no need to prewash diapers. On the other hand, when you have to wash the cloth diapers of your formula-fed baby or most toddlers, you are likely to see more solid bowel movements (BM). A good rule of thumb is to make sure you flush solid parts of BM down the toilet. You may also want to rinse particularly sticky BMs from diapers by hand.
You should probably be prepared to wash cloth diapers every other day. You usually keep soiled diapers in a covered diaper bin or diaper pail. Don’t wait too long between washes or bacteria and mold can grow and develop on the diapers. Ideally, you might want to wash a load every day.
Make sure your washing machine has a hot water cycle. If you only have hot water cycles on your machine, probably the best method is to turn off the cold water supply to your machine when washing. This will ensure you are using the hottest water. Your goal is to both clean and sterilize the diapers, killing any germs that may exist in dirty diapers.
Also, you should avoid using harsh detergents when washing cloth diapers. Many don’t rinse off completely and can irritate your baby’s butt. Even bleach, although it was once commonly used, can go unwashed and tends to degrade diapers over time. Instead, it’s best to use a mild soap. This can be a little hard to find; try looking at health food stores for soaps, or choose cleansers like Ivory Snow®.
You can help remove odors and clean diapers more thoroughly by washing diapers in a white vinegar or apple cider vinegar rinse, after doing a soap wash cycle. It’s especially important to run your machine a second cycle if you don’t have a hot water rinse, or at least a warm water rinse. So ideally, plan to run two full cycles on a heavy-duty setting and hot water when washing cloth diapers.
When you take the diapers out of the washing machine, they should smell fresh and clean. If your nose tells you otherwise, give it a second or even a third flush. While many recommend air drying, this may not be practical for everyone, and tumble drying tends to produce more heat, killing even more germs.
If the diapers accumulate stains over time, it’s okay to use an occasional rinse with bleach. Simply run a bleach cycle before starting your normal washing procedure. This will ensure that the bleach is rinsed out completely. You can probably get away with a bleach rinse two to three times a year (some parents suggest once a month), but pay attention to washing instructions when shopping for diapers and before washing cloth diapers.
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