Anyway, enough proselytizing. As I mentioned in a previous post, my son wears cloth pre-folds with waterproof covers. It seems like everyone has their own washing method, but here's what's kept my son's diapers clean and sturdy for the past year:
Note: I have a front-loading, high-efficiency washer.
Regular wash
1) Put dirty diapers, flannel wipes, covers and diaper pail liner into washer and run a "rinse/spin" cycle on COLD, no detergent. This is basically just to rinse off the, ahem, debris and keep stains from setting.
2) Add roughly 2 Tbl Sp of Planet 2x Ultra Laundry Detergent* and 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener section. Run the "heavy duty" cycle on HOT.
3) OPTIONAL: If the diapers are particularly dirty or stinky, I sometimes run an additional "quick wash" cycle on HOT with just Borax
4) Remove from washer. Hang cloth pre-folds and wipes on the clothesline, preferably in the bright sun. Hang the covers and diaper pail liner on an indoor line or drying rack, because the sun can degrade the plastic.
5) OPTIONAL: After the pre-folds are dry, put them in the drier for 10 mins just to soften them up a bit.
Stink removal
- For stinky pre-folds, I usually fill up a big bucket with cold water and about 2 cups of Biokleen Bac-Out
, and soak the pre-folds in this mixture overnight.- For stinky covers, Thirsties recommends that you run a wash with a small amount of chlorine-free bleach powder, like OXO-Brite
. This method has worked for me.And that's it! Honestly, if you use pre-folds, you can purchase enough so you only have to wash diapers every 3 days or so. Dakota and I both have full-time jobs, and don't find diaper-washing to be a major time suck.
And now for a baby photo, just because. This is my son watching his dad build the deck.
* Planet is one of the recommended detergents on this cloth diaper detergent chart, and it's both cheap and wildly available.
Even from someone who didn't cloth diaper this is some excellent cleaning advice. The same good advice could be used for soiled dish towels, etc. Thanks!
Audrey, this photo of your son watching his dad work outside is too cute! We're also cloth diapering with prefolds and waterproof covers. I agree that it isn't as overwhelming as people assume it is once you find a routine that works for you. I follow a similar wash cycle, and wanted to add a little hint my mom shared with me: If you have a poop stain on a diaper,cover or clothing, just put a drop or two of pure castile soap (I use Mill Creek peppermint castile soap) on it with a bit of cold water to create a lather. Scrub a bit and then rinse with cold water. It works every time!
Just wondering, are you still using the Thirsties covers? We have a few of those and the Flip covers, but I'm mainly using the Flip now. Does your son attempt to undo the velcro? That's my concern, which could be a big one! Also, have you had to change the size of the prefold you're using? I'm still using the same one, but folding it differently than I did when my daughter was younger. Not sure when I need to make the switch to a bigger size...