Cleaning Cloth Diapers You want to be environmentally friendly and use cloth diapers to reduce the amount
of landfill waste, but you are still anxious about the laundry procedure. This concern has been
raised by many young mothers who are not familiar with cloth diapers after being raised with
disposables. Cleaning cloth diapers is not as hard, or as gross, as you might think.
Cleaning cloth diapers formerly involved soaking, bleaching,
pre-washing, and air-drying when my girls were little. In the past, this process was quite time
consuming and full of work. Plastic pants have been replaced by soft, washable, diaper covers and
can still be used with the traditional plain prefolded diapers. The newer models of cloth diapers
are much improved over the old style. There are many all-in-one cloth diaper systems to choose
from. One such brand is Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers, which are diaper and cover in one piece, with an
optional insert. All the pieces, plus the wet bag which is used to hold the soiled diapers until
laundering, can be washed together, which really helps simplify the process.
Here are some simple steps to help you clean your soft, natural, cloth
diapers.
If baby has solid waste, you can simply drop the stool into the toilet
and flush it away. No swirling and wringing of the diaper is necessary. Store the wet and/or dirty
diapers in a diaper pail or your wet bags until laundry time. There is no need for soaking anymore
and you can leave them the way they are. When you are ready to launder, first run the diapers
through a cool water rinse. The next step is to wash the diapers with detergent in a hot water
wash. Using soaps to launder cloth diapers can leave an oily residue reducing the absorbancy of the
diaper. You can experiment with the amount of laundry detergent you use for all your washing needs,
not just the cloth diapers. Many manufacturers recommend using more detergent than you actually
need. The. One way to see if you can use less detergent is to use about half the recommended amount
to see if it is effective for you, and adjust the amount from that point. A cold rinse should
follow the hot wash. Most machines these days automatically use a cold rinse, but check your
settings to make sure.
If you're not sure how much detergent is too much, run the diapers
through a second rinse. The water should be clear. If you see suds, or any soapy looking
remains in the water, it means there was still some residue left on the diapers. While on the
subject of residue or deposits, it is recommended to NOT use fabric softeners on your baby's
cloth diapers. Fabric softeners can reduce diaper efficacy because they leave a coating on the
fabric which inhibits absorbancy. There is more chance of irriation and diaper rash and more
need to change the baby if your diapers are lose absorbancy.
You can dry the clean diapers in the dryer or air-dry them.
Personally, I like the softness of the dryer, but I also like the natural bleaching and
disinfecting action of the sun. Each manufacturer is different so make sure the check the
washing instructions which come with your diaper. Fuzzi Bunz diapers recommends using a low
setting on the dryer, while some of the others say to use the hot.
It is possible for you to help preserve the environment by washing
those soft natural diapers and keeping the disposables out of the landfills. And don't forget
you can and put the baby in your favorite Ellaroo baby carrier and go enjoy your world
naturally as well!
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