diaper washing

Alison - posted on 05/22/2011

I have a HE washer/dryer. I use the sanitize setting and about half way up the level one cup on the concentrated All Free and Clear detergent. I use a diaper sprayer prior to putting the diapers into the diaper pail to wait for the wash. I wash them on a hot wash setting with a cold rinse, the rinse a second time to eliminate any additional soap residue on the diapers. I do not use softener on them at all. I occasionally use color safe bleach as needed

Michelle - posted on 05/27/2010

I don't have a HE washer at this time, but if I did, my routine would probably be the same. I use soapnuts which work great and are all natural so they don't leave residue or trap odors. The don't have almost any suds so they're safe for HE washers. So this is my routine: first I spray the poopy dipes with a diaper sprayer, then cold rinse/soak cycle with vinegar only (I just count to 4 while pouring it in) and this is a small to medium load on a small stackable washer/dryer, then I put in the soapnuts for a hot wash with cold rinse - lately I've been adding 4 drops of lavender essential oil with water and some water softener into a downey ball too. Every once in a while I bleach everything that's bleachable like inserts and light colored stuff. Ever since I've switched to soapnuts I've had no problem with stink

Erynne - posted on 05/26/2010

Have you tried using Rockin Green soap yet? It works on front or top loaders...

Majaliwa - posted on 05/26/2010

I forgot to answer your other questions.



WASHING:

Your wash routine will be the same with an HE washer. The main issue will be ensuring enough water is in there to fully rinse out the detergent. See my earlier post for tips on that. Other than that, you'll just need to do the following:

1. Rinse on COLD (no detergent)

2. Wash on HOT (with detergent)

3. Rinse on COLD (no detergent)



that's it!



STRIPPING:

In regards to stripping your diapers, here are few simple instructions.



http://www.pootersdiapers.com/stink-out-...



Basically, you'll run them through your normal wash routine and then keep rinsing them on hot until you can no longer see soap sud bubbles in the rinse cycle. Sometimes adding an additive to your first rinse cycle can help to kick start the removal of the buildup.



Types of additives you can use include:

1 teaspoon of Dawn liquid soap

1/2 cup of Baking Soda

Two scoops of Oxyclean

1 cup of White Distilled Vinegar

1 packet of RLR Laundry Treatment



These will work for top loader and HE washers.

Jenny - posted on 05/26/2010

We use charlie's soap and baking soda in our wash. My wash cycle is like this: prewash with extra rinse on cold with no detergent. hot wash/cold rinse on the longest cycle with extra rinse with 1/2-3/4 scoop detergent and 1/2-3/4 scoop baking soda. I smell the diapers then do another wash if needed. Then I rinse using the same long cycle with hot/cold and extra rinse. I hang my diapers to dry. Hope that helps.

Majaliwa - posted on 05/23/2010

Vinegar is a good softener, but be careful not to overuse it (i.e. more than once a month) because it can break down the PUL in your diapers. Another eco-friendly option would be to use wool dryer balls in your dryer to help fluff them up and remove static. You can make your own or buy some off of etsy.com from a work-at-home-mom (WAHM).

In regards to using HE washers, the main problem most have is that it doesn't produce enough water to really get the diapers clean and remove any detergent residue. To avoid that, (1) add a heavy towel to your wash - this tricks the washer into adding more water to the load and prevents you from having to run multiple cycles and (2) use a cloth diaper friendly detergent to ensure that you're not leaving a lot of residue on the diapers.

Here's a list of recommended detergents for HE washers.
http://www.pootersdiapers.com/recommende...

My personal fave is Country Save.

Jessie - posted on 05/23/2010

thank you i was wondering if the vinegar in the the softener place would work but was to scared to attempt it I tend to break the nice high tech stuff lol

Meagan - posted on 05/23/2010

We use one of these at the moment. I put it on the "sanitary" setting, make the water the hottest it can get, and then do as many of the extra settings as it will let me (extra water, extra rinse, etc.). It ends up being about 2 hours and 45 minutes from start to finish, but I haven't had a problem in the 6 months I've been using it. Oh, and I use half the recommended amount of All Free & Clear HE. Sometimes, if I'm feeling it, I'll add some vinegar to the water softener spot, but not every time.