Your first-born child will be arriving soon, or perhaps a new addition to your family, and you have chosen to use cloth diapers because you want to go green and save money instead of constantly buying a disposable one in the store. Now, the next question you just have to deal with is how to properly wash it, especially when the stain in the fabric won’t go away. Don’t be so troubled, because as you read along, you will discover some helpful tips on washing cloth diapers and many more issues you have to deal with while using cloth diapers.
Rinsing and Storing Used Diapers
A used cloth diaper should be rinsed (if there was a poop in it) before throwing it into the laundry so that the stain will not dry up, making the stain harder to remove. When your baby pooped in the cloth diaper, you can use the bidet—it is a basin like restroom apparatus used for rinsing the person’s genital and perineal areas—to wash off the solid waste, and even the remaining poop, into the toilet.
Once you finish rinsing off the solid waste in the cloth diaper, you can now toss it into the laundry until your washing day. However, if you don’t have time to wash it immediately, an alternative option is to soak it in a canister filled with water, and add a tad bit of bleach (there is chemical-free bleach to use in your baby’s clothes in the store) to help in stain removal. You can soak it overnight, to ensure an easy stain removal. Nevertheless, soaking a stained cloth diaper in a water overnight has downsides; it leaves a frustrating smell.
Washing the Used Diapers
Today is laundry day; there are several steps on washing your baby’s cloth diapers to ensure that it is thoroughly cleaned. First, throw cloth diapers into the washing machine then prewash it—use a cold water as much as possible to help remove the stains. After rinsing, toss a scoop of detergent in the washing machine. Using fabric softener on your cloth diapers is a big no-no as it may clog the threads of the diapers, and it will diminish the fabric’s capacity to absorb liquid.
Next, rinse it with hot water again; to remove the bad odor and making sure that the detergent’s residues are all gone. Then comes the drying – there are two ways of drying, you can either hang it or put it in a dryer.
Washing Cloth Diaper Covers
Cloth diaper covers are an additional diaper accessory to help reduce the possible leaks in a cloth diaper, and it aids absorbing the liquid when using a cloth diaper. A lot of mothers out there don’t know that they can reuse the diaper covers few several times before the need to wash it. The estimate diaper cover life before washing is three to four days, depending on how dirty it is—but you can always hand-wash it if there’s a small spot that needs cleaning. Avoid using bleach and fabric softeners as they will decrease the resistance, and the waterproof characteristic of the diaper cover. As per drying the diaper covers, the best way is to air dry it as it prolongs the life of the covers. However, if you choose to dry it using a dryer, make sure to get rid of the cover after 15-20 minutes.
Dealing with diaper odors
There are occasions that the odor from stained cloth diapers just won’t come off, even when you rinse and store it correctly. The first and easiest step to get rid of the odors is to wash it regularly as possible. Here are a few tips for preventing the bad diaper odor:
- Rinse filthy and overnight diapers at the earliest opportunity. It will avoid the smell from lasting in your cloth diapers.
- Store it in an area with low humidity.
- Wash it regularly.
- Use an appropriate amount of detergent. Using excessively little or a lot of detergents can result in stink in your diapers. Utilizing the proper measure of detergent will verify your diapers are appropriately cleaned without abandoning cleanser deposits.