Got questions about cloth diaper washing, detergents, or routines? You’re not alone! In this post, our founder Krystal Keller breaks down the most common cloth diaper questions we hear from families. Including how much detergent to use, to what kind of washing machine works best, and how to keep your diapers smelling fresh.
Whether you’re brand new to cloth or just troubleshooting your wash routine, this guide will help you feel confident every step of the way.
Q: What’s one cloth diaper washing myth you hear all the time that drives you a little bit crazy, and what’s actually true instead?
A: Cloth diapers smell terrible. Literally any time I have a piece of content that gets any sort of traction online the keyboard warriors come out with their "these things are disgusting and smell terrible" and the sad part is, that might be their truth. They may have had a really terrible experience with cloth diapers.
But it's so important to remember that correlation does not equal causation and two things can be true at the same time. They may have only had experience with smelly cloth diapers, but that doesn't mean that cloth diapers should and will smell bad. Unfortunately, there are a lot of cloth diaper brands that are not helping people effectively wash their cloth diapers. And so families do end up with a bunch of smelly, poorly washed, diapers.
That's one of the things we're trying so desperately to change. At Kinder we're here to support you in finding a wash routine that works for your family, regardless of the diaper brand you're using. You can email our care team at help@kinderdiapers.com at any time for wash routine support.
Q: If you had to explain a basic wash routine in under 30 seconds, how would you describe it?
A: Don't overthink it. I always tell families, it's just laundry. Here's my go to starter routine:
- Change the diaper.
- Remove the poop (into the toilet preferably)
- Run a pre-wash cycle in your machine. I like normal with warm water, with detergent. Line 1 of your preferred detergent.
- Fluff the diapers in the drum of your machine and run your main wash cycle. I like the normal setting again, usually line 1, sometimes line 2 if I'm feeling a little spicy. Warm water again.
- Then I dry everything on low heat. You can line dry if you want, but both are great options.
Q: What’s something you wish every new cloth diaper parent knew before washing their first load?
That cloth diapering doesn't have to be all or nothing. Families come into cloth diapering expecting that they're going to go all in 100% cloth diapers, but for so many of us that's not realistic. Set the expectation that you'll do your best, but using a combination of cloth and disposables is a super valid option. Part time cloth diapering is so so so common.
You can use woven hand towels and paper towels in your home… you can use cloth diapers and disposables too.
Q: Have you ever totally messed up a wash routine in your own home? What happened and what did you learn from it?
A: I haven't totally messed something up per say. But I also live by the mantra that you can fix anything. So even when I was following a group wash routine that recommended an entire scoop of detergent in both wash cycles, I didn't ruin my diapers. It just took some work to get them back to square one.
I've also tried a few "eco friendly" laundry products that were big fails. My middle child had really sensitive skin and I could tell after two wash days if a product wasn't effectively cleaning our diapers or not. But switching back to tide always reset our routine again.
Q: How many times do I need to wash my diapers before I can use them?
A: Just once! You'll see brands suggest washing natural fiber inserts three to five, even as many as eight times before first use. And if I'm being honest, we used to recommend this too… but the more we do this, the more I've learned that it's completely unnecessary. Now we only advise one wash before first use to remove any "travel dust". Most families just toss any new diapers or inserts in the wash with their next load of diaper laundry.
Q: How does someone figure out if their detergent is a good fit for cloth diapers, and what are red flags that it’s not working?
A: Most of the detergent brands you can pick up at the grocery store are great options for washing cloth diapers. All the big brands Tide, Persil, Gain… are all great picks.
The things you want to avoid are Laundry "soaps" which often lack sufficient cleaning power (surfactants and enzymes). If you choose a laundry product that can't effectively remove human waste from the fibers of your diapers, you're going to be stripping, sanitizing and starting over often. If you use a good quality detergent, you should never need to strip your laundry. Learn more about what to avoid in a laundry product here »
Q: Hard water versus soft water: what changes would you make in a wash routine for each?
If you have soft water it's easy, you'll need to use less detergent. If you have hard water, you'll need to incorporate a water softening product with your detergent. Borax and Calgon are the most readily available softeners. The recommended dosage per wash cycle is 1/2 cup of Borax.
Q: What are the biggest differences in washing cloth diapers in a top-loader vs a front-loader?
The difference between washing in a front loader vs. a top loader is that you have to bend over to shove soiled diapers into a front loader. But other than that, there's nothing different you need to do when it comes to wash routine steps.
I've washed cloth diapers in a front loader, a top loader without an agitator and a top loader with an agitator. The top loader with is my favorite of the three machines. The one without an agitator was a little annoying because you do have to arrange your laundry in a circle every time you add laundry to the drum to ensure it has the space to properly agitate.
