I have been cloth diapering Milo for 5 months today! We arrived home from the hospital and I started using my Newborn Sandy's, SIze 1 bamboozle, XS BumGenius AIO's and some Bummi's prefolds (although I will admit, it didn't last too long with the prefolds-- that's another post).
As someone who thought this was going to be a MAJOR adjustment laundry wise, I will tell you-- its been way easier than I thought. I was committed to cloth diapering before Milo was even conceived for the environmental and health reasons, but as someone who piled up her laundry to do every other weekend, I was prepared for a real challenge here. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that it really was the least of my new found challenges as first time mother. Yeah, there are a ton of things that were harder than I thought - breastfeeding (ouch, but we're all good now ;), keeping my house semi clean, finding the motivation to exercise, trying to get Milo to nap more than 30 minutes, you get the picture. Adding 2 -3 loads of laundry per week was not huge deal, especially since babies tend to get their clothes dirty, your clothes dirty, blankets, wash cloths, etc dirty at such a pace that you are doing more laundry any way. Long gone are the every-other-weekend days...
Another awesome thing-- you don't need to hang diapers up, like clothes. I hate hanging stuff up. If I could buy all non-wrinkle clothes and replace my closet with a chest of drawers-- I would.
I don't want to sound like I am bragging-- but with only 18 diapers in my stash I do laundry 3 times per week and I don't have any stains, a stinky diaper pail, and have a pretty simple washing routine. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, all waste is water soluable so it can all go straight into the washer-- no pre-toilet rinsing necessary (unless its a super big one, then see tip #5). If your baby is on formula, or has started solids, shaking off the solids is necessary before you hit the routine.
Here are some of my tips:
1. HOT wash-- be comforted by the fact that producing/ manufacturing a disposable diaper uses more energy and water than washing cloth diapers AND you are keeping them out of the landfill where they reside hundreds of years. So don't feel bad cranking up the temperature on your washing machine. All cloth diapers that I sell, are able to take a hot wash no problem. If you have some kind of Sanitary cycle though, skip it-- its close to boiling and too hot for any PUL materials.
2. Good soap and not too much - I use Melaluca, and after running out once and buying 3 different kinds without success, I think I will stick with it. It washes out the best and that is key. If you are having problems with absorbency or skin irritation, your laundry soap is the most likely culprit. Soap residue really sticks to cloth diapers, so enzyme, fragrance free are best-- you don;t want to see any soap bubbles in your final rinse. Here is a list from the Diaper Jungle on the best brands for cloth diapers. Strangely Melaluca got a poor rating, but after trying Seventh Generation Free & Clear, Tide Free and Ecos Free & Clear-- I think it washes clean so maybe they tested a different kind of Melaluca :S
Update: I started using Rockin Green Cloth Diaper Laundry soap and while Melaluca worked better than others I had tried, Rockin Green is amazing! I used to use 2 inserts in all of his pockets, now he only needs one since the inserts can absorb so much more -- zero soap residue.
3. High Water setting & Extra Rinse-- Even if your 12, 18, 24 diapers would warrant a small or medium water level, use the the max water setting, the rinse is key to removing any excess soap residue. An extra rinse is recommended if you see any bubbles in wash rinse. 9 / 10 I do an extra rinse, cold is fine. An extra cycle is a good idea too.
Update: With Rockin Green, I haven't needed to strip or do multiple rinses. Just one extra and there are ZERO bubbles, and I am not so obsessive about checking for bubbles anymore, since I know there are none.
4. Do diapers every 2 - 3 days -Don't let stains set! Also effective if you are suffering from diaper stink issues -- ammonia or urine scent that lingers in clean diapers. Try washing a bit more often, change soaps (although stick with a frangrance free), or try stripping the diapers occasionally (3 hot washes with a bit of vinegar in the second wash).
5. Diaper Sprayer for BIG poops- I don't use it every time, especially if laundry time is coming soon (within a day), but my little guy is famous for a weekly HUGE one so the sprayer is awesome for dealing with the super gross-- anything you wouldn't want to put in your pail but don't want to start up the washing machine. I sell them on the site, $52 and really easy to hook up and hang next to your toilet. Small but powerful.
Update: I have started putting Milo on the potty every diaper change, we catch about 50% of poops this way. The sprayer is also great for rinsing the potty right into the toilet. No contaminating tubs or sinks.
6. Bio-liners-- if you have tried all of the above but still have some stains, the liners are great. Flushable or compostable/ biodegradable they save your diaper from bearing the brunt of the yucky stuff. Especially helpful for those babies on solids as it makes clean up much easier.
7. Sun-- have some stains, there is no better all natural brightener/ whitener than the sun. Lay them out, hang them out-- and its pretty amazing!
Those are my 7 tips, to brag worthy, easy cloth diaper laundry. Do you have any additional tips, or do you have a specific issue with cloth diaper laundry?
As someone who thought this was going to be a MAJOR adjustment laundry wise, I will tell you-- its been way easier than I thought. I was committed to cloth diapering before Milo was even conceived for the environmental and health reasons, but as someone who piled up her laundry to do every other weekend, I was prepared for a real challenge here. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that it really was the least of my new found challenges as first time mother. Yeah, there are a ton of things that were harder than I thought - breastfeeding (ouch, but we're all good now ;), keeping my house semi clean, finding the motivation to exercise, trying to get Milo to nap more than 30 minutes, you get the picture. Adding 2 -3 loads of laundry per week was not huge deal, especially since babies tend to get their clothes dirty, your clothes dirty, blankets, wash cloths, etc dirty at such a pace that you are doing more laundry any way. Long gone are the every-other-weekend days...
Another awesome thing-- you don't need to hang diapers up, like clothes. I hate hanging stuff up. If I could buy all non-wrinkle clothes and replace my closet with a chest of drawers-- I would.
I don't want to sound like I am bragging-- but with only 18 diapers in my stash I do laundry 3 times per week and I don't have any stains, a stinky diaper pail, and have a pretty simple washing routine. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, all waste is water soluable so it can all go straight into the washer-- no pre-toilet rinsing necessary (unless its a super big one, then see tip #5). If your baby is on formula, or has started solids, shaking off the solids is necessary before you hit the routine.
Here are some of my tips:
1. HOT wash-- be comforted by the fact that producing/ manufacturing a disposable diaper uses more energy and water than washing cloth diapers AND you are keeping them out of the landfill where they reside hundreds of years. So don't feel bad cranking up the temperature on your washing machine. All cloth diapers that I sell, are able to take a hot wash no problem. If you have some kind of Sanitary cycle though, skip it-- its close to boiling and too hot for any PUL materials.
2. Good soap and not too much - I use Melaluca, and after running out once and buying 3 different kinds without success, I think I will stick with it. It washes out the best and that is key. If you are having problems with absorbency or skin irritation, your laundry soap is the most likely culprit. Soap residue really sticks to cloth diapers, so enzyme, fragrance free are best-- you don;t want to see any soap bubbles in your final rinse. Here is a list from the Diaper Jungle on the best brands for cloth diapers. Strangely Melaluca got a poor rating, but after trying Seventh Generation Free & Clear, Tide Free and Ecos Free & Clear-- I think it washes clean so maybe they tested a different kind of Melaluca :S
Update: I started using Rockin Green Cloth Diaper Laundry soap and while Melaluca worked better than others I had tried, Rockin Green is amazing! I used to use 2 inserts in all of his pockets, now he only needs one since the inserts can absorb so much more -- zero soap residue.
3. High Water setting & Extra Rinse-- Even if your 12, 18, 24 diapers would warrant a small or medium water level, use the the max water setting, the rinse is key to removing any excess soap residue. An extra rinse is recommended if you see any bubbles in wash rinse. 9 / 10 I do an extra rinse, cold is fine. An extra cycle is a good idea too.
Update: With Rockin Green, I haven't needed to strip or do multiple rinses. Just one extra and there are ZERO bubbles, and I am not so obsessive about checking for bubbles anymore, since I know there are none.
4. Do diapers every 2 - 3 days -Don't let stains set! Also effective if you are suffering from diaper stink issues -- ammonia or urine scent that lingers in clean diapers. Try washing a bit more often, change soaps (although stick with a frangrance free), or try stripping the diapers occasionally (3 hot washes with a bit of vinegar in the second wash).
5. Diaper Sprayer for BIG poops- I don't use it every time, especially if laundry time is coming soon (within a day), but my little guy is famous for a weekly HUGE one so the sprayer is awesome for dealing with the super gross-- anything you wouldn't want to put in your pail but don't want to start up the washing machine. I sell them on the site, $52 and really easy to hook up and hang next to your toilet. Small but powerful.
Update: I have started putting Milo on the potty every diaper change, we catch about 50% of poops this way. The sprayer is also great for rinsing the potty right into the toilet. No contaminating tubs or sinks.
6. Bio-liners-- if you have tried all of the above but still have some stains, the liners are great. Flushable or compostable/ biodegradable they save your diaper from bearing the brunt of the yucky stuff. Especially helpful for those babies on solids as it makes clean up much easier.
7. Sun-- have some stains, there is no better all natural brightener/ whitener than the sun. Lay them out, hang them out-- and its pretty amazing!
Those are my 7 tips, to brag worthy, easy cloth diaper laundry. Do you have any additional tips, or do you have a specific issue with cloth diaper laundry?
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