Washing new cloth diapers is farily simple, at first you need to pay attention to the colors, for the first couple washes, some may bleed colors, so wash them seperate (not all seperate, but if you have a deep red minkee diaper, don't wash it with a white diaper... it may not be white for long but after a couple washes you can wash them all together. The exception is natural fibers like bamboo, they can have extra oils in them and should be washed seperately several times times before put in with the others.
Back to your first washing. Set your washing machine to Large and water on Cold/Cold, start your water and put in detergent, cloth diaper detergent will tell you how much to use on the bag or bottle, any other deterfent just use about 1/2 a cap for a small load (even if you have a large load of diapers) add in your diapers and run a full cycle (NO fabric softener EVER in your diaper laundry)
Many new cloth diapers will need to be washed several times to help get them absorbant enough to work well. I usually just wash them with the instructions above 3-4 times, and they are good to start using.
If you hang your diapers to dry they will last longer, as the heat from the dryer will cause them to break down quick (not very quick, they should still last for a couple children). Most cloth diapers can be dried in the dryer (check each diapers washing instructions when you purchase them) and should go through the dryer at once on a high heat setting for 20-30 minutes to help seal them and fluff them up.
Once the diapers have been worn and are now "dirties" you can store them in a dry pail (just a bucket, garbage can, or waterproof bag) that has a cover, with NO water (if you add water and soak your diapers they will also start to break down) when you are ready to do your laundry, atleast once every three days take you dirties to the laundry, put them in your washer and set your load size on large and run a cold rinse, this helps to loosen the poop that is still on them (most of it you should take off with toilet paper or a diaper sprayer and put it in the toilet before you put it in the pail) and will take out the amonia from the pee, once your rinse is done set your machine on (check washing instructions first to make sure your diapers can be washed on hot) Hot Wash/Cold Rinse and use detergent the same as above, if you use too little they will come out stinky and if you use too much they will repel water because it will take too many rinses to get the extra soap out. Once the washer has run it's cycle check for soap bubbles, if you have soap bubbles, you can run another cold rinse and this should get rid of them.
Vinegar can cause the diapers, especially diapers with a waterproof layer to break down much quicker and it is not recommended for use with cloth diapers.
Fabric Softener should never be used with cloth diapers, it adds a layer to the entire diaper that actually stops them from absorbing and will make them repel pee and leak.
Baking Soda this can be used in diaper pails to keep smells at bay, but doesn't need to be used in the washing process, as it can damage the fibres it is made with.
Cloth diaper laundry is easy, no need to be a chemist!
Lots of water
Cold Rinse
1/4 cup detergent
Hot Wash
Cold Rinse
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