Everyone has their own washing routine, but many agree the following is your basic cloth diaper washing routine.
Cold rinse to loosen the nasties.
Hot wash/cold rinse to get them nice and clean.
Cold rinse (optional) -can help ensure all the detergent is out.
What to wash with
- No perfumes or dyes. Check out our laundry detergent show down.
- Baking soda - natural brightener, add to wash
- Vinegar - naturally deodorizes and disinfects
- Tea Tree Oil - naturally deodorizes and disinfects
Be careful to use about 1/4 the usual amount for commercial free and clear liquid detergents and the recommended amounts for cloth diaper detergents. Using too much causes build up in your diapers, which makes them retain stinkiness and can affect absorbency.
Vinegar is a great, cheap way to deodorize diapers and make sure they are disinfected. Make sure your cloth diaper detergent doesn't require an additional disinfectant, like vinegar, to be added.
Stripping may be necessary is you have detergent build up. Basically, you wash cloth diapers on the hottest cycles you can until there are no more bubbles showing up when you open the lid!
Drying
Your diapers will last longer if you can line or hang dry. However, it is ok to dry in your machine. If you notice your PUL is leaking and you line dry, you probably need to stick it in the dryer to help reseal the lamination.
