How Do I Wash My Cloth Diapers?

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You finally decided what diapers you want and your cute pile of fluff is sitting there staring at you, now what? The thought of figuring out a wash routine can seem daunting. I remember with my first baby I was so nervous that I was going to wash my diapers the wrong way and they would be ruined. There is no one size fits all for wash routines, you may have to make some adjustments along the way but after a little trial and error, you will find a routine that works for you.

If your diapers are new you will need to wash them before the first use, most companies will tell you how many times you need to wash your diapers in order for the diapers to reach their maximum absorbency. Some diapers and inserts need to be washed up to 10 times before they are at their maximum absorbency! You do not have to wash your diapers 10 times before you use them, I usually just wash once or twice before I use mine.

If you bought preloved diapers you will need to strip and sanitize them, We will go over stripping and sanitizing your diapers in another post. There are tons of cloth diaper Facebook groups that have lots of great info on stripping your diapers.

What Do I Do With The Poop?

I think this is what makes parents hesitant about cloth diapering. Yes, it is gross and not glamorous at all, but kids are messy. Cleaning baby poop off of a diaper is one of the easier messes you will have to clean up during your journey through parenthood. There will be a day when you will catch your child's vomit with your hands just to keep it from getting on the carpet. I know that all you new parents are thinking I would never do that...You will, it is a rite of passage.

If your baby is exclusively breastfed you don’t need to do anything special with your diapers, just throw them in the wash as is.

If your baby is formula fed or once they start solids you will need to clean off the diaper before being washed. There are lots of ways to deal with cleaning poop off your diapers:

1. If you are able you can just plop the poop into the toilet, this may be hard to do if your baby’s stool is not firm.

2. Spray off your diapers into the toilet with an attachment like this. They also make shields that you clip your diaper on so you do not splash dirty water everywhere.