New Mama here - need some advice on cleaning diapers

devotchka81

Hi everyone - I'm a new (FTM) Mama of a 2 week old baby. We had quite a complicated birth experience so I was lazy about cloth diapering so far (even though we planned on starting early on) - but I want to get into it now that I am healing and things have quieted down I am not crazy about disposables and he is between sizes so I think it's a good time to start.

I would love some advice on how to clean prefolds and inserts for BGs (we are using BG 4.0's, mostly) and BG covers once they are soiled. Do you pre-rinse in the bathroom - using the hose attached to the toilet, or in the sink or do you just throw in the hamper and straight into the wash? I bought some pre-treatment spray but wasn't sure if that was enough for the runny poops and especially the larger ones for overnight (he sleeps up to 3-4 hours at a time at night).

I know there are a lot of resources out there but I haven't found anything that is straightforward and deals w/ newborn babies as much (whereas older baby poop can go into the toilet once solids are started, that makes sense!) - so it's been a little confusing to get started.

Thanks in advance!

tokenhoser

You don't do anything. Throw them in the pail. Throw them in the wash. Dry them in the sun and all stains will disappear. It's easy. Poo is 100% water soluble until you start solids.

devotchka81

Wow, really? It doesn't get all over the place?

Do you do a separate diaper-only wash then?

Our balcony isn't in the direct sun, unfortunately - is that a problem for drying?

Also - is it ok to use boudreaux's butt paste? We've been using coconut oil and it helps w/ redness but not very quickly. I heard that is better than most of the creams out there for CD, but non-CD people have recommended boudreaux's for rashes and redness.

tokenhoser:

You don't do anything. Throw them in the pail. Throw them in the wash. Dry them in the sun and all stains will disappear. It's easy. Poo is 100% water soluble until you start solids.

tokenhoser

Really, your washer is fine. Do a pre-rinse cycle (I do "rinse and spin", others do a short wash w/ no soap), then hot wash with soap.

Sun will remove stains. Stains aren't a functional problem, just a looks one. You can always sun them later if you care (take them to a friend's or something).

If you're using an unsafe cream like boudreaux's, you'll want to use a liner. If that gets on your diapers they may repel or stain in a way that you can't sun out.

devotchka81

Great, thank you! For detergent, we are using 7th generation free + clear. Is that a safe detergent to use? Does anyone use bac-out to pre-treat? I think I read about it somewhere and had it on my list for CD and someone gave us a huge bottle.

Do you double up on the inserts for nighttime or longer naps or use different inserts?

Megan.10.06

I agree with token on all accounts  

I wash my diapers seperate from any clothes.  15 diapers are a full load, you need plenty of water to wash diapers.  

California baby, burt's bees, method baby, earth mama angel baby are all available in stores and CD safe.  You just want to stay away from any products with petroleum in them, or use a fleece liner to protect your diapers.  Then you wash the liners seperately from your diapers.  

devotchka81

Do you wash the liners separately if you use stuff w/ petroleum or either way?

Megan.10.06:

Then you wash the liners seperately from your diapers.  

hispenguin

devotchka81:

Do you wash the liners separately if you use stuff w/ petroleum or either way?

Megan.10.06:

Then you wash the liners seperately from your diapers.  

If you're using a CD friendly diaper cream then you can wash your liners with your diapers. If you're using anything with zinc oxide or petroleum, then wash them separately. I usually throw them in with some towels.