All About Cloth Diapers

Simple, reliable answers to all your cloth diaper questions

How to Get Rid of Yeast on Cloth Diapers

This post may contain affiliate links

Pin174
Share553
Tweet
727 Shares

It’s one word that can strike fear into the heart of any parent. We’ve all heard the nightmare stories of reinfections and constant cycles of treatment…

YEAST…

But let’s get a little real for a minute.

The nightmares we read about online and hear from other parents are sometimes a little exaggerated. Kind of like ‘the fish was **THIS** big’ stories that fishermen sometimes tell. ;)

If you handle this the right way the first time, you shouldn’t have an unending cycle of yeast infections on your baby.

How to Get Rid of Yeast on Cloth Diapers

It’s important to know if the rash you are dealing with is really yeast in the first place. Other rashes often look similar and can be misdiagnosed as yeast. Consult this post for descriptions of a few common baby rashes and see if your little one’s rash looks anything like one described.  If you can’t figure out what a rash is or it isn’t clearing up, call your pediatrician.

If you are looking for more information on treating yeast on your baby, you should check this out: Killing the Dreaded Yeast Monster.

How to get rid of the yeast on cloth diapers: 

You need to decide if you are going to continue to use your cloth diapers or go with disposables during treatment.

  • If you use disposable diapers, you only need to treat the cloth diapers once.
  • If you choose to stay in cloth, be sure you are using a liner with the treatment cream if it’s a prescription or not otherwise CD safe. A cut up t-shirt will work as a liner. You can also purchase a disposable liner that is something like this. You will have to treat cloth diapers each time they are washed while treating the yeast on your baby. Depending how often you are washing and how long the treatment lasts, this could be 2-3 times. Continue to treat diapers for at least 1 week after yeast rash has completely healed to prevent a recurrence.

Every family’s needs are different and either way will work. Go with what works best for you and your family. There is no wrong answer here.

How to treat your cloth diapers with bleach

Chlorine Bleach: Chlorine bleach is a common disinfectant. The downside is that it is a caustic substance (able to burn or corrode). Use caution when handling it. Take care to not splash any or directly inhale the fumes. 

Dilute the bleach in the water PRIOR to adding the items you are disinfecting. Use the bleach tray on the machine if it has one.

Please note that PUL is colorfast, so it won’t fade. However, any knit or cotton fabrics may fade even in a properly diluted bleach solution.  This can include items like cloth wipes, WAHM diapers and fitteds for example. You might want to consider an alternative if you have those sort of things to disinfect. 

Bleach is the second most common disinfectant after hot water.  While it kills yeast, it doesn’t kill yeast spores. If you are treating for yeast I actually recommend the grapefruit seed extract method listed below. If you are interested, you will find the documentation I used to arrive at this recommendation here.

You must use bleach that has at least 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. You will find this info on the label. Bleach also starts to break down over time and becomes less effective. You can store it for about a year at room temp before that begins to happen. If the bottle is older than a year, purchase a new one. If you are unsure how old the bottle is, locate the production code. It is often stamped on the neck of the bottle. You can then use this article to decode the made on date. 

How to Disinfect using Chlorine Bleach

This should be done on clean, already washed items. Do not add any other additives such as softeners or detergent. 

Step 1: I recommend using warm or hot water (although cold will work.)  You may have read that bleach disinfection must only be done in cold water. That is not the case as it will work in any water temp. Click here for further documentation on this. Dilute your bleach in the water FIRST before adding your cloth diapers. Be careful to not splash the bleach. Use the bleach tray on the machine if it has one.

Step 2: Soak for 15 minutes. Longer soak times are unnecessary and can cause premature wear to your diapers.

Step 3: Rinse diapers until bleach odor is gone. You can do this with hot rinses in the washing machine or in your tub under the facet. You may have to rinse a few times to get the odor completely out. 

Here are the dilution ratios:

Top Loader (Non-HE):  Small- 1/3 cup, Medium – 1/2 cup, Large/XL- 3/4 cup
Top loader   (HE)           Small- 1/4 cup, Medium- 1/3 cup, Large- 1/2 cup
Regular Bathtub            1/4/ full – 1/4 cup, 1/2 full- 1/2 cup
Garden Bathtub             1/4 full – 1/2 cup   
Bucket:                             1 Tablespoon per gallon of water
 
If you have a front loading machine I recommend disinfect using a bucket or bathtub instead. 
 
Tip: Wear gloves if soaking or rinsing in a tub, sink or bucket. Make sure all items are fully submerged in bleach water. Agitate the diapers around gently before soaking to make sure everything is wet and mixed in properly. 

Grapefruit Seed Extract: synthesized from the seeds and pulp of the grapefruit, it’s a very broad spectrum microbicide, bactericide, fungicide, antiparasitic, and anti-viral.

It is expensive, so the other options on here are far more economical for other disinfecting, but when it comes to yeast – this is the single most effective way to stop it in its tracks on your clothing and cloth diapers. You can buy it at your local health food store or on Amazon.

This is not a natural alternative. There are limited studies, but the existing ones point to the preservatives in GSE and not the actual GSE being the disinfectant. So I will say that this is an effective option, but not a natural one. GSE will not fade non-colorfast knit and cotton fabrics making it a good alternative to bleach.

For more evidence of GSE as a disinfecting agent, please see:

How to disinfect using Grapefruit Seed Extract

For disinfecting: 2 tablespoons of GSE for up to a large load of laundry. This may be added right to the main wash cycle with whatever detergent you are using. Wash and dry normally.

Hydrogen Peroxide: This is a liquid oxygen bleach and breaks down into water and oxygen.

Use a 3 % solution (what is normally available at most drugstores).

Be aware that hydrogen peroxide can damage fabrics the same way bleach can, so test for colorfastness and never pour directly on your clothes or cloth diapers.

How to disinfect using Hydrogen Peroxide

This should be done on clean, already washed items. Do not add any other additives such as softeners or detergent. 

Step 1: Use 1 cup in the bleach cup of your laundry machine for medium loads and 2 cups for large loads. If you have no bleach tray, add directly to water BEFORE adding cloth diapers.  Use hot water and a wash cycle that is at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: Rinse with hot water. 

Tip: If you don’t have a cycle long enough you can either stop the cycle or soak in another vessel such as a bathtub (1/2 regular bathtub is equal to a large load). 

 

**If you can’t use bleach or GSE due to sensitivities, you can also use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect. Please go here for more details and directions.**

I’d love to hear from you! Has your child ever had a yeast infection? How did you effectively treat it?

Pin174
Share553
Tweet
727 Shares

Related posts:

  1. How to Remove Mold on Cloth Diapers
  2. Three Interesting Things You May Not Know About Cloth Diapers
  3. Three Interesting Things You May Not Know About Cloth Diapers, 3rd Edition
  4. Hand Washing Cloth Diapers in a Lavario Portable Clothes Washer

Comments

  1. Kyra says

    I tried bleach but her rash kept coming back once we got her back into them so I just did a GSE wash. Is it just a one time wash and then after 14 days I can put her back in them?

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      Yes that is correct. But if you are treating the diapers don’t put them back on until a week after the yeast rash has cleared.

      Reply

  2. Rebekah says

    I did the bleach soak as directed, and this ratio ruined all my diapers that were in there. I shop small and pay for certain prints or certain tie dye colors, and this post just made me ruin all the colors in my new diapers. I’m super upset.

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      I did state that GSE is an alternative to bleach as it won’t fade non colorfast fabrics. PUL is colorfast. But knit fabrics aren’t. Even with normal longer term washing, many knit fabrics naturally fade a bit. I am sorry that happened to your diapers. I’m going to add another line about the colorfast issues to make it even more clear.

      Reply

  3. Celina says

    So GSE can be used instead of bleach? Then I would just add the 2 tbsp into the detergent compartment with the detergent and run a hot cycle?

    I have a front load washer so a bleach soak would have to be done in the tub upstairs and transferring a load of wet diapers downstairs to the washer just seems exhausting so if I can just use GSE for a yeast treatment that sounds so much more appealing.

    Reply

  4. Amy says

    I have a he front load washer, after my initial bleach soak can I just add bleach to my washer with each load or do I need to continue a bleach soak every time I wash? I really don’t want to ruin my diapers by using bleach in my washer and was just wondering if anyone has done it this way without messing up the diapers, also how long do I continue to bleach for?

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      If the cycle is at least 15 minutes it should be ok. You’d need to bleach after each wearing until the rash is completely gone plus a few more days. So it’s usually two weeks or so. Bleaching is hard on the diapers. It’s something to consider when deciding what to do.

      Reply

  5. Allison says

    This post comments on using 2 tsp of GSE for disinfecting, but in your “Killing the Dreaded Yeast Monster” article you recommend 2 tbsp – Which is correct? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      I believe it was a typo. I’ve double checked and it is the two tablespoons. Thanks for alerting me to this!

      Reply

  6. Debi says

    As an RN I really appreciate how you wrote this post and that you included studies from NIH! I always have to do my own research when it comes to “natural” remedies and actual safety, so thank you! I wasn’t sure which GSE would be good so this was helpful.

    Reply

  8. katie says

    We haven’t had to deal with yeast at all but glad to know of my options if it ever comes up. I think we would go with the disposable diapers while it cleared up so it wasn’t as much work.

    Reply

  9. Heather brown says

    By a few days old my lo had a yeast infection and it was such a pain to treat and it made my heart hurt for him.

    Reply

    • Ragan says

      I was trying to find some pooters diapers and cream but the link isn’t working, does anyone know if the website changed?

      Reply

  11. tara says

    My poor little guy has had a diaper rash since he was one week old. He had to have a prescription cream to clear it up but it’s coming back and I would love something natural like this to use instead of a harsh prescription!

    Reply

  19. Gladys Aguilar says

    My daughter has always had eczema and I hope this baby doesn’t. I will still get this even if I dont win just in case

    Reply

  20. rose brown says

    So glad I ran across this. I was cursed with yeast with my first and second. This time will be different. Thank you

    Reply

  21. Jennifer Dahl says

    I would love to win because my twins are due anyday and i think this would come In handy
    We will be using cloth!

    Reply

  23. Sophia Ferar says

    I used to deal with yeast infections all the time. They are the worst. They stopped for the most part once I started to wash my own diapers.

    Reply

  24. Angel Emory-Smith says

    We would love to try for my rainbow princess eczema. Thank you for all the great and helpful information.

    Reply

  26. Jessica says

    I was so happy to see this in my inbox today! Were battling a yeast rash at the moment and since this is a first for us I had no idea how or what to do about it! Thanks so much! I need pooters cream in my life right now because of this nasty yeast!!

    Reply

  27. Julie Keyworth says

    My son has eczema and it would be great to have something that would help! Also yeast is a monster to get rid of!

    Reply

  28. rebecca.kurlak says

    I would love to try this because I have 2 in diapers and love pooters diapers for night! Thank you for the chance!

    Reply

  29. danielle siggins says

    I would love to try this on my son, Baiden has extremely sensitive skin and eczema! we also have extremely hard water and have battled ammonia burn a number of times and with his sensitive skin it wasn’t fUN at all!!!! I have to use Paul Mitchell tea tree shampoo on him and I’m very limited to lotions and soaps also! It’s been hard trying to find something that helps and doesn’t further worsen his skin problems! This would be awesome to try!

    Reply

  30. Katy says

    When my triplets had yeast in cloth, I tried EVERYTHING to get it to go away. Bleach soaks (multiple times) did not work at all. I finally stumbled upon Grapefruit Seed Extract when researching ways to kill yeast spores and ordered a bottle. That stuff is a miracle! It’s the only thing that worked for us. It actually takes very little GSE to be effective. One small bottle has lasted us for over 2 years. (We’ve only had yeast once, but it was a bear; now we use the GSE for laundry and other disinfecting purposes when we have strep and other infections.) During the yeast breakout, I used 50 drops directly into the tub of the washer during the hot wash cycle. I also used 5 drops per ounce of water in my wipes solution to use on the babies. Diluted to that amount, it didn’t hurt the girls’ skin, and it cleared up the rash. AMAZING.

    Reply

  31. Amanda B says

    My two year old has suffered with severe eczema in his diaper area. We’ve been to his pediatricians office more than 9 times and have literally been thru every doctor there. They all have suggested their own treatments,creams and oils. After switching to cloth his eczema calmed down but it was short lived. He screams and cries constantly and wakes up multiple times during the night from itching. This momma is at her wits end!!. I want him to enjoy being a “normal two year old!”

    Reply

  33. Brenda P says

    We’d love to try the Pooters! My daughter seems to have very sensitive skin and gets rashes easily. This would probably help her a lot.

    Reply

  34. Sarah o says

    My babe keeps getting yeast infections then when I have got it under control the grandmas feed her sugar. It would be nice to have something that works and that is safe to use !!!

    Reply

  37. Brittany P says

    We had a problem with a yeast rash when my little guy was about 3 months. It felt like it lasted forever and was really frustrating. We ended up switching to disposable diapers for aatime, so I could bleach our stash. I then used liners and lotrimin to get rid of it.

    My little guy has pretty sensitive skin, so this stuff would be great to have on hand!

    Reply

  40. Jessica Funderburk says

    It doesn’t take much to irritate our youngest child’s skin and when it does, even the tiniest bit, she acts like someone is torturing her. Sometimes it won’t be visible at all and she’ll cringe and scream. Her skin is so incredibly sensitive.

    Reply

  46. Jessica CG says

    Since my husband and I each have some form of sensitive skin (eczema and contact dermatitis), would be nice to have for baby just in case.

    Reply

  47. Shelby Clerkley says

    We just got over yeast. We’re sadly in disposables for a few more days to keep from having to bleach our diapers more than the initial disinfect when it was diagnosed. I would love to have this on hand should we ever have this problem again. I miss my cloth and I know my boy is too! He doesn’t sleep as well I’m sposies :(

    Reply

  50. Tisha says

    We could use it for treating eczema. We love trying new natural products. Our goal is to try and keep the toxins exposed to our baby to a minimum. Thank you for all the great information and awesome give-a-ways!

    Reply

  51. Amy Somero says

    I need to try this!
    I dealt with horrible yeast between my daughter and I for a year! (Before using cloth). I will never use antibiotic for yeast again!! Plus a few of my kids and I have dealt with excema also! So, now with #6 due in 3 days, I really would like to have this on hand to try.

    Reply

  52. Shanna Ridener says

    Would love to try the Pooters Skin Cream for ammonia rash…haven’t had to deal with yeast but ammonia seems to crop up more frequently than I care to deal with!

    Reply

  53. crysten says

    Anything natural is something in willing to tru. I’ve had an excema flat up for a couple weeks on my arm and can’t get it to go away. B is love to try this!

    Reply

  56. Kayla Akers says

    We NEED this right now actually. The article more than the cream but I would love to give this product a try for all of my littles and myself. Me and all 3 kids have eczema AND my 3 week old baby has a yeast infection right now. Yesterday was her first FULL day using only CD!! I’M SO PROUD of myself and hubby! We are comitted to CD and only used sposies that we were finishing up from the hospital since it was easier to use sposies in the wee hours of the morning those first couple weeks. Hubby works 2 jobs so he’s perpetually tired & I’m lucky enough to have a man who let’s me sleep at night while HE gets up to get the baby (aside from breastfeeding). :) thanks for this info btw!!

    Reply

  57. Amanda D says

    My son has eczema, but no problems with yeast. I would love to give Pooters a try. If we do ever have a yeast issue I know where to find my help. Thanks for this post.

    Reply

  59. Erica McKeel says

    My oldest daughter has terrible eczema. I feel lile I have tried so many types of diaper creams but I haven’t tried pooters yet. I would like to win one to offset the $ I’ve wasted trying other brands.

    Reply

  62. Ashley Thompson says

    I would love to try some of the Pooters Skin Therapy. My son has been battling yeast infections since he was born. He just turned 6 months and have had to keep using disposables till he gets rid of the yeast. Then we battle with reg rashes. I would love to keep using our cloth diapers and am wondering if this could be our solution!

    Reply

  63. Ashton says

    We will begin using cloth once our third little girl is born in July. Would be really nice to already have this on hand. Just in case.

    Reply

  64. Melissa Marlow says

    I’ve tried a few different brands of cloth diaper safe creams with my oldest and never really found one I loved. Now with baby #2 in cloth, I’m still tring new options and would love to give this a try.

    Reply

  69. Jessica J says

    my almost 6mo little guy has been on an amoxicillin regimen since 6 days old due to a bum kidney. antibiotics make for some runny poo!

    Reply

  73. Melinda Williamson says

    My DH and LO both have severe eczema. When I first got with DH the doctors had him on a prescription lotion that was actually making his eczema worse! I got him into using natural products, and he is sooo much better! We would love to try the Pooters skin therapy though!

    Reply

  79. Rhiannon Hartley says

    I was just reading this in my email! I’d love this balm because we’re currently fighting yeast and have been for two weeks. I’m afraid the antibiotic isn’t going to do the trick!

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      Is it possible the rash isn’t really yeast. Sometimes people need a pediatric dermatologist to get to the bottom of an ongoing skin issue. Good Luck!

      Reply

  80. Monica Jean says

    This looks wonderful! Luckily we’ve never struggled with yeast, but my son has always had eczema. It’s a long term struggle for sure! Now I want to try this :)

    Reply

  83. K Marcano says

    We are fighting eczema and we haven’t found anything that works yet. Trying to find a topical solution is becoming expensive. My son has gotten to the age where he can’t keep his claws off, so along with the dry itchy patches, he sometimes has sores. I feel so bad for him, I hope to find a solution soon!

    Reply

  84. Nora says

    We would love to try this balm because both of my girls have exzema and can’t seem to find anything great for it thst isn’t ful of 10000 chemicals and unexplainable ingredients

    Reply

  85. Lindsay says

    We need the pooters cream because all 3 of my little boys and I have eczema and psoriasis. When the seasons change,the troubles start. Maybe, hopefully this is the miracle in a jar for us!

    Reply

  86. Shawnna webber says

    We would love something else to try for my daughters eczema… We are having such a hard time finding something that works and doesn’t feel like she’s being caked in 10 layers of goo :(

    Reply

  87. Jessica Martinez says

    About to have a preemie in the NICU and apparently yeast infections are common with all the antibiotics they are out on, so I would really love to try this!!

    Reply

  89. Kelly Harris says

    All four of my girls have always dealt with ezema and I would love to try this on them! I haven’t found anything that works other than steroid creams and they don’t last so I won’t use it on them anymore.

    Reply

  90. Kierstian says

    We need poorers because we have been battling a reoccurring rash that blisters with yeast treatments and steroids for pain and still nothing … Little one is allergic to disposable diapers and the doctors are sure I must be reinfecting her with the cloth going to see about that oil !!! Something has to give !!!

    Reply

  92. alex mclemore says

    I need it because I currently only use desiten. It seems to be the only thing I can cure his rash with. I have heard great things about this product and would love to try it.

    Reply

  94. Angie Noffsinger says

    No baby here just YET but soon :) my husband has very sensitive skin, so I think it would be great to have some options to try.

    Reply

  95. Katie Rosa says

    Thank you so much for this post! Yeast is my biggest fears with my diapers and I wasn’t soaking when I bleached! Thank you for the info! I need this info so the next time yeast rash shows up on my littlest, I won’t panic!

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      Katie, I am personally not a bleach user. I’ve never had the need. I’ve always found another way to deal with any issue I was having. As moms we always have so much going on. Our diapers shouldn’t add to our already heavy load <3

      Reply

  96. Rikka Korte says

    We just fought the yeast battle twice in the past month and a half. (Both caused by antibiotics after a major injury) luckily it has cleared up now, but this s would be nice to try in the future!

    Reply

  97. Keely chapman says

    I need this rash cream because my daughter gets yeast infections quite often and both of my kids share diapers so she ends up sharing the infection with her brother before I catch it. It’s extremely hard to get rid of the ones she gets. This would be an absolute blessing to us!

    Reply

  98. Tiffany says

    Somehow we didn’t have a yeast rash when we had thrush,and I am so grateful! I would love to try Pooters on my eczema actually.

    Reply

  99. Brook Huffman says

    Our little one has eczema. I’d love to see if this product helps. A friend has a daughter with it also…so I’d share. :-)

    Reply

  100. Theresa Fogle says

    I’m expecting my second child(31 weeks) and I’m an extremely tight budget. thank you so much for giving instructions on proper bleaching as well! You can never know enough. ;)

    Reply

  103. Laura Word says

    I need it because my little girl has a rash that won’t go away. We went to the foctor and prescribed something but it’s noy natural. I wondered if this works.

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      Clearing your baby’s rash is important Laura. If you went to the doctor and he gave you an RX, it’s ok to use it. We all do whatever we can to keep our children healthy. I understand you want to try to stay as natural as possible. But if you don’t have anything else on hand, use what you have to heal. <3

      Reply

    • Kayla Akers says

      Try coconut oil! Straight raw organic coconut oil! A little goes a long way so don’t cake it on but it works! I’ve been prescribed Nystatin for my LO’s before and tried CO and got faster results for the littles! Which was better on me too since I didn’t have to feel so bad for it hurting them longer every time I had to wipe them with every diaper change. :)

      Reply

  104. Rebecca Shaffer says

    Thank you for actually providing good bleaching instructions. Yeast is nothing to mess with and glitter and prayer isn’t going to help it. There is entirely too much bad advice out there.

    Reply

    • Jennifer Reinhardt says

      Rebecca, Thanks for commenting! There is plenty of good advice out there as well. It is up to us as consumers and parents to do thorough research and use common sense before making a decision that affects our family. But remember there is never only one way to do anything. That is just not how the world works. Personally, if I were treating yeast I wouldn’t use bleach , I’d go the GSE route. :)

      Reply

    • Trixie says

      So is it just me or does the GSE seem like the easiest way to go? Simply add it into the wash with the diapers and the yeast and spores will be eliminated?

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.