Cloth Diaper Laundering Tips
Cloth Diaper Laundering and Troubleshooting
Here we will cover a few problem areas such as strong smelling diapers and repelling or loss of absorbency.
We recommend that you try the following washing routine if you find that your cloth diapers have a strong smell right out of the dryer or shortly after the cloth diaper has been on your child. This also may help if you are experiencing repelling/ leaking diapers while the inserts are damp hardly wet.
Recommended cloth diaper laundering routine…
When you launder your cloth diapers, wash on hot using a good quality laundry detergent. We also strongly recommend using an extra rinse. If your machine does not have an option for an extra rinses then run it through another wash cycle without any detergent.
It is extremely important to avoid fabric softeners and dryer sheets in the laundry. Fabric softeners and dryer sheets may leave an oil coating on your clothes, which can transfer over to coat the diaper fabric. When the oils or chemicals from the dryer sheets transfer to your cloth diapers it will decrease the absorbency of your cloth diapers and most likely cause leaks and repelling.
If you notice that your cloth diapers lose their absorbency or start smelling bad…
If your cloth diapers develop a coating of oils from dryer sheets or fabric softeners you will notice a decrease in the absorbency and an increase of bad smell. Do not worry as this can easily be remedied.
Most of the time oil buildups on your cloth diapers can be removed by washing on hot with a quality detergent twice and running an extra rinse cycle.
For heavier oil coating buildup you may need to strip the cloth diapers. You can do this by using regular original Dawn dish soap and a scrub brush. Allow the diaper to soak 5-10 minutes in hot water, and then dip the scrub brush in the hot water soapy mixture. With the scrub brush, brush on both sides of the fleece. Set the soapy diaper aside and then scrub on the next one allowing the soap to dissolve the coating. Let the cloth diapers soak in the hot water before rinsing. Rinse thoroughly until all of the soap bubbles are out.
To help maintain you cloth diapers freshness and absorbency, once a month simply wash your diapers on hot and a quality detergent with 1/8 cup of bleach. It is recommended that you clean your laundry machines to remove the buildup or your diapers may just get coated again.
Most of all…
Please follow the manufacturer of your cloth diapers washing instructions, not all brands of diapers can be washed on hot or with the use of any bleach.