We get questions all the time on our Facebook page and private Facebook group about washing cloth diapers! It seems to be one of the most popular topics on AACD with 90 posts tagged between Autumn and I! WOW. Here are my favorites that I refer people to most often. Hopefully you will find some helpful information here that you can pin or share! Please click the underlined link to go to the posts.
Umm…Yes, You Should Clean Your Washing Machine! I’ll Show You How.
It’s a fact that if you have kids you are going to do A LOT of laundry. Add cloth diapers and…well…you know what that means…even more laundry! Autumn said this before, this has to be one of the hardest working machines in our homes. And most often overlooked. Your washing machine will get even the grossest things clean. Why not give it a fresh start once in a while!
Want to save some money? Learn how to get those cloth diapers dry faster!
While you are at it don’t forget about the dryer! Getting and keeping the dryer clean may save you precious money. A lint free dryer will allow clothes and cloth diapers to dry more efficiently. More importantly, The National Fire Protection Agency reports that 1 out of every 22 house fires are started by dryers. Keeping them lint free drastically reduces this risk.
Is it Necessary to Use a Cloth Diaper Safe Detergent?
I truly believe that if something works for you and your family, then keep using it. By works I mean: Everything is getting clean, no damage is occurring to your cloth diapers, and finally your baby has no rashes that are either from an irritation from the detergent or from diapers not coming clean in the wash. Check out our recommendations link to see which detergents Autumn and I like to use on cloth diapers.
An Open Letter to Natural Detergent Makers
I love natural detergents. And I love the companies behind them. I’m sure Autumn would agree. I recently tried a new natural detergent, it worked for about a month and then my daughter developed an angry red rash on her tush. I recognize it. It’s the one she gets when the diapers aren’t coming clean in the wash. I really wanted that detergent to work. I wanted to stick with it… but once again, we are back using Tide. Again, natural detergents work for lots of people. I just wished they worked for most of us. Hopefully we will get there one day.
When and How to Strip Your Diapers
Since we don’t live in a perfect world, problems can arise. I often get questions like: Help my cloth diapers stink! or Why does my baby have this rash all of a sudden. If you need to get your diapers back to square one like when they were new, you might need to strip. This is always the post I refer people too. It includes a ton of great info on when you may have to strip and several different ways to do it. Autumn included a great recipe for making your own at home version of RLR!
Honorary Mentions! These are also posts that I refer people to a lot when they have cloth diaper washing questions:
Guide to Prepping Cloth Diapers
Is your Cloth Diaper Prewash Working for you?
What works for me…How I wash cloth diapers!
Does Something Smell? Then You Might Need to try Bac Out!
How To Remove Just About Any Stain From a Cloth Diaper: a step-by-step guide
Love your Velcro diapers but hate the issues with them? Then you need to check this out!
Cloth Diaper Safe Fabric Softener? Why yes… there is!
Do you have any cloth diaper washing questions that we can help you with? Leave a comment and we will do our best to get you an answer and try to help you solve any problems you may have.
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.
Jessica C. says
Thank you for this! It will definitely come in handy.