Care for Cloth Diapers

5 Easy Steps:

1. Wash 3 times before use

2. Collect in DRY pail

3. Rinse in cold water

4. Wash in HOT water

5. Line or machine dry

Detailed Care Instructions:

1. Wash First: Your diapers won’t absorb properly unless washed and dried a minimum of three times before use. This may seem needless, but if you put a brand new diaper on a child and he/she wets it, it will simply bead up and run right out of the diaper. The washing swells and fluffs the cotton fibers maximizing your absorbency. This is especially true of terry cloth.

2. Collect soiled or wet diapers in a lined plastic dry pail. You can optionally add a sprinkle of baking soda or Rockin' Green Baby Pail Freshener to your diapers and pail to help neutralize odors. Once mixed with water in your washer, the Pail Freshener will help to lift stains.

3. Shake solids into toilet. Newborn stools will be too loose to shake clean. In this case we recommend using a diaper sprayer or set your washing machine cycle for an extra initial short cleansing. Washing machines with a pre-wash cycle make diaper cleaning even easier and are the perfect solution to pre-rinsing. If you do not have a pre-wash cycle on your washer, then consider running your diapers through an initial short cycle followed by a heavy cycle. Use COLD water for the first pre-wash cycle to help lift stains.

Please note: Do not pre-soak your diapers for longer than 10 minutes. Presoaking will set the stink deeply within the fiber of your diaper and will also wear away the waterproof layer. Use a dry diaper pail for storing dirty diapers.

4. For optimum cleanliness, limit the size of your load to no more than 24 diapers and wash every other day. As a general rule, the fewer diapers per load and the shorter the time between washes, the fresher your diapers will be.

5. After the cold rinse, wash with HOT water and high water level. Use a mild detergent with no phosphates, and minimal additives, like Rockin' Green Cloth Diaper Detergent. Add only 1/2 the recommended amount of detergent for top-loaders and 1/3 the recommended dose for high efficiency and front-loaders. Avoid all soaps and many "Free & Clear" and/or popular baby detergents. These detergents will leave a residue on your diapers that will affect the absorbency and may cause 'stinky' diapers and/or diaper rash.

6. Hang to dry or dry in dryer. Add a dry towel to the dryer to speed the drying process. Occasionally you may wish to dry in dryer on high heat to help with sterilization and to reseal lamination. Drying in direct sunlight is the very best method for drying and disinfecting. Hang drying also helps to preserve the textiles of your diapers and is great at getting rid of stains. Cotton and hemp diapers will be somewhat stiff when hung to dry. So to soften sun-dried dipes made from natural fibers, you may choose to use the dryer for the last 15 minutes.

7. Some parents like to add plain lime juice to the final rinse to reduce residue of detergent or hard water. DO NOT use vinegar when washing cloth diapers made from synthetic textiles...this includes most all diaper covers and some brands of cloth diapers, including Thirsties® Fab Fitteds and Pocket AIOs. Synthetic fibers tend to hang on to the vinegar smell. 1 Tsp lime juice will aid in naturally disinfecting and neutralizing, and is safe for all types of cloth diapers.

8. Even if you follow all the rules above, you still might end up with occasional stinky and less absorbent diapers due to detergent, diaper rash ointment, and/or water mineral residue. Simply replace your regular detergent with 1/4 cup Calgon® water softener (found at your local grocers) or 1-2 tsp Dawn® or Ivory® dishsoap. This process is often referred to as diaper stripping. Strip your diapers as often as needed, but not at every wash.

9. Finally, if your diapers are in need of a thorough deep cleaning, you can use a bit of OxyClean Baby® in place of your regular detergent. Do this only when needed. If you hang in the sun, you will find you never need to use OxyClean Baby®.