Washing Cloth Diapers

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cold water rinse, no detergent (to avoid setting in stains) 
2. Hot water wash cycle, add detergent (use about 1/2 the amount of detergent you would usually use) and occasionally add 1/2 cup vinegar to help adjust for pH levels 
3. Hot water second rinse
4. Dry in dryer or line dry

Washing tips

• DO NOT use fabric softeners they will leave residue on the diapers that cause them to repel.
• If you have repelling (which will affect absorbency) issues try hand washing them with REGULAR dawn. It will take the residue off and you can start over.
• If you exclusively breastfeed you can (I promise) just thrown your dirty diapers into the washer, If not then make sure you have discarded the solids in the toilet.
• Research online different washing instructions and do what works best for you! 
• Use a detergent free of dyes and perfumes. Also use Half the detergent than you would in a regular wash. Make sure all detergent is washed off to avoid detergent buildup one diapers and detergent residue next to your child’s skin (this can cause a rash) Regular tide is a great one. Crunchy Clean is a detergent made for cloth diapers and can be purchased on etsy.com
• Fasten the Velcro tabs of Velcro diapers so they don’t stick to things in the wash 
• Line drying will lengthen the life of your diapers
• Laying newly washed wet diapers in the sunlight will naturally bleach the stains out better than stain removers
• You will need to wash and dry new diapers several times to fluff them which will help their absorbency also prefold diapers need to shrink up a bit.
• Add distilled vinegar into a downy ball and add to your wash every once in a while if you have a stink issue with your diapers ( also vinegar acts as a fabric softener).
• Don’t allow dirty diapers to sit too long before washing to avoid odor issues.
• Diaper rash creams will cause build up on your diapers so If you find that you need to use a diaper cream make sure you use a liner in the diaper so there is no direct contact of the cream and the diaper
• Do NOT use “Baby detergents” or “free and Clear” detergent or ones with chlorine
• If you do have detergent buildup your diapers will start to smell usually an ammonia or fishy smell after the diaper has been urinated in. This is either due to detergent build up from using a bad detergent or too much detergent! You may need to change detergents or use less detergent