Washing Cloth Diapers {How To}

I've highlighted my love for cloth diapers (CDs) on this blog before but since having my daughter I haven't talked much about our cloth diapering experience with her. Honestly it's because it's been going very well. We haven't run into one issue with the diapers we bought for her. Mainly, I think, because we are using all of the diapers we grew to love with our son. I still have the Happy Heiny and Bum Genius love but more than likely I'm grabbing for a prefold and Thirsties cover in the closet then a pocket or all-in-one diaper.

One question I have received a few times is how I clean them. Most assume I use a service. And they're surprised to hear that I take care of the washing (poop and all) myself. It's actually quite easy! So I figured I'd break it down for those who were curious and/or interested in cloth diapering. Just remember that this is how I wash my diapers. Always consult the manufacturers instructions for their recommendations before jumping in. We'll start with the basics and go from there.

Stuff You'll Need:

• CD friendly detergent (check out this website for comparisons)
• Vinegar
• Original (blue) Dawn or Bac-Out (to strip your diapers if needed)
• Dryer Balls
• Clothes line with clothes pins

What You Do
Washing cloth diapers is pretty simple. After the initial prep wash, which we'll go over, you can wash all of your cloth diapers together in the same load. The only thing you won't be able to throw in the wash are your wool covers. That will be another post! Before washing make sure that when baby has a poopy diaper you clean it out by either spraying, scraping or plopping the waste in the toilet before putting your diaper in your wet bag.

Prep Wash
When you first get your cloth diapers you will need to do a bit of prep washing to maximize the absorbency of the diaper (so it holds more pee). With this initial prep wash you will need to separate natural fibers like hemp from your synthetic fibers. The natural fibers release oils during this initial wash that you don't want coating your other diapers.

Most diapers only need that first initial prep wash. But if you are buying prefolds brand new it can take anywhere from 3-5 wash and dry's to fully get the absorbency needed. An easy way to test your diapers to see if they're pee-ready is to put a few drops of water on them. If the diapers immediately absorb the water with no problem then they're ready to go. If the water beads up then the diapers need another go through or two.

To prep your diapers just do the following:

• separate natural and synthetic fibers
• wash diapers in cold water with a small amount of detergent (usually 2 tablespoons)
• dry the diapers on low heat until fully dry or line dry diapers
• repeat 2-4 times until diapers absorb water (prefolds will quilt up)

Washing Diapers
When you have about 24-30 dirtied diapers in your diaper pail or bag it's time to do some wash! Don't be scared. Diaper laundry will come as natural to you as washing your clothes. There are just a few simple steps you will need to add to the routine.

1. Set your water level to the highest it goes
Do NOT lower the water level to the level your diapers reach in the wash. It's important to fully submerge the diapers and give the diapers some room to move around to get all the ickies out.

2. Rinse your diapers first with cold water
Include a small amount of detergent with this rinse to freshen things up. The rinse will remove any excess poo that may still be on your diapers and will also wash the diapers out a bit so that when they are being washed they'll get cleaner.

3. Wash your diapers with hot water, rinse again with cold
There's no need to use the sterilize cycle if you have it but please feel free to do so. I prefer just using the hot wash/cold rinse. Add in the recommended amount of detergent. This usually ends up being roughly 1/2 the amount you would use with your regular clothes.

After the wash is complete add some vinegar (about 1/4 cup) to the laundry for the rinse. This will reduce the need for dryer sheets or fabric softener. It's also a great alternative for your regular laundry too. You can also purchase a downy ball and throw the downy ball (filled 1/2 way with vinegar) to the wash so you don't have to listen to when the second rinse occurs. 

4. Dry your diapers on low heat or on the clothes line
Some prefer to dry their diapers on medium or high heat but in order to save a little energy I dry on low. I also add dryer balls to the dryer to beat out any static that may be lingering. Try not to use fabric softener or dryer sheets in the washer and dryer you use for your cloth diapers. These products leave a film on your clothes and your washer and dryer. The build up of this film will reduce the absorbency of your diapers.

When the weather is nice I like to dry my diapers on low for 10 minutes and then pull them out and line dry them until fully dry. I then pop them back in the dryer with some dryer balls for another 10-15 minutes with the dryer balls to fluff them up. Best thing about line drying in the sun? The natural bleaching the sun does to the diapers. Natures miracles. Then you simply just take the diapers out of the dryer, stack together or stuff and stare in awe at your stash. Oh, wait. Maybe I'm the only one that does that. I may have a sick obsession with how much I love the fluff.

So basically it's cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse, dry and you're done!

Need help stripping your diapers? Check out my Stripping Diapers post for more information.

*** This giveaway is now closed ***

And now on to the good stuff. Since I'm such a fluff lover I thought I'd spread the love. You see I was lucky enough to score some amazing diapers at the Haute Green Social Hour exactly a week ago. And included in those diapers was this super cute, super awesome Charlie Banana diaper. I could not wait to get that diaper in the wash and on my baby's tush. Then I realized I had TWO Charlie Banana diapers. And I had to share the generosity that was given to me.

A special thank you goes out to the co-organizers of the #hautegreen event:
Calley of The Eco Chic
Kelly Wels (check out her new amazing book!)
Kim  of Dirty Diaper Laundry
Katie of Pickles and Paisleys 
Julie of The Cloth Diaper Geek
Julia of Haute Mommy

So here's the deal:
1. The only mandatory thing to do to enter this drawing is to tell me who you would be putting this cute diaper on and why you want it.

Want another entry?
 2. Follow me on EITHER Google Friend Connect OR Networked Blogs. You choose. Both links are on the right of the blog.

You can follow me on twitter at @simmworksfamily too if you'd like. But you don't have to if you don't want to. I won't be hurt. I will be doing some more giveaways in the near future though so it wouldn't be a bad idea.

Comment below telling me what you did (one comment per each entry, two entries total allowed should you choose to also follow the blog) and I'll let the magic of Random.org choose the winner.

Want to buy a Charlie Banana diaper for yourself? Go check them out on their website. They have super cute stuff and even sell mama cloth if you're interested! I had some of those in my swag bag too but that's a completely different post in and of itself. 

This giveaway is open until 5pm on Thursday, August 18th. Winner will be announced on Friday, August 19th on this blog, on twitter AND via email so please make sure to include a valid email address in at least one of your entries if it isn't included in your profile. Sorry, only US residents are eligible to enter.

*** This giveaway is not sponsored by anyone other than me. Charlie Banana was generous enough to give away a handful of diapers at the Haute Green event I attended so I'm paying it forward and making another person very happy. Charlie Banana did not contact me directly to do a giveaway and  I will be personally shipping the diaper to the winner. ***