I haven't washed them yet. I bought a Dékor Plus diaper pail and reusable liners. Can I wash the pail liners with the diaper covers? The inserts have to be washed separately, right? I will use liners o.
You want a strong detergent. This is where most people have debates because if you are into cloth to be natural or earth friendly it seems weird to use what some deem chemical detergent. As much as I love the earth I'm sorry eco-detergent just will not cut it for something that is peed and pooped in everyday. I personally just use original tide. No water softeners as I don't have hard water. I do line 2 for prewash and line 3-4 for main wash and throw in the dryer. Going on 9 months and we haven't had any problems. Also if you are wanting an easier option for liners go to walmart and get the $2.98 fleece throw blanket and cut liners. No sewing involved since fleece wont fray. I got 2 different colors did one for wipes and one for liners. I rinse them with the sprayer and it all goes into the hamper then to the wash.
@alltimeis This image is perfect, thank you! Their index was helpful, but overwhelmingly long, especially on my phone.
I've seen that idea about fleece. I may do that if I need more liners, which I'm sure I will. I was mostly curious about whether the dyes in the fleece is an issue and how to tell if it will let liquids pass through it.
@dharmmy I keep dirty diapers (a mix of AIOs and Alva pocket diapers) in wet bags.
Toss everything into a x-large cold rinse with some borax (we have hard water). I don't bother pulling the inserts out of the pockets...most of them work their way out eventually. It helps that poop hasn't been much of an issue (my kid is a vocal pooper so I have time to get him on the potty).
medium or large hot load with a full scoop of powdered Tide.
I used Shout on rented diapers before returning them, but I don't bother with our own diapers.
@katrina2017 I'd like them to look clean, so if it doesn't damage the material or oils somehow, I'll probably use it. I've seen a couple of recommendations for powdered Tide... It's probably cheaper than liquid Arm and Hammer for diapers, anyway. I'll look at it. Thanks!
@dharmmy I bought Arm & Hammer free and clear for my baby clothes and it was completely terrible. I would use it for a load of adult clothes and wind up using twice as much as I would my normal detergent and still my laundry would come out smelling of sweat.
Fluff Love has lots of detergent recommendations, but from what I can tell, unless baby has especially sensitive skin, there's no reason to use a free and clear type detergent.
@micharlie I like free and clear because it’s fragrance free! So I make my monthly trip to Walmart specifically for the Tide free and gentle powder it’s the only retailer in the US that I’ve found to carry it, but it works great. As far as I know it’s the exact same formula as normal Tide, just fragrance free.
@micharlie We haven't had problems with our clothes with it, but I'll look into the Fluff Love recommendations for something that can take on baby's diapers. Thanks!
@dharmmy I have been using the Alva and LBB pocket diapers for two years now and love them. I pull the inserts out of the diaper when I change her, toss the diaper and inserts into my bag, and empty the whole thing into the washer every 3 days. I toss the bag in there too. I've never had a problem or had to use stain remover, but I toss some generic oxyclean in my soak. I don't like arm and hammer fc for her diapers (we do use it on her clothes) because I've found that it doesn't get the funk out for us. We have an he washer with no agitator so it may be the washer, but we've also had no luck with all fc or the recent Purex fc. What does work is gain and tide!
We also use disposable liners, and definitely don't flush them- they will destroy your system. They're great to have and really help to keep the diapers stain free. Plus it means no washing diapers out before putting them in the bag
@ken123 We've had no issue with Arm and Hammer for our clothes, but like you said, it may be a washing machine difference. I'll look at the price differences and fragrance-free options for those. Thanks!
What bag do you use? We have green PlanetWise bags. Hopefully they hold up!
Gotcha-- won't flush the liners. I'm really trying to keep this as clean as possible. My family is shocked that I'm even trying it as a total germaphobe, but I want to give it a shot if I can do whatever I need to to keep it cheap but with as little mess as I can manage.
@dharmmy I use powdered Tide for diapers. Line 1 for a cold cycle and then line 3 for a hot long cycle. Then I put everything in the dryer.
When I prepped my entire stash I prepped synthetics separately from natural fibers but I've also read that you don't really need to do that. I only did one wash to prep. There's no reason to do more than that, natural fibers like hemp will get more absorbent with more washes but it's a waste of water when you're definitely going to be washing it a bunch anyway. Might as well let it get more absorbent after it's been pooped on!
I believe stain treatment is generally frowned upon. I've never needed to do it anyway. Some natural fiber diapers will show stains sometimes but laying them out in the sun always works on those. It's fine to wash your pail liners with your diapers.
@2323jkjk I think the diapers are cotton, and the bag, too. Does washing it hot make them shrink? I can't put up a clothes line right now. And can't the hot water make the colors leak more-- is that a problem with brightly-colored diapers or pail liners if they're washed with white liners and diapers?
(I almost never wash anything hot-- always cold, and in separate color loads of white/darks/reds, if there are newer red items. Super cautious, but I have no idea if it would be necessary for diapers to be washed separately, though a hot cycle seems necessary for sanitation.)
@dharmmy The diapers and liner are made of PUL, polyurethane laminate fabric. It is colorfast, so the colors won't fade or bleed. They're made to withstand being washed on hot. I do have some custom diapers and bags that do have cotton fabric on the exterior, but the shrinkage is so minimal it isn't noticeable, and the color hasn't faded on me, except for the one diaper that got used when we had a yeast rash and had to sit in a bleach soak. It did fade just a tad. All the PUL stuff is as bright as day 1. (Most of my stash has been used for about 2.5 years now)
I believe most of us here do a load of mostly all diapers for our diaper laundry. Generally diapers and pail liners in the first cold wash with a little detergent to rinse the diapers of the pee and poo, then run a second wash on hot with full amount of detergent to actually wash and fully clean the diapers. If we need to add anything to the load to make it the right size, we'll add it to that second load, and it could be whatever is available that withstands a hot wash, like socks, swaddle blankets, hand towels, etc.
Slightly unrelated-- have you ever used Burt's Bees diaper cream with cloth diapers? I have heard you have to be careful what you use, though babies have fewer rashes in cloth-- but if she does have rashes, the Burt's Bees seems to work really well for her, so we'd like to keep using it with cloth if necessary if we can.
@dharmmy I have heard that Burts bees is safe for cloth. I tried it, but it was too thick for me. We went through the first few months of my boys life trying to get his rash under control, so we used a little bit of everything. If you are concerned, you can always use a liner when you use creams. We did that often when his rash was so bad. If you dint have liners you can use a cut up t shirt, baby wash cloths, cut up receiving blanket, fleece blanket, really whatever. My favorite cream is angel baby bottom balm for if he has just a little redness.
@dharmmy No, the colors in the PUL won't run. Cotton prefolds or flats will shrink after washing but that's normal and expected, it's why they always look much bigger when they're brand new. Once you prep them they'll be the size they're supposed to be. I've never had any issues with shrinking with my cotton/PUL AIOs. Diapers are a lot sturdier than some people think, they need lots of detergent and agitation in the washer to get clean.
Fluff Love University is a great website for information about washing diapers! They have articles for just about everything and a huge detergent index that will tell you how well all the different brands will work.
@2323jkjk Okay, sounds good. Her diapers are massive, so I think it'd be okay if they shrank some, anyway. I did look at Fluff Love, but only briefly... I'll definitely be back on there for more info as I get started. Thank you! [sup]_^[/sup]
it’s the only retailer in the US that I’ve found to carry it, but it works great. As far as I know it’s the exact same formula as normal Tide, just fragrance free.