We are here to help! I am very excited to be a part of your cloth diapering journey and I am here to support you in any way possible. If you have any questions or concerns about your product, fit, wash routine, etc, please reach out to me at highlandfluffco@gmail.com. I endeavor to respond to all queries within 48 hours. Below I have compiled some basic information regarding diaper care.
Cloth Diaper Washing/Care
Washing cloth diapers does not have to be complicated - it's just really dirty laundry.
The 3 most important pieces of information I can impart to you are as follows:
- Use the correct detergent, one without fabric softeners, and strong enough to remove human waste
- Use a correct amount of detergent
- Follow the prewash, main wash, and rinse routine in most cases
If I could add a #4 it would be, don't dry your covers/pockets on high heat. IF I could add another, it would be to be sure and remove solids BEFORE washing in the machine. Maybe that should have been #1!
The average cloth diaper user follows this routine:
- Take soiled diaper off baby,
- Remove solids (can spray, swish, hose, or scrape),
- Store diaper in wet bag or other water resistant receptacle until wash time (I like to wash every 3 days or so)
- Separate inserts from pockets
- Prewash with a little detergent, usually a Quick or Regular cycle
- Main wash with detergent, HOT and HEAVY
- Final extra rinse, NO detergent
- Dry anything without a water repellent surface in dryer, covers and pockets can be air dried, or briefly dried on LOW or AIR dry
- Put clean diaper on baby
Easy peasy right? The last piece is detergent amounts. I like to start off with less than I think I'll need, then adjust from there until my diapers are getting clean. Too much detergent can build up on diapers and cause stinks.
Your water hardness helps determine how much detergent you need to use. People with very very soft city water need to use a very low amount, sometimes 0.5 to 1 tablespoon of powdered detergent (tide, all, gain, etc). People with very hard water or even well water, will often need to use more.
There are tons of helpful resources for troubleshooting on the internet and (especially) on Facebook. This article covered in the high points and in most cases should be enough to get you started. If your diapers are coming out smelling clean and your baby has clear skin, you are likely doing it right!
Troubleshooting
Q: My diapers are coming out of the washer stained, am I not getting them clean?
A: In some cases, especially with breastfed babies, you may be getting your diapers completely clean but experience some staining. Setting your diapers out in the sun while wet will typically clear this up right away
Q: Do I need to rinse my breastfed baby's diaper before washing?
A: No, breastfed baby solids are water soluble and do NOT need to be rinsed prior to washing
Q: What detergent is recommended?
A: Any commercial detergent that does NOT include fabric softener will typically work. Plant based/eco friendly detergents can be gentler, in a lot of cases too gentle (you want all the cleaning power you can get in this case) but may work if you have very soft water. Tide Powder is considered the gold standard for cleaning cloth diapers, but the fragrance may be overwhelming for some. Powdered All Free and Clear is the preferred choice for a fragrance free detergent.
Q: My diapers don't smell clean out of the washer
A: If you are following the 3 step wash routine, and using HOT water and your diapers still smell, increase your detergent amount until they do not
Q: My baby has a yeast diaper rash, can I continue to cloth diaper while using nystatin
A: You can use any cream with a liner, but I would recommend going to disposables while undergoing treatment and for a few days after. Washing diapers does NOT kill yeast and diapers will need to be sanitized before they can go back on baby, to make sure the yeast does not reappear. To sanitize, use 1/2 cup bleach in half a bathtub of water, allow diapers to soak for 30 minutes. Then go through your full 3 step wash routine to ensure any bleach is removed.
Q: Can I use diaper cream with my cloth diapers?
A: There are absolutely cloth safe cream options. As a general rule, anything petroleum based will cause repelling issues, and anything with zinc oxide may cause staining. You can use a liner with ANY cream out there to make it cloth diaper friendly. You could also use coconut oil, or other cloth friendly creams
Q: I'm smelling ammonia when my baby pees
A: As babies get older their pee becomes more concentrated and a slight ammonia smell is normal in an overnight diaper. If diapers sit for too long with limited air flow ammonia can also build up. If the smell is instant, on a young baby, or during the day, there is likely a wash routine problem - typically detergent build up. Rinsing repeatedly is the only way to get rid of excess detergent, and then correct routine to use a smaller amount