What my cloth diaper wash routine looks like

This is where I was scared to even start cloth diapering. I put off cloth diapering my daughter using random excuses that didn’t matter because everyone I told I planned to cloth diaper to me I was crazy. Which I may be some times, but that seemed unrelated. Eventually I took the dive to start and slowly became confident in my routine. And guess what? It really wasn’t that scary. At least not until I became pregnant with my son and I couldn’t handle the smell during my first trimester.

The most important thing to have when doing your diaper laundry is detergent that is safe for cloth diapers. Surprisingly not all the detergent made by cloth diaper companies will properly clean your diapers. You’ll want to avoid Fabric softeners, bleach, or ingredients that are likely to cause harm to your diapers over time. Like I’ve mentioned in my cloth diapering essentials post, Tide Original Powder and All Free and Clear powder detergent are two of my favorites. If you don’t have a HE washer, then I know Foca powder detergent is highly recommended. It’s also easily found and inexpensive which is always a plus. For some reason, I usually prefer powder detergents when washing cloth diapers, but use whatever works for you!

Routine

Everybody has a routine with the same end goal, but some things within the routine will differ depending on your washing machine and simply what works for you.

Prep

If you’re using any pocket diapers or All in 2’s, start your routine by separating the inserts from the waterproof covers if you haven’t done so already. I’ve been lazy before and skipped this step and I promise over time, it just means an extra step of stripping your diapers for no reason. So take the extra step now to avoid it prematurely.

I’ll throw all the covers and inserts into the wash and run either a short prewash cycle or soak and rinse with little or no detergent. This step for me just helps insure the main washing of the diapers is a deep clean. I customize this step depending how the diapers and inserts smell/look that wash day. If they need extra love, that’s when I’ll use the soak and rinse with a little bit of detergent. This step is also help for HE washers to help trick the machine into thinking there’s more in there than you actually have.

Wash

Next I’ll start my main wash of the diapers. I follow my detergents instructions for a heavy load and add then it. Then I’ll run a heavy soiled with hot water cycle and a cold rinse. If the prewash/soak step aren’t helping add water during the washing cycle, try adding a wet towel in with the diapers. You want the diapers and water ratio to look like a slurry to help create the agitation that will get your diapers clean.

Drying

Lastly we need to dry your diapers. I prefer to hang dry everything to get the most life from the elastic in the waterproof covers. Depending on the season (inside or outside drying), this will be at most a 10 hour dry time. In the summer, I love to hang dry outside around lunch time and the majority of the diapers are ready to stuff after dinner. You can throw everything into the dryer and put it on a low tumble heat if you’d prefer. Make sure you aren’t using a dryer sheet with your diapers since most sheets have fabric softener in them. I suggest using the wool dryer balls with your diapers.

Stains

I know you’d typically expect to keep what you invested in in the best condition you can. Unfortunately because of the purpose of diapers, staining is going to happen! It’s okay though! The best way to combat stains is with the good old sun! Lay out what ever items you need to get stains out of in the sun for a few hours. Living in Michigan we barely see the sun in the winter, so it’s strictly a spring and summer thing for me.

Once I have everything dried, I’ll spend a morning before anyone wakes up stuffing inserts into my pocket diapers or doing the trifold on any prefolds to have them ready at the diaper station. This wash routine worked well for me the 2 years I was cloth diapering my daughter. I only had smell issues that required a bit a bleach twice and that was user error in forgetting to check one of the bags I had hanging for more days than I’ll admit. Now that I’m in a new house with a new washer and dryer that I’m still learning, I may have to tweak my routine once I start cloth diapering baby boy. If that happens I’ll definitely make sure to go through and update my routine!

Cloth Diapering Accessories