Cloth diapering with coin laundry

Rebecca - posted on 06/29/2009

thank you all so much for the advice! it's so nice to know there are other moms out there who are doing / have done the same thing we have to do next year. i feel like it is much more doable now!

Naomi - posted on 06/27/2009

we use coin-op laundry and it works for us. we run 2 washes, the 2nd on hot with minimal detergent, the first on cold with most detergent. using bio-kleen

we haven't had any issues and in 10 months of doing it ourselves (had a service to start with) we've only stripped about 3 - 4x





we wash about once/week



every now and then I play around with the routine. vinegar rinses, calgon, other detergents, etc

Megan - posted on 06/27/2009

Quoting Vilate:

I want to caution you on the tide. If your baby is really sensitive the tide has enzymes in it and the enzymes can eat the skin right off your baby's bum. It is not pleasant! Just a forewarning. lots of people use it and have no problems, but...

i have a list of enzyme free laundry soaps here if you are interested...
http://www.niftynappybyvilate.weebly.com

Good luck on the moving too and congrats on the new little one! :)

She is right... my baby has sensitive skin (rashes immediately with disposables) but not to the point she needs enzyme free laundry soap. I have used Tide free and clear and ALL free and clear laundry soaps as well on my diapers. If you use one of those i suggest ALL free and clear... but i found that Tide Original gets my diapers a little cleaner.  a great thing to do is soak your diapers for a few minutes in h20 right before they go in the wash... just pour water in yoiu dry pail and set for 5 minutes or so and then dump the whole thing in the wash. Oh and i forgot to mention. i squirt a little plain dish detergent in the bottom of my pail each time before i use it... so thet might* make my diapers clean better- sure makes the diaper pail smell better!

Rhonda - posted on 06/27/2009

I use OxyClean on my prefolds, covers and Thirsties pockets, I wash once in hot water and then either line dry (for stains) or use the dryer. I don't do the extra rinse, I did at first but then started using OxyClean and just washing the once and it's working well for us.

Vilate - posted on 06/27/2009

I want to caution you on the tide. If your baby is really sensitive the tide has enzymes in it and the enzymes can eat the skin right off your baby's bum. It is not pleasant! Just a forewarning. lots of people use it and have no problems, but...



i have a list of enzyme free laundry soaps here if you are interested...

http://www.niftynappybyvilate.weebly.com



Good luck on the moving too and congrats on the new little one! :)

Megan - posted on 06/26/2009

yeah... i love all natural stuff.. but you cant beat good old fashioned detergent for getting out the real nasty stuff like baby poo!

Jen - posted on 06/26/2009

Only needed to strip once?! That's impressive. I'm totally going to switch to Tide Original.

Megan - posted on 06/26/2009

oh another thing... if you use communal laundry facilities you may want to strip your diapers once every few months. it is an easy process and will make them like new.

check out how here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2225268_cloth-di...

Dont do it all the time but just if you feel they are getting a little "funky"

you can also put a couple tablespoons of distilled white vinegar in a rinse with you diapers every so often to break down any buildup.

By baby is 6 mo and i have only needed to strip once.

Megan - posted on 06/26/2009

I dont have fuzzy bunz - but i use happy heinys which are similar and we have a coin operated laundry room and use just one hot cycle with tide original. If you do it in one wash you need the extra stuff in the detergent to get them clean enough, so dont use free and clear detergents or all natural ones like charlie's soap. and use half the amount you use for laundry. if you want to avoid residue affecting the diapers (it shouldnt) but you can dump about a gallon of plain tap water over your diapers when they go in. when you dry them... dont use and fabric softeners or dryer sheets... they will cause build up.

Rebecca - posted on 06/26/2009

Jen, we aren't planning to dry ours in a machine no matter what, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'm considering buying one of those portable ones, but I'm not sure that our apartments will allow it. They are really strict about that sort of thing. Our baby actually isn't born yet. We're moving shortly after it is born. We're using disposables the first month just to get us through the whole moving process, but after that we're only using cloth. I'll let you know how it all goes!

Jen - posted on 06/26/2009

I am about to experiment with the coin laundry in my town ... our dryer is very questionable, and I don't have a great situation for line drying. I can line dry SOME in my basement ... but anyways,

I would just run the load twice. For the "extra rinse" just run it twice.

As for residue ... yeah, that might be a concern. I am worried about the DRYER having residue bc I have used coin laundry in the past and even though I never use fabric softener on my clothes or scents, my clothes always came out a little scented.

Maybe an idea is to use the washer, and then take the load of diapers to line dry throughout your house. Or, if you're like me, you'll prob take your chances with the residue at the coin laundry. The worst that can happen is you have to strip them and stop using the dryer there.

Another thought, if $$ isn't an issue in terms of a one-time purchase ... I mean, these are kinda cheesy but hey it would work, a portable all-in-one washer/dryer that connects with your kitchen sink.

Good luck, I would be interested to know how it goes for you so I can make my plans accordingly.

How old it your baby? Moving? Hope it's not too stressful and that you are enjoying your little one!