The single biggest issue that parents complain about when dealing with cloth diapers is washing. There’s a lot of “This is the right way and that’s wrong”. And “No that’s not right, THIS is”. Remember, there is no ONE way to do anything and that includes getting cloth diapers clean.
Use common sense…
Use an appropriate amount of water and detergent for what you are washing…
Nothing will work for everyone. Just because it is like magic for someone else does not make it a guarantee for you. That same thing may be disastrous when you try it.
I am always here if you need help; all you need do is ask. Search for answers (see the top right of the page). Comment here on the blog or join our AACD Chat Group.
One big thing that would help cloth diapering families is a more across the board somewhat standardized recommendation on how to wash cloth diapers.
The Real Diaper Association (RDA) wants to keep this process simple and evidence based. They want to work with ALL cloth diaper users, educators and manufacturers together. Doing this together and keeping it simple sound like the right way to me.
RDA’s mission:
THE ONLY WAY TO CHANGE DIAPERS IS ONE BABY AT A TIME.
Our Mission: The Real Diaper Association is a collective non-profit organization in which parents and small businesses take the lead in creating a cultural shift to increase the use of simple, reusable cloth diapers. We connect current cloth diapering parents to the long history of cloth diapering. Cloth diapers are real diapers…
What can you do?
Since there is no such thing as a Cloth Diaper Laundry Science Degree or an official peer reviewed Cloth Diaper Laundry Institute, the single most powerful tool we have is our common experiences and outcomes.
Getting them all into one place, organized and then analyzed will give the tools to the cloth diaper industry to change suggested wash routines to match what works for the majority of families.
If you’ve ever had an issue or aggravation about washing your cloth diapers, this is your chance to make a difference so others might not suffer from the same issues you did.
This is your chance to put your money where you mouth is.
Yes, the survey will take a few minutes. But if you want things to change, you have to participate in the process.
As the RDA says “THE ONLY WAY TO CHANGE DIAPERS IS ONE BABY AT A TIME”.
Here is the link to the survey. Thank you so very much!
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.
Shelby says
How do you clean a poop cloth diaper? Where do you dispose of it? Thank you!
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Hi Shelby, This link explains in detail exactly what to do with the poo.
Crystal says
Thanks for sharing the survey. I’m a member of an online community related to CDs. I can’t tell you how many moms we’ve had come ask for help on their laundry routine after having trouble with those the “science gestapo’s” suggestions.
LynnMays says
No. I’m saying my previous comments were awaiting moderation and never showed up.
Jennifer Reinhardt says
LynnMays, Sorry about that. It probably went to the spam filter. I don’t allow comments here that promote that group because they have repeatedly and publicly degraded cloth diaper blogs as useless, wrong information. I’m sure you can understand why I find that inappropriate. I am glad you found help with your cloth diapers. That is the important thing; that cloth diapers remain simple and accessible to ALL people and work for each family that is using them. Thank you for taking the time to read the post and for following me and AACD. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.
LynnMays says
I finished the survey. But I’ve commented here multiple times?
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Hi! Not sure what you are asking or telling me. Sorry :) Did you have an issue with the survey?
Melissa says
Thank you for this! I think any efforts to make things simpler for us SAHMs/WAHMs is excellent. I will try to do the survey as soon as I can. I appreciate your blog very much. Sincerely, Melissa
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Thanks for taking the time to do the survey Melissa!
Amy says
I was deeply disappointed the survey did not include options for frequency of washing past 3 days. I have always washed every 5-7 days with no issue. I had to put that I wash every 3 days which is incorrect because there was no other field.
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Hi Amy, I will pass that on to the RDA and see what they say. Thanks for letting me know your suggestions.
Lisa says
I wish the survey would have asked about previous wash routines that were tried but changed (how and why changed, problems encountered) I find you can learn a lot from what did not work as well as what does work.
Jennifer Reinhardt says
I will pass the suggestion on Lisa. Thank you!
Heather says
It’s really interesting that you’ve chosen to reference a specific group, without actually referencing them.
There may not be a “Cloth Diaper Laundry Science degree or an official peer reviewed Cloth Diaper Laundry Institute”, but there are studies that can be applied to this field. Why use a warm rinse? What difference does it make? The RDA says that detergent should be fragrance and color-free, and contain no optical brighteners, but why? Unless baby has incredibly sensitive skin, those things shouldn’t be an issue. Why use two rinses? What about in cases of hard water, which you mention with regard to detergent amount, but seem to neglect when it comes to considering what damage hard water could do with extra rinses.
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Heather thank you for commenting. It is not interesting at all that I chose to write what I did. There is NO official laundry institute, cloth diaper or otherwise. As far as the RDA, they work with the ENTIRE industry without discrimination. The purpose of the survey they created and I shared is to update washing instructions to match what is working for the majority of cloth diaper users.