Cloth Diapering 101
Laundry instructions
To avoid lingering diaper smells, the following regular wash routine is recommended: (may vary slightly depending on your laundry machines)
Drying in the dryer is optional. To extend the life of your diapers, it is recommended to hang them to dry. That being said, who has time for that?! Dry on low heat. If you're using a dry sensor setting, make sure it's set to extra dry as the microfibre inserts hold moisture longer.
Tip! In the summer, placing your diapers it to dry in the sun is a great alternative. The sun will naturally bleach your diapers, keeping them looking their best.
If you notice that your diapers are holding on to smell (referred to as "barnyard stench" in the cloth diapering world), or if you notice that your having a lot of leaks and the diapers don't seem to be absorbing well, there's a couple of options:
Stuffing Diapers
The diapers in our cloth diaper packages are a pocket style cloth diaper. The inserts are fully removable. We recommend removing the inserts prior to washing them. We've made a habit of removing the inserts as they go on the diaper pail.
After everything is dry, throw all your wipes, inserts and covers into your clean diaper pail bag (this is why there's two!) and have a diaper stuffing party! Practice makes you faster, but it's also a great task to get friends and family to help with. We found having the diapers pre-stuffed made it easier during bum changes.
How do I know if baby is wet?
You don't really. They may be fussy, which is a good indicator, but typically, due to the moisture wicking, babies don't fuss as much when wet in cloth diapers. If you fancy yourself an expert, you can grab/pinch the diaper crotch and eventually you will learn to feel how wet they are, if at all. Otherwise, plan to change them when they are fussy if feeding didn't do the trick, or every couple of hours. Something that worked well for us was changing before a feed.
Tip! If you know that baby has made a bowel movement, try to change quickly. The longer they sit in it, the more likely they are to get a rash and it will soak into the diaper and be harder to get out, both the stain and the smell.
All of this is what has worked for us. The internet is overflowing with other stories of what worked for other families. It can be a bit of a process to find what works for you, but it's well worth it!
To avoid lingering diaper smells, the following regular wash routine is recommended: (may vary slightly depending on your laundry machines)
- Wash in hot water or sanitize cycle, if available, add or program extra wash time on your washer if you can
- Cold rinse is fine, add extra rinse time if your machine will allow you to do it easily
- Use detergent based on the approximate size of the load - if your laundry bag is full, use a regular portion of detergent, half full use half portion.
- Please use detergent that is free from scents and dyes! Don't use anything that could irritate baby's sensitive bottom. We've used the Free and Clear detergent from Costco without issue.
Drying in the dryer is optional. To extend the life of your diapers, it is recommended to hang them to dry. That being said, who has time for that?! Dry on low heat. If you're using a dry sensor setting, make sure it's set to extra dry as the microfibre inserts hold moisture longer.
Tip! In the summer, placing your diapers it to dry in the sun is a great alternative. The sun will naturally bleach your diapers, keeping them looking their best.
If you notice that your diapers are holding on to smell (referred to as "barnyard stench" in the cloth diapering world), or if you notice that your having a lot of leaks and the diapers don't seem to be absorbing well, there's a couple of options:
- Strip the diapers in the same way you did when preparing then for first use, or
- Use a laundry additive such as RLR or Grovia Mighty Bubbles to remove build up
Stuffing Diapers
The diapers in our cloth diaper packages are a pocket style cloth diaper. The inserts are fully removable. We recommend removing the inserts prior to washing them. We've made a habit of removing the inserts as they go on the diaper pail.
After everything is dry, throw all your wipes, inserts and covers into your clean diaper pail bag (this is why there's two!) and have a diaper stuffing party! Practice makes you faster, but it's also a great task to get friends and family to help with. We found having the diapers pre-stuffed made it easier during bum changes.
How do I know if baby is wet?
You don't really. They may be fussy, which is a good indicator, but typically, due to the moisture wicking, babies don't fuss as much when wet in cloth diapers. If you fancy yourself an expert, you can grab/pinch the diaper crotch and eventually you will learn to feel how wet they are, if at all. Otherwise, plan to change them when they are fussy if feeding didn't do the trick, or every couple of hours. Something that worked well for us was changing before a feed.
Tip! If you know that baby has made a bowel movement, try to change quickly. The longer they sit in it, the more likely they are to get a rash and it will soak into the diaper and be harder to get out, both the stain and the smell.
All of this is what has worked for us. The internet is overflowing with other stories of what worked for other families. It can be a bit of a process to find what works for you, but it's well worth it!