How To Guide: Wash Routine

A good wash routine is the most vital part of cloth diapering because, obviously, we are dealing with poop and we want these diapers clean. Once you have a good routine down, everything else is a piece of cake. I will mention that there are some cloth diapering professionals with large followings and popular websites that have POOR wash advise and make it WAYYYYYYY harder than it needs to be. Some have wash worksheets that I swear you need a PhD in all sorts of math to understand. Unfortunately, I found those sites early on and almost gave up on cloth before I even started. However, I was determined and kept telling myself that if other moms and dads have figured it out, so could I AND so can YOU. Washing diapers is not rocket science. It's just laundry and most wash issues can be fixed, so no stress. 

I am sure I need to mention, my advice is not the end all, be all. It is just a guide to get you started and may need to be tweaked. Being a guide, I don't just want to tell you how to wash diapers but offer some explanation of the steps in hopes to keep wash issues from happening altogether. If issues do happen, my hope is this additional knowledge will help troubleshoot the problem quickly and easily. Knowledge is key here. 

The FIRST step is to find a good detergent. You do not need to use specific cloth diaper detergent. Honestly, I wouldn't even recommend it because there is no need to spend the extra money or take up the valuable shelf space. However, not all detergents work for cloth diapers either. You need a detergent that has the proper surfactants but does not have extra fabric softeners. I have used Arm and Hammer Clean Burst since day one and have not had any issues. 

I load the washer with about 2-3 days of diapers. I have found this to be our sweet spot. Too small or too big of a load and they don't seem to get clean. I will mention, my washer does not have an agitator and I have not had any issues. However, if you feel your diapers are not getting clean because there is not enough agitation, I have heard people use agitator balls, or even large Lego cubes, which do the same thing as the balls. For spot treatment, I use Spray and Wash, but the sun is a great stain remover. More on that in the dry cycle.  

My basic wash routine is a rinse cycle, wash cycle, rinse cycle, then dry. 

- The first rinse cycle is the rinse and spin option with tap cold water and NO detergent. This is just a basic rinse to get out a majority of the pee and any residual waste that I may have missed when spraying. 

- Next, is the wash cycle using hot water and detergent. This cycle is what really cleans the diapers. I do NOT use a lot of detergent. At first it didn't seem like enough at all, but it has worked since day one and helped me understand that more detergent is not better. Of all the wash advise I give, I feel the strongest about this: start with a small amount of detergent and adjust as needed. Most issues I have seen are from people using too much detergent. Too much detergent in the wash cycle can coat the fibers and create lots of bubbles, both of which keep proper agitation from happening, which keeps the fibers from getting clean. I'll go deeper into detergent issues in the next cycle. 

- The next rinse cycle is with hot water and NO detergent. On my machine, this is just an added rinse cycle attached to the main wash. This rinse is to make sure there is no residual detergent. Detergent that does not rinse out, stays in the fibers. When pee hits these fibers, instead of the fiber absorbing, it repels the pee and will cause leak issues. Residual detergent in the fibers can also cause rashes when in contact with babies skin. Talk about some mama (or daddy) guilt. It can also cause your diapers to stink. So again, start with a small amount of detergent in the main wash and adjust as needed.

- Finally, dry in the dryer on LOW heat or on the clothesline. High heat will damage the PUL (water proofness) of the diaper, in turn causing leak issues. If you ever need to check the PUL, turn the pocket inside out. If there are no cracks, the diaper PUL is good. Also, do not add dryer sheets. Dryer sheets are like detergent in sheet form. They leave a residue that coat the fibers of diapers and inserts which will cause repelling and leak issues. In my normal laundry routine, I have a habit of leaving the dryer sheet in the dryer to use in the next load. My brain can sometimes be set on normal laundry auto pilot and I have forgotten on more than one occasion to take that dryer sheet out before throwing diapers in. I have also forgotten to change the heat to low. It happens and, typically, it is fine, but both are things you don't want to do on a regular basis. Added tip: If you have stains, try sunning them outside for about two hours. The sun works miracles on stain removal.