One of the biggest issues cloth diapering families can struggle with is how to wash cloth diapers. I’ve even wondered myself once or twice about my own cloth diaper washing routine. As babies get older their output changes and sometimes your wash routine needs to change with it. Don’t worry, most issues are totally fixable. And I want to help you fix them!
So what is this big mistake?
Not doing a prewash! Or not using the right cycle for a prewash.
I guess this came as a surprise to me, but there are people not doing prewashes with their cloth diaper laundry. While there are a million different ways to get cloth diapers clean, the prewash is an integral part of any good wash routine.
Without it, you’re just trying to get diapers clean in filthy, poo filled water. I know that’s gross, but it’s true.
A good prewash gets the big stuff off and gives your main wash a nice head start. To get the most out of your prewash, here is what I recommend:
1) You want a prewash to agitate, spin and drain. The agitate part is the important part. It’s what will get the poo off.
Some machines have prerinse cycles that just spray water, spin and drain. That’s not what you want. If the machine can’t do a prewash that agitates, find a cycle to substitute for it. You may have a quick wash (many HE models have this option) that will work great as a prewash. Keep in mind the prewash needn’t be long. Try to use the shortest cycle available (that agitates) to save time and energy. If you are wondering what cycle to use, check your owners manual. If you don’t have it around anymore, just google your washing machine model number + manual (the number is usually inside the lid or door but can be on the back of the machine).
*TIP* if you have an old school top loader, chances are the cycles are all pretty short anyway (under 18 minutes or so). Go ahead and use the same cycles for both pre and main washes. So you’ll use the longest, heavy duty cycle the machine has for the prewash. Then do the same for the main wash. The extra agitation will not hurt anything and can only help.
2) Use warm or even hot water in the prewash.
Yes, many people use cold with no issues. It is my understanding that stains come out better in the temperature they were created. For pee and poo, that is warm water. However, if you are struggling to get clean cloth diapers, using hot water in the prewash will not harm anything. The hotter water can help open up the pores in the fabric and hopefully get the crap out. ;)
3) If your wash routine needs a little boost, you can add OxiClean, Bac Out or even a little bit of your detergent to the prewash.
This isn’t necessary for everyone. But if you find that you have an especially gross load of cloth diapers, a little boost might not hurt. For OxiClean add to the 1-2 line; Bac Out is 1/4 cup or three squirts around the tub; and detergent you could add the amount for a light load (usually the 1 line). All measurements are for a full load.
TO RECAP:
Make sure you do a prewash.
Use a cycle that agitates, spins and drains.
Use warm water if possible.
For added cleaning power add a little OxiClean, Bac out or some of your detergent.
Anyone have any other suggestions to get the most out of your prewash cycle?
Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.
Katie says
Thank you SO MUCH. I have just recently started cloth diapering and your site is saving my life. Based on your info this is my plan to try now. Can you let me know if this sounds right to try?
I have soft water and an old top loader machine. I am using Rockin’ Green Dirty Diaper Detergent.
Clean washer with Affresh every 3 months.
Wash routine:
– rinse wet diapers in HOT water in sink, squeeze out, put in wet bag.
– rinse dirty diapers in toilet with sprayer, squeeze out, put in wet bag.
– wash every 3 days. Cycle 1 on heavy duty, warm, heavy soil, 3/4 scoop of detergent. Cycle 2 on heavy duty, warm, heavy soil, 1/4 scoop of detergent, extra rinse.
– dry on warm, sun if needed.
*the detergent says to use 2 scoops for a top loader, but I have soft water and I don’t have a full load of diapers, so I’m thinking one scoop is plenty.*
Stripping diapers (soft water): run them through at least two hot water cycles w/NO detergent. Only if they are having leaking or smelling problems.
Cheryl F says
Our daughter is 13 and in puberty and bedwetting because of it.The bedwetting started just before age 12 and we have been using cloth diapers and plastic pants on her ever since.Since there is no poop to worry about,i use Dreft to wash the diapers in and they come out nice and soft.I then was the rubberpants separetly and dry then in the dryer on fluff setting. Since she is a girly girl,she likes wearing both pastel and nursery print rubberpants over her diapers,and they are adult size medium that fit her blousy for comfort.
Margo C. says
Cheryl F.Our daughter is 14 and still bedwetting from puberty.She has been in cloth diapers and rubberpants since her puberty started just before 12. I also use Dreft with her diapers and dry them in the drier.Her rubberpants i wash separately and also dry them in the drier on FLUFF setting.
Aunt Em says
I learned from washing my husband’s dirty work clothes in a top loading machine, that if you soak for an hour up to overnight for heavily soiled stuff and ***use washing soda*** (Arm & Hammer) according to instructions on the box, i.e. with less detergent, you will find that the soak water has most of the soil in it. I have a top-loading machine and let the dirty water spin out, then push the knob in and turn it back to 8-10 minutes of wash cycle. I put 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the rinse water to help remove detergent since we have fairly hard water.
A too-fast soak won’t loosen soil nearly as well, and washing soda really helps!
Kerry says
Hey! So, are u saying u use washing soda, vinegar, and just a bit of detergent? If so, how long have u been doing this routine with no complications (rash, etc)
And could u also give me a more exact recipe?
I would feel much more comfortable with a routine like this than using all the detergent I am currently using.
Thank you so much, Aunty Em!
Rachel says
Thank you! New mama here wanting to cloth diaper! I was wondering if I needed a washer that specifically had the pre-wash setting or not, we live in an apt, thank you for clarifying that the Heavy Duty will work for both pre-washing and washing on a top loader! <3
Jennifer Reinhardt says
No, not necessary, in fact using that heavy duty cycle twice is what I do because none of the cycles are all that long anyway.
Brigitte says
I just started cloth diapers with my 1 month old and I did the pre wash on cold like the mama kola diaper said but my diapers were coming out with yellow stains. So I started using a pre spot from melaleuca. It got the stains out but now my diapers seem to not be as absorbent and leaking! Could my pre spot be affecting my diapers or my cold pre wash?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
I’ve never heard of it happening. More likely is either a fit issue or perhaps the baby just needs more absorbency. Have you seen this? I think it might help
Jamie Morvitz says
Somehow sunlight gets rid of all stains. After I did the first wash I put the wet diaper outside to dry (or on a towel near the back door where sun shines through) and within a few hours the poop stains were gone. Obviously if you are in an apt. that may not work but just saying. Then I threw them in for the 2nd wash. You could also wash and dry and then just lightly wet the spot with the stain and put in the sunlight.
Stephanie says
Great information thank you!!
I always thought that hot water prewash would set stains and that’s why I use cold water is that not true?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
It can. But honestly if you are struggling using the hotter water may be the difference between clean and dirty. Stains are part of cloth diapering. Just sun them if it doesn’t come out in the wash.
Jessica says
Hi ?? I just started cloth diapering at ten months. I started on January 1st and did my first load on the 3rd. My son is a super light wetter and hardly ever dirties a diaper, so I figured this would be a piece of cake. When I pulled the bag out of the pail for my first real wash, it was understandably smelly. I did my wash with hot water and a small amount Purex F&C (people have me afraid to use too much). Straight out of the wash, I took a whiff of a microfiber insert. Still smelly. Okay, so I do another wash same way, but this time with a little more soap. Still smelly. ? I do a baking soda rinse and then rinse a few more times. Less smelly, but still smelly. I sun-bathe them. Ahh! Finally, the smell is gone! I happily stuff and stock my changing table. A few hours later, I check my son’s diaper, and there it is again. I’ve read enough about the “smells as soon as it’s peed on” problem to know it’s serious. Am I still not using enough soap? I don’t know how to tell if I’m using enough or too much and I don’t know how to really tell if there’s enough water. No one really gives any clear indicators. I really don’t want to use bleach or any of that, but I will if I have to. Thanksin advance!
Jennifer Reinhardt says
If you have an HE washer they actually use very little water and work fine that way. It’s old school top loaders that have the possibility of too much or too little water. Too much they go for a swim. Too little and the diapers can’t move to rub which is what gets them clean. Basically if you can see in the drum it should look like a stew. As for the smell perhaps try longer cycles. THe detergent amount depends on how many diapers you are washing. A good place to start is the same amount you’d use on a same size load of heavily soiled clothing.
Kelsey says
Have you checked if you have hard water. I have found it is tremendously harder to get smells out if you have hard water. You may need a water softener. I would suggest stripping the diapers you have either way, as the year are covered in ammonia. But I would seriously urge you check your water and use a water softener if you have hard water or it’ll keep happening. You can also strip your diapers with blue dawn dish soap instead of bleach.
Cheyanne says
I have a Kenmore HE front loader.. I’ve been following a FLU wash routine with approx 12-16 diapers (I wash every other day to prevent stink in my bathroom) I feel like I’m using too much soap but I don’t want to cut back in case they don’t get clean? Does that make sense. I’m using tide free and gentle line 4 prewash in quick cycle and line 4 x2 main wash hot water.. I usually bulk the main wash with some of baby’s clothes. Is there anything I should adjust??
Jennifer Reinhardt says
If you have no issues I would leave it as is. But if you do have issues then I would say it could be too much detergent for load size.
Nandhini Ilango says
So when you say FULL LOAD, how many diapers are u talking about? I’ve about 8 diapers and 8 training pants (diaper free time) and I add 1 line tide and occasionally 1/4 cup Lysol sanitizer for quickwash. Then 3 line for regular wash with all other clothes. Followed by extra rinse. Haven’t had much issues except his night diapers starts stinking early morning
Jennifer Reinhardt says
A full load in my machine is about 30 cloth diapers, 4 days worth of cloth wipes and 2-3 wet bags. But for reference a full load will vary from machine to machine as they all have different capacity.
Jaime Gonzales says
Thank you so much for the info. I’ve been starting to have a stink issue. And this info was helpful.
Lilli Hamilton says
I have a FL he washer. I have been using the quick wash, on cold, set at heavy soil. This gives me a31 minute wash, with no detergent. I then use the heavy duty setting (hot wash) hiwith an extra rinse. I use a scoop of oxiclean, and a scoop of regular gain, to line 2. This has worked very well so far, though little has begun solids, so I may have to tweak it. Maybe not!!
Michelle D says
With my new HE machine that we purchased in the summer it took me months to get a routine that worked. My old HE washer used way more water than this new one. I was doing a quick wash for my prewash and I ended up with terrible ammonia stink. So now I do a light wash on cold with the water plus and it solved my problem. The cycles on the new washer are extremely long to make up for the lack of water. My diapers a clean now but my total wash time is over 4 hours. It works though so I just wash them overnight. Anyone else have these issues with the new HE washers?
Mayra says
Omg yes! Me too! I swear I yelled at my husband the other day for getting the new machines haha! Definitely takes forever and sometimes I’ve even had to run 2 main washes to get the smell of Poop and pee out of my diapers. I’m still tweaking my cycles but I did notice I need to use a longer cycle for my prewash.
Jessica says
I’ve been doing my pre-wash (regular cycle, shortest length) with hot water, not warm. Is warm better for anything other than the cost savings from using less hot water? Should I be doing my entire cycle on warm instead of hot?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
If the water is too hot it sets stains. I was told by my dry cleaner with 40 years experience to use the temp that the stain was created in for best removal. For pee and poo that is warm. So that is what I go by.
Tabitha Dencklau says
Ugh, I’m guilty of this. I read a lot of conflicting information early into cloth diapering and I didn’t prewash. Not surprisingly, I had issues. I did an overhaul of my wash routine, which included adding a prewash, and everything it’s going great now!
Annie says
Curiosity question: I know you use Ragababe diapers. Do you use Tide and oxyclean on them? If so do you find they wear faster?
Thanks for these great tips!
Jennifer Reinhardt says
I do. After two years of this all my Rags are in great condition. I know some people have said it gave them issues. But it hasn’t for me. I only use about to the 1 or 2 line in a full load. I tried Country Save and in my moderately hard water it just wasn’t strong enough, not even on my clothes. Nothing works for everyone. That is why it is great to have choices :)
Anel says
I always ran the diapers in the pre rinse thinking that it was a prewash, but I guess not! Great to know the difference now!!
Monica says
Great points! I just published my cloth diaper routine on my blog, but I didn’t explain why it’s so important to do the prewash. My son is EBF, and that stuff doesn’t rinse well under a tap or even with a diaper sprayer. The prewash is a big help!
Lyndsi says
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for putting that the prewash is so important and explaining why! I see so many people that just try to get the most water and then I see them having issues with their diapers not getting clean. Great advice!
Carolyn Allen Russell says
Huh, I’d never thought about how my prerinse works, before! I’ve read my washers manual and don’t recall it mentioning anything about whether or not the rinse and spin agitates at all. In your experience does that mean that it doesn’t, or do some just not specify?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Most manuals have a section that explains what each cycle does. So it should say sprays water and drains or something like that if it’s not agitating. It’s hard to say without knowing what washing machine you have. I am more than happy to check if you can get me the model number :) But if you aren’t having any issues, I wouldn’t worry too much. This post is really for the people who constantly struggle with their wash routines.
Amy says
“Keep in mind the prewash needed be long. Try to use the shortest cycle available (that agitates) to save time and energy.” Needed = needn’t, correct?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Yes! I’ve corrected that. Thank you Amy :)