How to wash cloth diapers: Tips from a cloth diaper laundry veteran
Washing cloth diapers is pretty simple once you get started, but here are some tips to help you get started
- Just pick a detergent, only rules: Not a soap & no fabric softener
- Pick a temperature for the 1st wash cycle (keep in mind hot sets stains)
- Pick a detergent amount for 1st wash cycle (some people don’t use any detergent in the 1st wash cycle)
- Pick a wash cycle length, any will do (usually “quick” or “regular” length cycles are used)
- Repeat with 2nd wash cycle (typically has more detergent & is longer)
- Check your cloth diaper’s tag to see safe drying methods
Which washing machine cycles for cloth diapers?
Usually when washing cloth diapers, you run the cloth diapers through 2 wash cycles, 1 shorter cycle and 1 long cycle.
1st cycle
The first cycle is to remove any poop bits that didn’t get removed before getting put in the washing machine, so this cycle just needs to be able to do some surface cleaning and a little bit of pee removal.
So, if your washing machine has a super short wash cycle that only lasts 10 minutes or so, try it, or start out with just running a medium/ regular length cycle as your first wash.
There are some people that don’t even have to do a full wash cycle, their cloth diapers get perfectly clean with just a rinse cycle, and many people don’t add detergent to their first wash even if they do run a full wash cycle.
2nd cycle
The 2nd wash cycle is where the deep cleaning is done.
So, this cycle usually needs to be longer than the 1st wash just to make sure the detergent has had plenty of time to work through the fabric and back out into the water.
This cycle is also where the amount of detergent you use seems to matter a lot more.
When you are washing cloth diapers you should also check how many suds you are getting and how packed together your diapers are in the washing machine.
Photo above has about the right amount of suds, but there are too many cloth diapers in this load, if the diapers are to packed together they cannot agitate correctly and if they can’t agitate they can’t get clean.
Agitation is just as important to cleaning as the detergent.
Figuring out if there are too many cloth diapers in a load is easy
- Soup consistency = not enough diapers
- Stew consistency = Perfect
- Chili consistency = too many diapers
Or if you can push the cloth diapers down about 3 inches without getting a lot of resistance your good.
If there are so many suds that you cannot see the cloth diapers, that’s too many suds and maybe try using less detergent next time.
If you have so few suds that you can’t tell if they are just water bubbles or suds, you might want to add a little more detergent next time (unless this is a 1st wash cycle or a rinse where you chose to not add detergent).
If you don’t have access to a washing machine, handwashing your cloth diapers is also an option
How to pick a detergent for washing cloth diapers
Pretty much all you need to do is make sure the detergent doesn’t have a fabric softener in it and make sure the scent isn’t one you, or your baby are allergic to.
So, you can probably just start washing your cloth diapers in whatever detergent you’re already using, as long as it is in fact an actual detergent and not a soap.
Soap is more of a surface cleaner while detergent is better at deep cleaning fabrics, also soap doesn’t rinse out as well as detergent does so a lot of soap residue and poop and pee get left behind.
So, long story short, detergent NOT soap.
If you want to learn more about detergents for cloth diapers check out my article ” Best detergent for cloth diapers”
What laundry additives can you use with cloth diapers?
Most of the time laundry additives like bleach, Borax and vinegar shouldn’t be necessary, typically if you need these things, it’s because something is probably already wrong with your wash routine.
But if you are having some kind of stink, stain or yeast problem and need to use a laundry additive of some kind then the first thing you are going to want to do is see what the cloth diaper’s maker suggests.
If your baby has a yeast rash and you now need to kill the yeast spores in your cloth diapers you probably need to bleach them.
However, if the tags on your cloth diapers say not to use bleach, then all you have to do is contact the cloth diaper brand’s customer service and they should be able to tell you what you can do.
Contacting the cloth diaper brand’s customer service is also a good idea if you are having a stink issue and aren’t sure what you can use.
If you want to learn more about laundry additives and cloth diapers check out my articles ” Bleach and cloth diapers: Is it safe to use & tips” and ” What do you soak cloth diapers in? options & reasons why”
Which cloth diapers are easiest to wash?
Flat cloth diapers paired with cloth diaper covers are definitely the easiest to wash.
Since flat cloth diapers are made of 1 layer of fabric they take less time and detergent to wash, also since they are thin they air dry extremely fast.
Whereas all-in-one cloth diapers and fitted cloth diapers are most likely going to be the hardest to wash since they are made of many layers of fabric all sewn together.
While having many layers sewn together makes then very convenient and very absorbent, it also means it takes longer for water and detergent to makes it’s way through the diaper and get it clean.
If you want to learn more about flat cloth diapers check out my article ” Flat cloth diapers: How to use & best materials “
Resources
Article from Arm & Hammer about stripping detergent buildup out of laundry armandhammer.com
Green mountain diapers Washing guide
Nora’s nursery article on washing cloth diapers Washing 101
Thirsties baby Cloth diaper care
Cloth Diapers United wash routine printable
