Wash ‘Em if You Got ‘Em
Hopefully you’ve made the decision to use cloth diapers for your baby. If you haven’t decided to use cloth yet, consider that babies with disposable diapers are seven times more likely to get diaper rash. Additionally, the heat and lack of breathability of disposable diapers has been shown to be a factor in infertility for men. So, in the interest of having grandbabies running around someday (and trust us, they’re even more fun than your own), put your baby’s bum in cloth diapers.
We’ll go on the assumption from here that you’re going to use cloth diapers. Further, we’d like to encourage you to wash them yourself if you can. There’s nothing wrong with diaper services, but they’re expensive. Using a diaper service can run every bit as much money as using disposable diapers.
Here are some tips on washing cloth diapers:
- Put the diapers in a covered pail. Anything that can help reduce and eliminate odors is a good thing, and can help you stick with cloth diapers. One age old trick that works wonders is sprinkling some baking soda in the pail. There are also many diaper pails which are designed specifically to keep odors in the pail and out of the house.
- Wash your diapers in small loads to get them the cleanest. A good rule of thumb is to wash no more than two dozen at a time. If you’re using diapers with Velcro tabs (and we highly recommend them), make sure to fasten them before washing. If you don’t, they’ll fasten themselves to whatever they snag first, and you’ll end up with a long chain of diapers. Or worse, a big ball of diapers.
- Fragrance free detergents are best for washing diapers. They’re also best for washing baby’s clothes in general as they are less likely to irritate baby’s skin.
- Use the extra rinse cycle on your washing machine. Rinsing is very important for diapers, and you’ll want to be sure that all detergent is rinsed away.
- Dry your diapers on high heat for 60 to 90 minutes. The heat helps sanitize them.
- If you line dry your diapers, dry them in the morning or later afternoon. This way they dry more slowly. If cloth diapers dry too fast on the line, they can become stiff and uncomfortable. Line drying is an excellent way to save even more money on diapers, as you will use less electricity.