Cloth Diaper Care

We send this cloth diaper care sheet out with each order that includes cloth diapers or cloth diaper covers. Proper maintenance and care of your cloth diapers will give them a long life, so they may be used for future children or sold to recoup much of your initial investment!

Preparing your diapers for first use:
In general, after your initial washes, all products need to be dried on medium to high heat in the drier to seal any needle holes from the manufacturing process.

All hemp products: Must be washed by themselves in hot water and a tiny amount of detergent (~1-2 T) 4-5 times to strip natural oils. Hemp will continue to get more absorbent with each wash, being fully primed after 9-10 washes. Drying between the initial washes is not necessary.

All cotton products: Unbleached Chinese Prefolds will need to be washed on hot 4-5 times with a tiny amount of detergent (~1-2 T). They will “quilt up” and become more absorbent with each wash. Drying between the initial washes is not necessary, but will assist in getting the lint out (hemp does not lint as much as cotton). Other cotton diapers require 2-3 initial washes for best results.

Wool: We recommend an initial wash and lanolization for all wool products. See Wool Care below for process.

Products with PUL and fleece: Diaper covers, pocket diapers and AIOs need to be washed and dried once. Some pocket diapers and AIOs have organic cotton - these products will require additional washing to prepare.

Washing your cloth diapers and covers (except wool):

Detergents: Choose a detergent with no fabric softener, no optical whiteners or brighteners, no enzymes. Do not use chlorine bleach. (there is one exception to this- BumGenius products can be treated once per month with 1/4 cup of bleach in a full load of wash.)

You need to read the labels of detergents you are considering- the fewer the ingredients, the better! Biodegradable surfactants should be the main ingredient- and preferably the only ingredient. Our favorite and most-recommended detergent is Country Save. It works in a wide variety of water conditions and machine washer types. We also recommend Allen's Naturally. Mountain Green Baby Free and Clear is also a good choice.

For monthly maintenance, or anytime your diapers aren't seeming as "fresh" as you would like them, we recommend RLR Laundry Treatment or Country Save Oxygen Powered Bleach.

The key to good cloth diaper maintenance: ADEQUATE RINSING!

Cloth diapers require adequate room to agitate and lots of water to get clean. Only a very small amount of detergent is necessary- usually 2 tablespoons or less! HE washers will require less than 1 tablespoon. Fill your washer no more than half-full, but run it as a full load.

Normal Wash Routine

Cold rinse or presoak.
Long warm or hot wash with detergent. (For HE washers, you might want to run 2 short hot washes instead of 1 long)
Rinse.
Rinse again.
Dry in drier on medium-high or line-dry. (*PUL products will need periodic drying on high heat to regenerate waterproofing)

It is EXTREMELY important that all the detergent is rinsed out of the diapers. Failure to rinse well can cause your diapers to perform poorly, retain odor, and in worst case scenarios, irritate your baby’s bottom. While you get used to caring for your diapers, look in your washer on the final rinse. If there are ANY suds, rinse again. And again if necessary. If you are rinsing more than 3-4 times, you are using too much detergent.

When your diapers come out of the washer, they should smell like water. If they smell unclean, then use a bit more detergent. If they smell like your detergent, use less detergent and rinse more.

Washing your wool diaper covers: (this only needs to be done when your covers begin to retain odor- every 1-4 weeks depending on use and type of wool)

Rinse your wool covers well in cool, running water and gently squeeze out excess water. This is necessary to remove the urine salts retained on the wool that dry the fibers and eventually retain odor. Fill your sink with warm water and add a lanolin-enriched wool wash. Gently agitate your covers. Apply wool wash directly to stains if needed. Soak covers as desired. Drain water from sink. While it is not necessary to rinse, rinsing in cool water will remove soap residue and any grime that didn’t go down the drain. Gently squeeze out excess water and lay flat to dry. You may roll in a towel to remove excess moisture, but you will also be removing any lanolin that was just applied, so avoid this if you can.

Lanolizing your wool diaper covers: (recommended for new covers, and when your wool covers begin to lose their waterproofing- every 2-12 weeks depending on use and wool type)

We recommend the initial lanolization be done with solid lanolin as it gives a heartier treatment than liquid lanolin. Liquid lanolin is fine for normal maintenance, but if you experience a decrease in waterproofing in your covers, a periodic treatment with solid lanolin is helpful.

To prepare solid lanolin for the treatment, melt a small amount (minimum pea-sized, we usually use a tad more) of the solid lanolin in a cup of hot water (in the microwave is fine). Follow the directions for washing your wool covers above, except add the lanolin (either your preparation of solid lanolin or your liquid lanolin) at the point you would add the wool wash and skip the agitation. For best results, covers should be turned inside-out. Soak the covers for at least 20 minutes. If you have added too much lanolin, your covers may feel a little tacky or sticky- this is OK! The extra lanolin will work its way into your covers (and you can help it by gently massaging the cover).

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any reason! We are here to help!

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