Cloth Diaper Washing Instructions: How Do I Wash These Things??

After being sure your order is correct and you have the right size, I recommend pre-washing all diapers simply to remove any residue from production and shipping.

Items made with hemp should be prewashed and dried 4-5 times before first use.  Wash and dry them on hot separately from your other diapering items, as you are washing away natural oils that can settle on your other diapers and make them repel, rather than absorb.  You can wash the hemp items with your sheets, towels, etc.  These items will be ready to use after the 4th or 5th wash, and will continue to gain absorbency through about the 10th wash.

When you change your baby, simply put the dirty diaper and any wipes in your pail.  If you are using a diaper with an insert or doubler, make sure you separate them before putting then in the pail.  Wash as needed, but don't let your wet and dirty diapers sit longer than 2-3 days without washing.

Everyone has a different wash routine.  I will share mine, and you can take what works for you and tweak it as needed.  This mention is for a traditional top-loading machine an dis not a one-size-fits-all routine.  It's a starting point.

• Empty diapers, inserts, and covers into machine, making sure any "laundry tabs" are fastened.
• Run a cold rinse with no detergent
• Add about 1.5-2 tablespoons of detergent.  Some diaper manufacturers will have recommended detergents on their individual websites.  Do not use detergents with fabric softeners or bleach.
• Run a hot wash with an extra rinse at the end.

In a high efficiency machine, you can often set the load type to "bulky" or manually add extra water if needed.  You can also Google "washing cloth diapers in xxxx machine" to see if there are posts online about using your particular machine to wash cloth diapers.

If you choose to dry in the dryer, don't stretch out any of the elastic while it is still warm.  (Don't stuff your pocket diapers till they cool off.)  Stretching out the warm elastic will cause it to break down faster.  I dry all of my microfiber, hemp, fitteds, and usually let the pocket diapers and covers air dry because they dry so quickly.  You can certainly pop them in the dryer for a few minutes to speed it up though.

by Jennifer Burrell (Bellyhaven's Cloth Diapering Expert)