Washing Diapers
Washing New Diapers
The first time washing new diapers or accessories, you just want to do a simple wash on hot with a small amount of detergent. This will help any diapers with PUL, suedecloth, microfleece or microfiber soften up and get that chemical smell out. You can wash any new diapers 2-3 times before using, but it's not necessary. It will only help make them softer and more absorbent if you do.
If you haven any diapers, doublers, etc. with hemp, they will need to be washed and dried several times before use. Hemp is full of natural oils and the material won't reach full absorbency until all these oils have been removed. Hemp can take as many as 8-11 washes before it comes fully absorbent.
Cotton diapers will also need to be washed and dried several times before use. Much like hemp, cotton has natural oils that need to be removed before becoming fully absorbent. It takes 6-8 washes to remove all the natural oils from cotton. You can begin using them after about 4-5 washes because they will have enough absorbency by that time.
Bamboo is another material that becomes more absorbent after washing. I recommend you wash and dry it at least 2-3 times before use.
Before You Wash
* Remove solid matter from diapers.
* Exclusively breast or bottle fed babies poo does not need to be removed - it washes right out.
* Remove inserts from pocket diapers.
Basic Cloth Diaper Washing Instructions
* Always use highest water level allowed by your washer.
* Begin with a cold rinse, no detergent.
* After cold rinse run a regular wash cycle on hot, using 1/4 cup detergent or if your using a detergent made for cloth diapers, follow the instructions on package.
* Follow up with an extra rinse on cold.
The first cold rinse is to get all the nasties out and the second cold rinse is to get all the detergent out.
Add 2 spoons of distilled white vinegar to your rinse cycle. It will help soften hard water, it helps removing stains, works as a good sanitizier. It also helps to remove detergents rests from your laundry and lowers the pH of diapers (human skin pH is a bit acid).
Modern washing machines use less water due to environmental concerns; however, this has led to the problem of poor rinsing on many washing machines on the market, which can be a problem to people who are sensitive to detergents. Detergents rests in diapers react with urine and causing skin irritation.
Other Diaper Washing Tips And Tricks
* Add baking soda to the first rinse help fight stains and odors.
* A 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar will help soften hard water. (Vinegar is indeed good for babies, but can attack plastic and metal parts of the machine.)
* Always attach aplix closures to the laundry tabs. Otherwise your diapers will stick to each other.
* Desitin and other zinc oxide diaper rash creams will stain your diapers. If you need to use these put a liner in your diaper before putting it on your baby.
* Washing more than two dozen diapers at a time can cause pilling of the diapers from too much friction.
* Washing more than two dozen diapers at a time can cause low water in your washing maschine. The low water in the rinse phase of washers doesn't get all the detergent/urea residue out of the diapers.
* An extra spin cycle will help make your diaper drying process faster.
* Dyed diapers can leave color imprints if left lying out while wet.
* Never wash new hemp with anything else. The natural oils of the fiber will cause repelling in your diapers and inserts.
* Wash reusable nappies at mainly 30°C and a cool rinse. A hot wash every now and then is OK but regular hot washing will affect the life of the Velcro and elastic.
* Do not use any kind of fabric softener as this will coat the fibres reducing absorbency. It also stays in diapers and can irritate your baby skin.
* Try and avoid a drier when possible. The fluff you clean from the drier filter has to come from somewhere.
* Do not use bleach, harsh stain removers, sodium bicarbonate or vinegar with bamboo products.
* Leaving your stained diapers (or any other clothing for that matter) out in the sun for a day can make stains magically disappear.
* Spin drying speed lower to 800-1000 RPM. Your diapers will live longer.
