How to Effectively Clean Cloth Diapers

You want to be environmentally friendly and use cloth diapers to reduce the amount of landfill waste, but you are still nervous about the washing procedure. Many of today’s young mothers were raised with disposable diapers and have this same concern. You may be surprised to know that washing cloth diapers is not as difficult or even as gross as you might imagine.

Gone are the days of soaking, pre-washing, bleaching and air-drying cloth diapers. In the past, this process was quite time consuming and full of work. You can still purchase plain, pre-folded diapers and use them with the soft, washable diaper covers which are now available. The newer models of cloth diapers are much improved over the old style. There are many all-in-one cloth diaper systems to choose from. One such brand is Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers, which are diaper and cover in one piece, with an optional insert. Everything can be washed together, including the “wet bag” which is used to hold the soiled diapers until laundry day.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for cleaning your soft and natural cloth diapers.

If baby has solid waste, you can simply drop the stool into the toilet and flush it away. No swirling and wringing of the diaper is necessary. Store the wet and/or dirty diapers in a diaper pail or your wet bags until laundry time. Just leave them the way they are, there is no need for soaking. Run the diapers first through a cool water rinse when you are ready to wash. Then launder the items in a hot water wash using detergent. Using soaps to launder cloth diapers can leave an oily residue reducing the absorbancy of the diaper. You may also want to experiment with the amount of detergent you use, not only for diapers, but for all your laundry. Many manufacturers recommend using more detergent than you actually need. Irritating deposits can be left on the cotton if too much detergent is used. One way to see if you can use less detergent is to use about half the recommended amount to see if it is effective for you, and adjust the amount from that point. Follow the hot wash with a cold rinse. Most machines these days automatically use a cold rinse, but check your settings to make sure.

If you’re not sure how much detergent is too much, run the diapers through a second rinse. The rinse water should be clear. During the rinse cycle, if you see suds, this indicates there was still some residue left in the diaper. Fabric softeners are not recommended for use with cloth diapers. They leave a coating on the fabric which reduces absorbency. There is more chance of irriation and diaper rash and more need to change the baby if your diapers are lose absorbancy.

Cloth diapers can be air dried or dried in the dryer. The dryer does provide softness, but the sun has natural bleaching and disinfecting qualities as well. Each manufacturer is different so make sure the check the laundering instructions which come with your diaper. Fuzzi Bunz diapers recommends using a low setting on the dryer, while some of the others say to use the hot.

You will find it is possible to keep disposables out of the landfills and help keep the environment clean by using soft natural diapers. And don’t forget you can and put the baby in your favorite Ellaroo baby carrier and go enjoy your world naturally as well!