Apartment washing- long

cawalp · May 2016

I had every intention of hand washing my pockets and inserts when I convinced my husband to use cloth diapers despite being in an apartment. Well that lasted all of two weeks since they took me 4 hours to soak/wash and then I could never wring the inserts out enough and they took over 24 hours to dry ( inside cause I'm not allowed to hang laundry on the patio).
Now I've gotten some fitteds and covers and have enough to only wash once a week but I wash them every Monday and Thursday just to prevent nastiness. The problem is the laundry services here cost 1.75 to wash and 1 to dry. I wash everything together and dry the inserts and fitteds and hang up the shells and covers on a little rack I have in the baby's bedroom. Even after a dry cycle I have to hang up most the fitteds to finish drying. That was kind of expensive but working for me since I didn't want to hand wash.
The problem is my diapers are starting to smell weird and my son got what I think is a pretty bad ammonia burn. (I thought it was too tight covers but it's lasted over a week) I need a good wash routine that will not require me to run the expensive wash 3 times like most recommend but I also don't want to sit and scrub diapers in the tub for hours every few days.
Sorry this is long just wanted all the info there.

ForeverEverAfter · May 2016

I had to use coin laundry for 2 months while moving. I did the pre rinse my self with the bath tub-rinse and squeezed each one. Then I took them down to the laundromat for a hot water wash, careful to use enough detergent to not have stink, but no extra, to avoid build up. Because I didn't use a second rinse, once a month I added a hot wash for clean diapers that I put a Mighty Bubbles pack in. It helped get rid of ammonia starting to creep up, and any detergent residue.

If you already have ammonia burns, you can do a strip in your tub using clean diapers and either RLR or Mighty Bubbles. Some people do a bleach soak afterwards (personally, I use Oxiclean instead because we have very high iron that reacts to bleach). Then take them for a hot wash in coin laundry with no added soap at all. When they're back in use, sniff them right after they're peed in. If they just smell like pee, no ammonia, then you're done!

PipSqueak0313 · May 2016

The best diapers for handwashing are flats. You can pad fold them and use as inserts in pockets or laid in a cover. I have handwashed flats and it's a fairly easy task and they dry quickly. If you're on Facebook, check out the flats and handwashing challenge or look up dirty diaper laundry (website) for tips and tricks to make the task easier.

Fitteds are among the hardest to wash, even in a machine, and the hardest to dry. I don't have any suggestions for how to avoid as many cycles in the machine, while still getting clean fitteds, sorry.

freezorburn · May 2016

Some people in your situation have gone the route of getting portable washers that they can hook up in their bathroom or kitchen. I think it generally means more frequent, smaller loads, but with diapers that's probably a good thing.

Knottie1442268460 · August 2016

*Removed for TOU Violation*

Apartment washing- long

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