Brit wrote last week about Mama Cloth (aka cloth menstrual products). I wanted to expand on that issue a little bit, but I’m going to include a bit more personal information than she did, so if you want to go there with me, follow after the break. If not - I won’t be offended, and we’ll see you next post! 
No matter what kind they are, cloth diapers are cute. They are so soft, cuddly and cute. The biggest problem is that eventually they get dirty. Really dirty.
Washing diapers seems to get almost as much attention as the diapers themselves. When I tell people that I use cloth, they almost always ask “do you wash them yourself?” Sadly, diaper services seem to be rapidly disappearing, so if you want to use cloth you will probably need to wash your own diapers. Or teach your husband to do it. Luckily, diaper washing can be incredibly simple. I’ve seen countless complicated wash routines, involving endless combinations of washes, rinses, soaps, detergents and other additives. I’ve found that keeping things simple works best for me and my diapers.
Many factors can affect your diaper washing: the hardness and chemical composition of your water, what sort of washing machine you have, and the types of diapers that you use. I have fairly hard well water, a mixed stash of diapers and a front loading HE machine.
The first thing that I do is spray my poopy diapers really well before they even go into the pail. You can skip this step if you are dealing with the innocuous, sweet smelling poop of a breastfeeding-only little one. Diapers that are just wet can go straight into the pail. Our diaper pail is an old step trash can with a plastic inner liner.
When the pail starts to look fullish I dump it into the washer. I try to wash every other day or so. Dirty diapers shouldn’t marinate in the pail too long, so don’t put off diaper laundry. If you have a top loader, try to wash fewer than 18-24 diapers at a time. They need room to agitate and move around in the washer. Front loaders actually work a little better when they are full, so cram as many in as you can.
I start my diaper laundry with a cold rinse. This will get the last of the solids off any dirty diapers.
A bit about detergent: There is much disagreement about detergents in the cloth diapering world. I can only tell you what has worked well for me. My favorite detergents are
1. Tide HE Powder: yes the original, scented, stinky kind
2… Tide HE Liquid: I had to switch to this because the powder didn’t dissolve well in my new HE washer
3. Kirkland Signature Powder from Costco: this comes in a giant 5 gallon bucket and is super cheap. Cheap Detergent=More money for diapers!
4. Allen’s Naturally: my favorite of the “natural” detergents.
I like Tide HE best, even if you have a non–HE washing machine. HE detergents are meant to rinse cleaner and suds less, which makes them perfect for diapers.
I’ve had terrible luck with the “free and clear” detergents. I’ve tried the Costco and Tide versions, and both gave my sensitive skinned kid a terrible rash.
I use about half as much detergent as the label specifies. Remember, we want to clean these diapers! Detergent is not the enemy; it dissolves the icky stuff and then holds it in the water so it can be rinsed away. Don’t be afraid to use a generous helping. So we’ve had a cold rinse and added a half scoop or so of your favorite detergent. What next?
On my washing machine I choose the cycle that has the longest agitation. I wash in the hottest temperature possible. If you have a sanitary cycle or an internal heater in your washer, even better. If you don’t, consider adding some water that was heated on your stove top, or running a nearby faucet to allow the water in your washer to be as hot as possible. Hot water makes any detergent work better, and it kills bacteria. Please don’t turn up your water heater! Hot tap water can cause serious burns very quickly.
Rinse in warm water if possible. The goal of rinsing is to get the soap dissolved and out of the diapers, and warm water does this best. One extra rinse at the end of a normal cycle should be enough. The rinse water should be fairly clear and free of bubbles. A few bubbles aren’t the end of the world, especially if your diapers smell clean and are working well. If you see a lot of bubbles then go ahead and rinse again. I always feel that plenty of soap and an extra rinse are better than diapers that aren’t clean because I skimped on the detergent.
At the end of the wash I pick out my pocket diapers and any PUL covers and hang them to dry. I know that many manufacturers say you can dry PUL and pockets, but I’m a nervous nelly about it. Some of my fuzzibunz are 4 years old and still going strong, so I’m sticking with the air drying. Everything else gets thrown into the dryer on medium. Medium heat is easier on fabrics and elastic than high. In the summer I love hanging my diapers outside, but here in the Northwest that only lasts for a few brief months. The sun is a great sanitizer and stain remover, not to mention cheaper and greener. So, if your weather allows get the diapers out on the clothesline.
The only additive (other than detergent) that I have ever needed is bleach. Regular use of bleach can cause your diapers to wear out quickly and will also bleach the color out of all your cute things. There are times though, that a little bleach can be a good thing. If I buy used diapers or we have a nasty bug I like to use a little bleach. I add 1/8 to ¼ cup to my regular wash. I’ve never had any problems with the occasional use of bleach, and it seems to freshen the diapers well.
After things are clean and dry, all that is left is to fold stuff and tuck away all your fluffy clean diapers, ready to use again.
I find washing my own diapers to be a rewarding experience, rather than a chore. The time that I spend washing, hanging and folding is a moment of reflection and connection for me. All over the world and all throughout time, women have been lovingly washing diapers for their children. I feel a spiritual bond to mothers everywhere who may be doing the exact same thing as me at that moment.
Last week I was feeling kind of adventurous. I kept reading about how everyone loved their flats because they were easy, trim, and the washed & dried up really quickly. I don’t own any flat diapers (large square piece of birdseye cotton), so I thought that I’d be a little silly and try with a receiving blanket. Heaven knows we’ve used them for spit up, to clean up poop blow outs, and when Kitten would pee while I was changing her. They all washed up fine, and no one will know that we used them for that (until now!).
I looked online for folding instructions, and found a few sites. My blankets are more rectangular than square, so it made folding a bit of a challenge. I settled on the Origami fold, as it was easiest to do with a less-than-square piece of cloth. It took me a few times to figure out how it actually worked, to get the soaker to a rectangular shape, and not just rolled up. At first, I didn’t have any pins, so I just tied the two ends in a half knot and put a wrap-style cover over top. It worked pretty well, and she even had a nice big poop in it.
The next day I was still really excited about my shenanigans, so I went out and bought some pins. I’ve had less success with those, as I tend to get the droopy legs, but I’m sure it’s just a practice thing. I’ve also found out that you can’t just use one pin - that means even worse drooping! However, I did experience that if you fold up the diaper, and put the pins in the center portion, you can thread the ends of the diaper through the pins and just tuck them away if you are going to cover the flat. I’ll have to take pictures of this - it’s hard to imagine!
I have to say that my experience with receiving blankets has promted me to buy some flats. I am not sure where I’m going to get them yet, but I’ve been looking at these. I thought that maybe I could dye them into really awesome patterns, and she would be the coolest kid on the block (in diapers, anyway).
And my husband put it all together himself! We got the parts at Home Depot and Ace Hardware (mostly because, believe it or not, Home Depot didn’t have copper pipe!). It cost a total of $28, though my husband tells me it would have cost $20 if he hadn’t gotten the “shut off” valve. That’s the thingie-bob in the picture that has a little pin sticking out. It allows us to use both the sprayer and the toilet at the same time. No need to turn one off to use the other. Which, you know, is SO COOL.
It works great, though I have yet to test it on a real poopy diaper. I haven’t yet put any cloth diapers on Liam (waiting for my fluffy mail from last week’s bumGenius seconds sale for that) and Evie’s poops are the still the extremely inoffensive breastmilk variety. But I did use it to spray out a diaper cover this morning that had some loveliness on it and was practically giddy at how well it worked. Yay! Go Kile! It’s fabulous having a handy husband, I tell you!