|
Care Instructions
This is such a 'hot' topic. If you look on the internet for instructions on how to care for cloth diapers, you will literally find thousands of different methods. It really isn't difficult and I think a lot of people (myself included) feel like they'll ruin the diaper or do it wrong. Please don't stress too much over it - there really isn't much variation in all the different methods once you start reading them all.
General Care Instructions -
When you receive your diapers, the first thing you will want to do is wash them before putting them on your baby. Pockets, AIO's and covers need to be washed and dried once prior to use. If you're washing hemp or cotton blend prefolds and fitted diapers, you will want to wash and dry them 4-6 times before first use.
Do not wash your hemp and cotton blend diapers/inserts/doublers in with your pocket/aio's/diaper covers the first time. Hemp and Cotton blends contain natural oils that are released during the first few washes and it will cause your other diapers to repel instead of absorb. Once you are done pre-washing your diapers, they are fine to wash together from then on.
You want to stay away from any chlorine bleaches, detergents that contain bleach alternatives, borax, fabric softeners, pure soap products like Ivory Snow, and harsh detergents like Tide. They will greatly reduce the life of your diapers. Fabric softeners will cause a waxy buildup on the diapers and they will repel moisture instead of absorb. We use Dreft and Baby All Detergents.
Diaper rash creams can also have the same effect as fabric softeners. If you do use a diaper rash cream, either place a small wash cloth on top of the fleece or use paper liner.
What to do when you take the diaper off your baby -
If your infant is breastfed, you can throw the soiled diapers right into the diaper pail. The solid waste from a breastfed baby is completely water soluble. If your baby is eating solid foods, you'll need to shake the waste into the toilet. If you're not able to get it all off, you can 'swish' the diaper in the toilet or use a handy toilet shower to get as much off as you can. You place the soiled diapers in one pail and the wet diapers in another.
What to do on wash day -
You'll read a lot of different methods - you'll probably wind up taking a few that are somewhat similar and making your own cleaning regime.
We wash our diapers using this method -
Run one cold cycle with all diapers, without detergent.
Run one hot cycle/cold rinse with 1/4 cup of detergent.
Some people run a cold rinse at this point without detergent. I do not run this every time, only if I still smell an odor after the hot cycle.
Dry on normal/high heat for 60-70 minutes. Do not use any fabric softener sheets! Once it gets warmer outside, we prefer to line dry as it prolongs the life of the diapers and the sun is the best stain remover!
Stripping Diapers -
You may have read about the term stripping diapers. Stripping diapers is a great way to get rid of the build up of residue left by detergents, fabric softeners, and other substances used to clean diapers. If you notice a decrease in the functionality of your diapers, it is probably due to build up.
To strip pocket diapers, simply hand wash your diaper with your regular dish soap (gets the oils out), add a bit of dish soap to the fleece, either rub the fleece vigorously together or use a medium bristle dish brush or hard bristle tooth brush to scrub the fleece. Turn inside out and repeat on this side. Rinse well, making sure that the water runs clear. You can use this any time you feel that the diaper may be repelling.
Care for your wool products -
There are two general washings that you need to do with wool - regular washing of it and lanolizing. I would recommend doing a wash with Eucalan wool wash because it has the lanolin right in it and the wash lanolizes the wool for you! To wash wool, you hand wash it in cold water with a wash specifically for wool. You can either roll it in a towel to remove excess water or hang dry. You need to wash your wool covers when they smell like urine or are holding moisture.
|
