Cloth Diaper Care
It is best to store wet and dirty diapers in a dry pail or wet bag. *We do not recommend the use of a wet pail due to potential drowning hazards!
- Short cycle- Wash on the Cold/Cold setting with a recommended detergent. (Detergents by “Charlie’s Soap” and “Maggie’s Pure Land” work great for us!)
- Long cycle- Wash on the Hot/Cold setting with recommended detergent.
- Extra rinse cycle- The warm setting is best if your machine has this option. (This removes any leftover detergent residue.)
Drying: Cloth diapers can be line dried as well as machine dried. If you do decide to use a dryer, dry on high heat. The heat from the dryer will help sanitize your diapers and keep them functioning like new!
*The following steps are only to be performed occasionally if needed.
Bleach: Chlorine bleach should never be used on cloth diapers. It is too harsh on the fabric and will eventually break down their fibers (decreasing durability, lifetime, and absorbency). More importantly, they tend to be rough against your baby’s delicate skin. Baking soda and oxygen bleach are great whiteners to use in its place!
Baking Soda: If you decide to use baking soda to brighten, here are a few tips—
Use in place of detergent in the initial cold water wash. (Use only about 1-2 tablespoons.)
Baking soda is a big help with neutralizing acids and orders, but we recommend also adding a Downy Ball of Vinegar to the wash cycle. This will restore the pH in the fabrics, help rid any remaining urine smell, reduce lint, and naturally eliminate static cling!
Vinegar: (Distilled white vinegar.) –We recommend using a Downy Ball because it releases the vinegar at the right time.
*If you are looking for a completely natural whitening alternative, turn to the SUN! Yes, we often overlook the suns tremendous ability to brighten up more than just the sky. It does wonders on cloth diaper stains too! After a normal wash routine, just lay your inserts, diapers, and covers outside for a few hours (stain facing up). If the stains are still visible, you may have to repeat this a few times before they are completely gone. If you can still detect a lingering odor in your diapers, you should wash them again. This odor most likely means that there are bacteria still present in your diapers, which could cause potential problems to your baby, like irritation and/or diaper rash.
Looking for extra ways to get rid of yucky bacteria? Here are a couple of tips:
- Add a few drops of Tea Tree Oil to your wash cycle
- Boil your diaper soakers
*Please contact us if you have any further questions!