Washing Instructions
I use this simple routine and it works great!
When you first get your diapers wash them at least 2 times with this process. It helps get any residue that might be on the diapers and will also help with the absorbency of your doublers. (The more you wash them the more absorbent they become.)
Make sure you take out your inserts from your pocket diapers which you should be doing when you are storing in your dry pail. I myself use Bac-out and spray the inserts before I put them in the dry pail. (This helps with smell and stains) I always dump the poo in the toilette and rinse any remaining in the sink this has worked great for me has made my diapers stain free. I also use Tide Free and Clear powder for detergent and it works great for me.
Wash in COLD water with ¼ of the recommended detergent amount on the label of your detergent that you are using.
Wash in HOT water with ¼ of the recommended amount of detergent
Then I run just a rinse cycle to make sure all the detergent is rinsed out
You don’t want to get a build up of detergent this will make your diapers not work correctly causing smell or leak issues. I highly recommend whenever it is nice to line dry them. The sun is a great stain remover and will save the longevity of your diapers over time.
No diaper creams unless you but something between the diaper. My son used to get diaper rashes all the time! I have been using cloth for 5 months now and not a diaper rash since I have switched.
Using the wrong detergent or too much detergent, using diaper creams, lotions, or oils without a barrier between the baby and the diaper will cause your diapers to leak or develop an odor. I recommend Washing your diapers every 2 days you can go 3 but I wouldn’t recommend any longer. If you are having a difficulty with one of these issues do not worry, these problems are totally fixable! Stripping instructions are below.
STRIPPING
Please apply the following recommendations for stripping of specific issues. Be aware, depending on the severity of the problem, you may need to repeat the procedure a number of times.
LEAKING ISSUES
1. Wash once in hot water with Dawn liquid dish detergent in the original blue formula (yes, it must be Dawn). Use one tablespoon for regular top loaders and one teaspoon for high efficiency machines.
2. Do two additional hot water washes with no detergent, just clear water.
SMELL ISSUES
1. Wash inserts once in hot water with Dawn liquid dish detergent in the original blue formula (yes, it must be Dawn). Use one teaspoon for high efficiency machines or one tablespoon with a regular machine. Use ¾ cup of chlorine bleach for a top loader and ½ cup for a high efficiency machine.
2. Do two additional hot water washes with no detergent, just clear water.
I do not recommend using bleach a lot only if you have to. It’s not really good for the elastics and the diapers, I would try sunning first.