Is Cleaning CD really this intense?

Faliny

I am stocking up on my cloth diapers, but as I look at what the website says to do (how to clean them) I get overwhelmed. I was planning on just doing a simple pre-wash with nothing in it, then using Charlies or Tide during the hot wash cycle. They have a million and two rules, but I thought that what I was going to do would be enough to get out stains and smells.I'm using Thirsties Brand Pre-folds and covers. What do guys do? Is it really as complicated as the company makes it out to be??

susangilchrist

I like to soak overnight, but since switching to Tide I don't really need to.  I usually do a quick soak, a long wash on hot/cold rinse with 2 Tbs. Tide, and then 1 additional rinse to get out the excess detergent.  It's really not that big of a deal.

silveredmadness

No. It's just laundry.

I have an HE FL and use Dropps. I just do a super wash (which is essentially just a longer, hotter wash cycle) followed by a single extra rinse. It works perfectly fine for me.

Once you figure out your wash routine, it'll be easy. It seems harder than it is at first.

Camicat

They do like to make it seem overwhelming for some reason! I rinse my overnight dipes in the morning just to get the stinkies out. I wash every 2-2.5 days.

Cold rinse and I add extra water to my he washer.

Then hot wash with tiny bubbles, again adding water so I see water sloshing in there. These dipes are so absorbent and I like to see the water so I know they are getting clean. For my wash I put it on normal and heavy soil level and run an extra rinse at the end.

Follow all that with another rinse cycle and I'm good to go!

ETA: When I say rinse my night dipes I mean hand rinse in the sink.

Faliny

Oh see that is so much more simple when you ladies explain what you do!! Takes some anxiety away! Thank you so much! :-)

tokenhoser

My routine:

Wake up, change baby out of night diaper, carry diapers down to laundry, put in for a rinse-and-spin (cold).

Shower, get dressed. Go turn on the wash (hot wash, cold rinse, extra rinse, with detergent).

Eat breakfast, etc. If I'm home, I hang the diapers usually when the baby is napping. If we're out, I put them on an extra long wash (2.5 hours instead of 1.5 hours in my machine). Then I hang them or dryer them when I get home.

Stuff pockets while watching TV.

It's really not a big deal. I'd say it's less than half an hour of actual doing work every 2 days.

 

dragonfly52210

I rinse/spray off each diaper/insert after changing the baby. Then I wash every other day or every 2 days, as needed. This is my routine: cold rinse with 4-6 drops TTO, hot wash with ECOs, cold rinse with vinegar. Easy peasy.

GHBEA

susangilchrist:

I like to soak overnight, but since switching to Tide I don't really need to.  I usually do a quick soak, a long wash on hot/cold rinse with 2 Tbs. Tide, and then 1 additional rinse to get out the excess detergent.  It's really not that big of a deal.

 This is what I do but I use RNG because of our hard water.

Helix07

I rinse in cold. Hot wash with soap, cold rinse x2. That is all.

bridetobe6808

That seems pretty intense. Lots of water. You end up washing 4 times in one laundry session? Also, how do you prevent CD's from mildewing if you are rinsing and throwing them while wet into the diaper pail/wet bag?

Camicat

bridetobe6808:

That seems pretty intense. Lots of water. You end up washing 4 times in one laundry session? Also, how do you prevent CD's from mildewing if you are rinsing and throwing them while wet into the diaper pail/wet bag?

 

If this was directed at me it's not that intense. I was actually having mildew issues without doing the am hand rinse. It's amazing how much yellow "water" rinsing out of the night dipe. I just leave them in our extra sink until laundry day so they don't get buried in the bag all wet. I'm still figuring it all out but this is what is working for me now. Before I added water to the wash I didn't see any water sloshing around. Now I just add 1 or 2 bowls full of hot water and that's it. 

CeltiCutie

bridetobe6808:

That seems pretty intense. Lots of water. You end up washing 4 times in one laundry session? Also, how do you prevent CD's from mildewing if you are rinsing and throwing them while wet into the diaper pail/wet bag?

 

They are only in there for a short time. Most people wash every other day, so they are in there for (potentially) 24-48 hours MAX. Believe me rinsing the overnights is more beneficial to you in the end because you'll have less stink issues and it's honestly better IMHO to deal with a diaper that was rinsed already because they'll get cleaner since there is SO much pee in an overnight.

It does use a decent amount of water. I have never done 4 sessions of "washings" we do 1 rinse and then 1 super hot wash with an extra rinse and done. I do utilize my washers "water plus" feature though, because front loaders don't pump in a lot of water and CD's are best if they get sloshed around and really really rinsed well.

ETA::: I have seen minimal increase on my laundry bill, honestly. Just wanna put that out there. It's totally worth it to me. Especially because I have diapered one and have another on the way and spent very little and on things we really didn't NEED this time just for fun. I could've survived on my previous stash and then in addition I will sell all of it when done and recoup nearly the money spent. TOTALLY worthwhile IMHO.

Indiechixor

Helix07:

I rinse in cold. Hot wash with soap, cold rinse x2. That is all.

This, exactly.

We have an old-school washer, so I can't program it...therefore I do 1 short (6min) cold wash, 1 long (15 min) hot wash, then 1 or 2 (depending on bubbles) warm short washes.

Takes about an hour in all, but that's if we forget to reset the wash to the next step.

Faliny

Indiechixor:

Helix07:

I rinse in cold. Hot wash with soap, cold rinse x2. That is all.

This, exactly.

We have an old-school washer, so I can't program it...therefore I do 1 short (6min) cold wash, 1 long (15 min) hot wash, then 1 or 2 (depending on bubbles) warm short washes.

Takes about an hour in all, but that's if we forget to reset the wash to the next step.

 

I have an older washing machine as well and what you guys do is what I was hopping to do. So it's nice to hear that this works just fine!! :-) And we use a lot of water already and our water bill is very minimal honestly, so I know that using cloth is going to save my husband and I so much money!! 

Indiechixor

From what i've heard, 1 load of laundry uses the same amount of water as 8 flushs of the toilet...so it's not super terrible

Helix07

Faliny:

Indiechixor:

Helix07:

I rinse in cold. Hot wash with soap, cold rinse x2. That is all.

This, exactly.

We have an old-school washer, so I can't program it...therefore I do 1 short (6min) cold wash, 1 long (15 min) hot wash, then 1 or 2 (depending on bubbles) warm short washes.

Takes about an hour in all, but that's if we forget to reset the wash to the next step.

 

I have an older washing machine as well and what you guys do is what I was hopping to do. So it's nice to hear that this works just fine!! :-) And we use a lot of water already and our water bill is very minimal honestly, so I know that using cloth is going to save my husband and I so much money!! 

 

I have an old school washer as well. it is a good 12 years old.  

CeltiCutie

Indiechixor:

From what i've heard, 1 load of laundry uses the same amount of water as 8 flushs of the toilet...so it's not super terrible

 

ah there's the compromise! When you start cd'ing, stop flushing so much! You know the old "if it's yellow, let it mellow..." saying!

Camicat

CeltiCutie:

Indiechixor:

From what i've heard, 1 load of laundry uses the same amount of water as 8 flushs of the toilet...so it's not super terrible

 

ah there's the compromise! When you start cd'ing, stop flushing so much! You know the old "if it's yellow, let it mellow..." saying!

LOL!! My 4 y/o does this without us asking! 

dulcinea03

I spray poopy diapers. Diapers that are just wet go right into the wetbag. I have twins, so I wash every other day, because that's a pretty full load most days. I start diapers when the girls go to bed.

I have a frontloader HE machine. I start with a cold soak cycle, which doesn't spin at the end, so my diapers are saturated when the wash starts. Then a Hot wash cycle, with 2Tbs of HE Tide. No second rinse needed. Toss in the dryer before I go to bed so diapers are ready to go to daycare the next day.

I've found it to be very easy, especially once I found the wash routine that works well with my washer. I've never had to strip my diapers, and never had issues with stink, repelling, or rashes in the 18 months we've been using CDs.

ckettenb

I do a cold pre-wash with nothing in it.  Followed by a hot wash with 7th gen soap.  Hang the covers, dry the prefolds on hot.  Easy Peasy.

No soaking, no spraying ( I scrape with a plastic butter knife)

funkymama

Helix07:

I rinse in cold. Hot wash with soap, cold rinse x2. That is all.

Exactly what I do too. 

We wash dipes every 2-3 days, and never have more than a medium sized load.  My water bill has a diagram that compares this month's water usage to the same month last year, and I'm happy to say that there has been absolutely no increase in water usage and bill amount between this year and last before DS was born and we started to CD! 

bridetobe6808

ckettenb:

I do a cold pre-wash with nothing in it.  Followed by a hot wash with 7th gen soap.  Hang the covers, dry the prefolds on hot.  Easy Peasy.

No soaking, no spraying ( I scrape with a plastic butter knife)

Ok, now that sounds more like it. 2 washes. What kind of CD's do you use, just PF's? Wondering if that is the only style of CD that your washing works for. Does this work for Pockets, AIO's etc...?  

tokenhoser

bridetobe6808:

ckettenb:

I do a cold pre-wash with nothing in it.  Followed by a hot wash with 7th gen soap.  Hang the covers, dry the prefolds on hot.  Easy Peasy.

No soaking, no spraying ( I scrape with a plastic butter knife)

Ok, now that sounds more like it. 2 washes. What kind of CD's do you use, just PF's? Wondering if that is the only style of CD that your washing works for. Does this work for Pockets, AIO's etc...?  

That's basically what most people have said they do. I hit the "extra rinse" button on my machine, but I'm really not sure it's necessary. It works for everything, once you figure out which detergent works well with your water and how much you need to use.

Hulahoop1234

Ok, in an effort to make you less freaked out, I just want to mention that you are still pregnant, right?  Most likely you will not even need to worry about an overnight diaper full of pee for a loooooong time.  My DS started STTN at 5 weeks, but his overnight diapers at that point were absolutely nothing compared to the pee filled diapers he wakes up with now.  Remember, a newborn has a small stomach and a small bladder compared to and older infant or a toddler.  I really wouldn't worry about rinsing out pee dipes for quite awhile, and by the time you have a pee monster that is on solids you will be a CD expert and I promise it will seem like no big deal.  Good luck!