What is your Cloth Diaper washing routine

So I have been cloth diapering for about 9 months. I love it!

But I am curious on other peoples washing routine when it comes to diapers.

Do you prep your diaper before using it i. e. Boil it or wash it?

Do you use "cloth diaper safe" detergent?

Do you wash it a certain way?

Personally I have gotten some advice from a huge group of mothers who cloth diaper and they have a huge website all about how to wash them and what detergents are good. They even have an extensive list of the washing routine for each particular washer model. I found it extremely helpful and have had such a great success with cloth diapers because of it. Knowing that a wash routine can make a literally break your cloth diaper experience I wanted to find the best one I could.

So what do you do for yours?

I don't wear cloth too often but when I do, this is what I do:

After wearing, I throw the diapers outside, if possible. This allows them to dry some and especially keeps the smell out of the house. I live in a single detached home on 1/2 acre so I have no problem with people seeing this. If the weather is such that I can't do the above or I don't feel like it, I just put the diapers in the Utility Room next to the washer.

I a day or two, I just throw the diapers into the washer with my regular clothes. I use plain liquid Tide and cold water.

After the wash, I dry all my clothes in the dryer except for the diapers. I then dry the diapers separately. I do this because I use fabric softener sheets with my clothes but don't for my diapers.

Yeah you do not want to use fabric softener on cloth. I never wash my diapers with my clothes. If washed together the clothes can have a little bit of a urine smell left behind.

I leave mine in the bedroom in a basket till I wash them. I wash mine a couple times a week. I actually do two washes. A prewash with just a little detergent to get the initial pee out of it. Then I do a heavy duty cycle with hot water and normal amount of detergent. Then After that I dry the diapers. It is a little more in depth that I described but you get the idea.

Lets see, my routine has evolved through trial and error. Currently I store them (dry pail) near the washer and never let them go more than a second day. There's lots of Mom info out there for cloth newbies from the more experienced and like Binkygirl- I've read a lot. Since I'm using the same diapers today's babies do, its all relevant.
I wear a mix of Snap ez and Fuzzibunz pockets using separate microfiber, microfleece, hemp and regular twill prefold stuffers, plus some prefolds I 'pin' with a size 2 snappi and cover with plastic pants.
When I wash, all this goes into a toploading machine, first for an initial cold rinse then I add detergent (don't have a favorite yet) as well as any white onesies and set it for a hot wash - heaviest cycle.
I wish I could line dry at least sometimes but I just can't... so into the dryer everything goes on high heat for an hour, even the Kins lightweight 3 mil plastic pants. With about 6 pairs in rotation I replace 3 or so every 6-8 months and I don't worry about them. I usually have to leave just the twill prefolds in for a second cycle but everything else gets folded and put in a basket to put away. I kind of like the routine and the authenticity of the sights and smells of the whole process.

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binkygirl Do you prep your diaper before using it i. e. Boil it or wash it? [/QUOTE said:

I have boiled hemp inserts to de-oil them and it was even less fun than I thought it would be, right up there with trying to shorten those long babypants snap crotch onesies.

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I usually wear at night and wake up wet, so I rinse mine out in the shower in the morning since I take my shower then. Then I hang them up to dry in the basement and collect them for the weekly wash. I wash them separately and use Arm and Hammer with Oxi clean on the cotton cycle in a top loading washer. I like a top loader because they use a full tub of water. Then I dry them on the hour, cotton cycle in the dryer.

Oxi clean is totally contract indicated for cloth diapers,every time you wash you are killing your diaper more and more.

I usually take the wet diaper off and put them straight into the wash machine. I never let them go more then 24 hours and I do them with the regular cloths but run it on the heavy soil setting. Then do everything like the other cloths.

Tetra said:

Oxi clean is totally contract indicated for cloth diapers,every time you wash you are killing your diaper more and more.

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Oxiclean is often used to help with stains. You more have to be careful with the amount. Yes washing your diapers does cause them to wear out everything but that is how it is with any clothing item. That is why I am working to have enough diapers to only wash and wear each one once a week.

After many years of wearing cloth pin on prefolds, here is my typical weekly washing and storing.
I use a nice decorated 54qt diaper pail with a carbon filter in lid.It is a dry pail with plenty of room for a weeks diapers.
When it is time for a wash,I put some vinegar in the washer tub,add any baby detergent...Target has a good in expensive one,normal wash with an extra rinse.Dryer cycle on towel setting...all done.
Plastic panties do not need washed everytime and do not put them in the pail.If you do wash,wash only and air dry.I like Baby Kins plastic pants as they are soft and fit snug so you know when you are nice and wet.
Hope this reply helps all cloth babies.

A weeks worth!?

I only go about 2-3 days between washing. They can get really gross after that and you want to make sure that things don't grow on them. If you wear them as much as I do even 3 days worth of diapers has to be split into two loads. The way I wash my diapers I have to wash each load twice because I do a prewash to get the bulk of the pee out. This way there is less chance of anything smelling in the end.

I agree totally, gotta stay after it, otherwise it stinks almost permanently. One of my biggest mistakes was burning holes in diapers with bleach. I had gotten some flannel prefolds and let them go too long, I added bleach naturally..when it mixed with the strong ammonia from the dipes everything started smoking! I quickly added water to the washer- It could have burned my lungs had I not realized what was going on.
I know,I know, no bleach on cloth diapers

I try not to let them "age" for more than a few days. I use the same HE "free and clear" detergent that we used for everything else. I throw in a little oxyclean and some febreze-for-laundry and click the extra rinse button on the machine and high spin speed. I remove the plastic stuff and hang them up while all the rest goes into the dryer.

I switch every few months between cloth and disposable. I found purex free and clear with a 1/2 cup baking soda put in with detergent then add 1/2 distilled vinegar to where the fabric softener goes does the trick in getting the smell out.

Set to heavy duty and hot with extra rinse. Tumble dry medium. I don't over three days and put the cloth in plastic shopping bags in the morning and tie it to keep it from drying out. Make sure there isn't printed ink on plastic bag or it can stain them.

Hello! I add myself to this thread cause I just got my order of AIO dependeco diapers and by the way they are AWESOME!!! Way better than what I was expecting. first time I will wear cloth diapers
Anyways, I just wash them for the first time (before using them ofcourse) and I followed all your instructions now they are being air dried, it will take a bit more that 24h cause I leave in an apartment and is kinda cold outside...

I have a question regarding "baby scents": a few months ago I got the mommy's baby scents sell on eBay (they smell soooo good) and I usually put them in my diaper pail and underwear so my underwear and diapers can smell good. But sometimes I put some drops inside the actual diaper (disposable).
Alright my question is, can I put few drops in my AIO cloth diapers or will I jeopardize the fabrics in it?
Should I put the drops outside the diaper?

The "mommy baby scents" are a type of oil-ish.


Also another question: can I spray Febreze to the AIO?


Many thanks and happy new year

couchesstevenboy said:

I have a question regarding "baby scents": a few months ago I got the mommy's baby scents sell on eBay (they smell soooo good) and I usually put them in my diaper pail and underwear so my underwear and diapers can smell good. But sometimes I put some drops inside the actual diaper (disposable).
Alright my question is, can I put few drops in my AIO cloth diapers or will I jeopardize the fabrics in it?
Should I put the drops outside the diaper?

The "mommy baby scents" are a type of oil-ish.


Also another question: can I spray Febreze to the AIO?

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Well I am not sure what dependeco would say but I would be very careful about putting any oil in the diapers. you can use baby powder or some for of sachet in the drawer where you store them. Personally I don't add scent to mine other than baby powder. I am not sure about Febreeze I would be careful because it could cause skin irritation.

Steven... it disappeared for a few years from the market but it seems to be back pretty consistently now, there's a "febreze for laundry". You throw a capfull in with your diaper loads and it does a great job (also does well with my sweaty marathon running clothes).

So it seems we all pretty much wash your cloth diapers the same, just with different detergents and 'additives'. The only thing I really do different is primarly wear my cloth at night and in the morning before showering. So, I decided that I should probably rinse them out then. I start with them on still, plug the drain, and rinses them out well while I'm brushing my teeth and washing hair. I take them off, let them soak in the water underneath, and finish regular routine, letting them get soapy from body soap and stuffs. Usually I agitate them a little, drain, keep rinsing with shower water, cause I like long showers, and then wring them and put them on the towel rack I keep inside the shower. Bath is about the same, but I take them off beforehand, and then do everything after I'm clean.

Takes a day or two to dry, and never had anything grow on them. And then they go in the wash.

I store diapers in dry pail with a PUL liner and wash them every two days. I have gone through many wash routines. The one I use now is I put the diapers and liner in a HE top loading washer and put them on a rinse cycle with nothing added (about 30 minutes). When they are done I add a splash of bleach (1 Tbsp) to the bleach compartment and the dye free hypoallergenic HE detergent to the detergent compartment and put them on a sanitation cycle (hot water, high spin) with an extra rinse at the end. They come out fresh as spring.

I used to hang dry my diapers, but now I live in an apartment so I dry them in a drier. I used to not use bleach, but then my diapers got mildew spots on them a couple years ago (I think it was from the front loading washer we had at the time) and I started using a little bit of bleach on each cycle. Hasn't killed them yet and all my 30 or so cloth diapers are at least 4 years old (some are twice that).

I have a bunch of Dependeco PUL covers and Gary vinyl pants, but I never buy the All-in-Ones because I can launder my diapers separately from my covers. There's lots of advice online from mothers who use cloth diapers on their babies. Most of it I have found to be personal preference.