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Cloth Diaper Care and Washing Guide

This guide is designed to help you use, store, wash and dry your cloth diapering products so as to get the best performance and longest life from them.
 
The Short Version
Skip diaper rash ointment. Close any Velcro or Aplix laundry tabs as you remove diapers from baby. Place dirty diapers in a dry pail. When you're ready to wash, throw diapers into your machine along with 1/3 the recommended amount of laundry detergent. Run a cold Rinse & Spin. Next, wash on the hottest setting permitted by the fabric type, using 1/4 the recommended amount of laundry detergent. Extra rinse. Hang dry most covers & pocket diapers, tumble dry all diapers with absorbent pieces.

Do NOT use – Chlorine bleach, fabric softeners, natural soaps, Desitin® or other oitments containing fish oil. Avoid Dreft® as it contains fabric softeners.
 
The Detailed Version
Diaper Rash Ointment – Many babies do not need diaper rash ointment when wearing cloth diapers changed at appropriate intervals. Try none first. Some ointments may coat your diapers, making them repellent.

If you must use ointment, we have found that a light application of Triple Paste (ask your pharmacist) or Johnson & Johnson's No More Diaper Rash works well and washes out of cloth diapers.

If you suspect that your baby has a yeast infection, please consult a physician. Prescribed yeast treatment creams are safe for cloth diapers. Consider drying all pieces of your diapering system in either the dryer or in the sun, as care labels allow. Make sure all diapering products are super dry before re-using them.
 
Dry Pail – Store your diapers in a dry pail. Adding water only gives bacteria a medium in which to grow. To combat odors, you may add a few drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil to the bottom of your pail, if you like. [When using a diaper sprayer, please wash diapers within 24 hours of spraying.]

Which pail? Our favorite style of pail is the type with a pedal-operated flip-top lid, the kind that is readily available at home & garden or variety stores. Any garbage or rubbish bin with a lid will do. An optional pail liner will reduce the need to wash the bin itself, and has the added advantage of allowing you to throw your dirty diapers in the wash without touching them.
 
Washing Instructions - Top-Loading Machines (except Euro or HE)

Prefold Diapers, Hemp Inserts, Cotton Diapers without elastic
Pre-wash – Brand new prefold diapers and hemp inserts contain naturally-occurring plant oils that must be washed out before these products will reach their normal absorbency. New Chinese prefold diapers look flat and stiff. Wash and dry on hot or super hot 3-4 times before use, 4-6 times if unbleached cotton. Use ¼ scoop laundry detergent per load. [Hint: you may pre-wash these in with your towels as long as you don't use fabric softener.] Prefolds will fluff up and shrink to their intended size. Hemp inserts will shrink as well. During these pre-washing cycles, it is best not to wash these diapers with microfiber inserts because the oils that are released from cotton or hemp have been known to cling to micro-fiber causing performance issues.

Normal Wash – For soiled diapers, first run a cold Rinse and Spin cycle, or a cold Soak and Spin cycle, with 1/3-1/2 capful of liquid detergent. Then, wash your diapers on hot or super hot with 1/4 scoop powdered detergent. Rinse on cold. If your rinse cycle looks too sudsy, double rinse. Tumble dry hot. (It's o.k if you would rather use all liquid or all powdered detergent.)
 
Fitted Diapers, All-in-Ones, Diaper Covers, Pocket Diapers
Normal Wash – Same as above except wash on medium or hot, depending on the care label. Tumble dry fitted diapers and all-in-ones on warm. Hang dry diaper covers and pocket diapers for longest life.
 
Washing Instructions - High Efficiency / European Machines
Yes, High Efficiency machines can be used to wash cloth diapers. These instructions are based on the Whirlpool Duet or Kenmore Elite brand washers. Since each HE model is different, please use this guide as a starting point for finding the right routine for your own high efficiency washer.

Prefold Diapers, Hemp Inserts, Cotton Diapers without elastic
Pre-wash – Brand new prefold diapers and hemp inserts contain naturally-occurring plant oils that must be washed out before these products will reach their normal absorbency. New Chinese prefold diapers look flat and stiff. Wash and dry on hot or super hot 3-4 times before use, 4-6 times if unbleached cotton. Use ¼ scoop laundry detergent per load. [Hint: you may pre-wash these in with your towels as long as you don't use fabric softener.] Prefolds will fluff up and shrink to their intended size. Hemp inserts will shrink as well. During these pre-washing cycles, it is best not to wash these diapers with microfiber inserts inserts because the oils that are released from cotton or hemp have been known to cling to micro-fiber causing performance issues.

Normal Wash – For soiled diapers, first run a cold Soak with 1/4-1/3 capful of liquid detergent, followed by a Rinse and Spin with no detergent. Alternatively, use a cold Quick Wash with the Pre-Soak option selected. Then, wash your diapers on hot or super hot with 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 ml) powdered detergent. Double Rinse on cold. Tumble dry hot. (It's o.k if you would rather use all liquid or all powdered detergent.)
 
Fitted Diapers, All-in-Ones, Diaper Covers, Pocket Diapers
Normal Wash – Same as above except wash on medium or hot, depending on the care label. Tumble dry fitted diapers and all-in-ones on warm. Hang dry diaper covers and pocket diapers for longest life.

Tip: If your front-loading high efficiency washer ever fills too high with suds, pour 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar at a time into the soap dispenser until the suds returns to its normal level.
 
Additional Information

Balancing your routine. It take some experimentation with your machine, your water conditions, and your detergent to find the right cycle settings, water levels, and detergent amounts. You may find that you can shorten the washing routines listed here - that's great. Try to use just enough water and detergent as it takes to clean your diapers. Keep in mind, the average cloth diapered baby still only uses the same amount of water as a potty-trained child or adult does each day.

Clean diapers should not smell like anything. If your washed diapers smell 'swampy' or like a wet dog, you should increase detergent and/or water amounts. If your washed diapers smell like detergent, you should decrease detergent and/or increase water amounts. Notice that more water helps both problems. This can be done by raising the water level setting on your top loader, adding a soak cycle, or adding a rinse.

Rather than bleach, for stains or smells, you may occasionally use properly diluted OxiClean® or OxiClean® Baby. However, prints are not guaranteed against fading. Please test a small area of fabric before running all of your diapers and/or covers with this product. Not recommended for Swaddlebees organic cotton fitteds, may fade these earth-friendly dyes.

Sunning, that is placing your diapers out in direct sunlight, is another great method for reducing stains or smells. UV light is a natural disinfectant.
 
 
Wee Bunz, Inc. * 2064 NW Fillmore Ave., Corvallis, Oregon 97330 * Phone 1-888-WEE-BUNZ
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