Thursday, February 14, 2008

Washing the Diapers

I've been using cloth to diaper my babies for over four years now. Four years seems like a long time. It seemed especially long during the year or so that I had two babies in diapers, but now it seems like it hasn't been so long at all. Especially with Anna on the cusp of potty training (or "potty learning", for you hippies out there), it seems like those years went by very fast.

I was reading Jennie's post about laundry detergent wherein she mentions her Diaper Washing Routine. It got me thinking about how I've changed my diaper washing since I first began when Thomas was little. Here's a gratuitous baby picture:
Here's what I do now: First, I dump the enormous bag of diapers into my washing machine. I run a short cycle in cold water with a dose of detergent (Charlie's Soap, if you're interested, though I've used a little Tide Free lately instead). Then, I run a longer cycle on hot with some more detergent (Charlie's Soap again). If I open the washer at the end of this and it smells a bit still, I'll run another cycle with just a whiff more detergent (though I'll often skip the detergent on this run). I usually only have to run that third cycle if the diapers were very dirty or it had been three days between Wash Days.

What's your Diaper Routine? Do you wash or do you toss?

By the way, here's that little baby today:
He's so smart.

4 comments:

Angoraknitter said...

You and I have the same regimen!

Anonymous said...

We have a front-loading HE machine. We put our diapers (Fuzzi Bunz) on the "Heavy duty" cycle, adding "auto soak" and "stain treatment." (I also do an extended spin to minimize time in the dryer.) We use Seventh Generation (just a small amount!) detergent, and the diapers come out completely clean and odor-free in about two hours.

Anonymous said...

Wow... I can't believe it has been almost a year since we stopped using diapers around here!!

I used to have diaper washing routine that was very similar to yours. I would sometimes also include some vinegar in a downy ball.

Anonymous said...

We have a new fangdangled front loader (HATE IT!)but I throw 'em in, add a little Charlie's, put it on hot wash, cool rinse and let 'er rip on the longest cycle it's got. About 45 minutes later they're ready to go on the line outside in the (usually) sunny California country air.