In between washes, store dirty diapers in a plastic-lined bin with a lid. Cloth diapers are surprisingly easy to clean. Ever seen white residues on your clothes after washing and thought How to Use and Care for Cloth Diapers. How to Wash Cloth Diapers. Step 1 Rinse.
Step 2 Pre-treat. Hard water also leaves minerals behind on fabric, which can leave your cloth diapers dull and dingy over time and prevent them from coming out fresh. Soft water is generally better for cleaning and requires less detergent. But soft water is not the norm and most households have varying levels of hard water.
Source Site. To combat hard water, choose a detergent with the cleaning power of surfactants. Surfactants are a key component of laundry detergent — they break up stains and suspend dirt in water, allowing it to wash away rather than redepositing.
Commercial detergents have high concentrations of surfactants and often contain softening agents — making commercial detergents a great choice for washing your cloth diapers in hard water. Also consider using powder detergents, as they often have higher concentrations of water softeners than the liquid detergent formulas.
For better cleaning results, consider increasing the amount of detergent you use and wash in warm or hot water. Adding a water softener can also really boost the power of your detergent and help you combat hard water problems.
Boost the power of your cloth diaper detergent by adding a softening agent to your regular wash cycle. The water softener will hold on to the minerals in hard water, allowing the laundry detergent to focus on cleaning your diapers rather than attacking the hard water minerals. Non-precipitating water softeners bind to hard water minerals forming a solution that easily washes away. Calgon Water Softener is a readily available and popular brand. Cadies RLR Laundry Treatment is a popular eco-friendly choice which can also be used for occasional spot treatments and for stripping your cloth diapers.
Precipitating water softeners, such as Borax or Washing Soda, bind to hard water minerals forming solid particles. Borax, like the 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster is a strong water softener, so ensure to follow the manufacturer recommended amounts. Washing Soda can be less effective than Borax so increase the amount you add to your wash.
You can always consider adding a mechanical water softening system into your home. While this can be costly, the water softener will remove excess minerals and extend the life of your plumbing, appliances, and cloth diapers! Consider stripping your cloth diapers of built up detergent and residue before adding a water softener.
If not, expect to need a few extra rinses to get rid of all the suds. Source SIte. Most soaps are primarily made up of natural plant oils or animal fats — these can leave behind a film or residue that can leave your cloth diapers gray and dingy. Choose a commercial or natural cloth diaper safe detergent instead. Choosing the best detergent for cloth diapers depends on the type of cloth diapers you are using.
Cloth diapers are either made of synthetic man-made materials or natural plant-based materials. Some cloth diapers use a combination of synthetic and natural materials. Synthetic diapers, such as those made of microfleece or microfiber, are polyester based. They are affordable, easy to prep, absorb quickly and are durable. Cloth diapers made from natural, plant-based fibers such as hemp, cotton and bamboo tend to be highly absorbent and gentle against sensitive skin, however generally cost more.
Fabric softeners added to detergents are no exception. Unfortunately, not all the softener is removed in the next wash. The only exception to this would be some detergents marketed to babies. Some baby-marketed detergents will have softeners added and not mention a brand of fabric softener or anything. Please note that some links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a qualifying purchase through one of those links at no additional cost to you.
Read the full disclosure. An example is Purex Baby Soft you can take a look at it here on Amazon. This means Purex Baby Soft is not a good detergent for cloth diapers though many other Purex detergents are just fine.
In short, if a detergent is selling you on how soft it will make your clothes, it likely has softeners in it. Soap is largely made of ingredients like washing soda, borax which both act as water softeners , and bar soap ingredients that include plant oils and animal fats. Surfactants and soap ingredients act very differently in water.
You can read more about it all here , but in short, soap creates a film when mixed with dirt, and that film is left on clothes if not rinsed completely clear, which you need a lot of water to do.
Tide HE Turbo Powder is an excellentchoice for soft water as it is very low sudsing. Newer bottles of Tide that have the cap with spouts, use line in prewash, and line 5-full cap in main wash.
Tide detergents tend to perform well in hard water. This corresponds to line 4 in the prewash and 2x line 4 in the main wash. Add a water softener if your water is even mildly hard. Line 5 in the prewash and 2x line 5 in the main wash, add a water softener if your water is even mildly hard.
Look for an HE symbol to make sure you get the HE variety. Tide Professional Powder Detergent Recommended Synthetic Use the amount recommended on the box for a heavily soiled load.
If you have a HE machine, make sure your box says HE on the front. We have only seen non HE boxes of this. Use Line 4 in prewash and 2x Line 4 in the main wash, use hot water in your main wash, and a water softener if your water is even moderately hard.
This detergent seems sudsy, so it may not be a great choice for those with suds-sensitive washers. The liquid of this detergent is not recommended but the powder is OK.
Use 1. Sodium cocoate can buildup in fibers, trapping bacteria, and cause repelling. Only available at Sears. Very highly rated with consumer reports.
Use line 1 in prewash and a full heaping scoop in main. Is not recommended, due to sodium cocoate, which acts like fabric softener and coats the fibers.
Please note that the lavender scent does contain lavender essential oil, which has been shown to cause hormone disruptions in baby boys. Contains sodium metasilicate. Too weak to effectively clean laundry soiled with human waste. Also, not HE safe as it directs you to use less detergent in HE machines. Wee Clean Aromatherapy Laundry Soap Liquid Detergent Not Recommended As the name suggests, this product is a soap and is not recommended for washing in a washing machine.
It will help remove yellowing and rest stans. Do NOT use with bleach. Probably very similar to Sun, as they are made by the same company and both are plant based. Wisk Liquid Detergent Top Pick!
A very good alternative to Tide. Made by the same company as All and Sun. Has proven very successful in our testing! Use line 1 in prewash and a full cap in main wash. Use line 1 in prewash and a full cap and a half in main wash.
Good free and clear choice. Despite the name, this is not suitable for washing your wool, as it will strip it completely of the lanolin and can cause leaks. Seems weaker so we treat it as a free and clear, use 1 capful in the prewash and 1. Entirely made of sodium cocoate, which can build up on fibers and trap soil and bacteria or cause repelling. Also contains essential oils, which, as always, should be researched before use around children.
Recommends less for HE machines, making it not truly HE safe. A Happy Green Life Not recommended. This is the name of Tide detergent in Spanish-speaking countries. Does not contain sodium cocoate. Contains sodium cocoate, which can coat fibers and cause repelling or trap soil. Composed of coconut oil, made into a surfactant-like molecule through a proprietary process. Too weak to effectively clean, very expensive. Use 3 tbsp in prewash and 6 tbsp in main wash.
Good green choice. Seems weaker, so we treat it as a free and clear — use half a scoop in the prewash and full scoops in main wash. Only Arm and Hammer variety with an enzyme.
Good plant based option. Does not contain any surfactants, but does contain enzymes. Not recommended due to coconut based ingredients that will build up in diapers. The latest ingredients list for this detergent states that it contains potassium cocoate, which acts like sodium cocoate and builds up in absorbent fabrics.
Excellent booster, especially for detergents that don't already contain enzymes. This is a fine booster; HE safe and plant based. Contains sodium metasilicate, the same dangerous ingredient as Charlie's Soap.
Surfactants are the last ingredient on the list. Excellent enzyme booster. Contains sodium metasilicate, which without a buffer can cause serious burns in certain water conditions. This is a water softener that can be used in your wash routine if you have hard water and as one of the three ingredients in our DIY stripping mix. Same as Country Save but with a smaller scoop. Not a detergent, but a water softener or booster.
A water softener to be used in your wash routine if you have hard water and as one of our three DIY stripping mix ingredients. Contains no surfactant, recommends very small amounts for cleaning, and contains essential oils for fragrance.
Contains coconut oil based surfactants, which might include sodium cocoate which can build up on fibers and trap soils or cause repelling.
Great stain fighting booster. Only cleaning agent is saponified coconut oil, which can build upon fibers and trap soils or cause repelling. Does not contain any surfactant. Contains a coconut fatty acid that is likely sodium cocoate. Contains essential oils that have been shown to be unsafe around children under ten years, let alone around babies. Very weak detergent, you would need quite a bit to get anything clean to the point that it would become too expensive to use.
Like Tide, but with 2 additional enzymes and a different scent. Weak overall. Less effective. Plant based and free and clear.
Contains soap, which can build up on fibers and cause repelling or trap soil. Not recommended due to sodium cocoate. Not recommended for washing cloth diapers, due to coconut based ingredients that will build up and trap bacteria. Not Recommended. Contains fabric softener, do not use. The powder version of this detergent does not contain the fabric softener ingredient and is fine to use. Not recommended- contains too much sodium cocoate, which acts like fabric softener and coats fibers.
This detergent is also not safe for use in HE machines, as it states to use less detergent in HE. May be slightly weaker. Not recommended - this is a soap, and is therefore not recommended for washing diapers in a washing machine.
Start with 1 cap prewash and 3 caps main wash, increase as needed. A "delicate laundry" detergent that just doesn't have the cleaning power for human waste. Not recommended for households with young children due to the risk of accidental ingestion of pods. The ingredients list of this detergent places surfactants very low and there are no enzymes to boost cleaning power. Basically homemade laundry detergent. Use 1 full cap in your prewash and 1. Not recommended - the amount needed to actually clean diapers would be cost-prohibitive.
Plant based, not HE safe. Would be too expensive to use on diapers because you would need 2 packs in prewash and in main, but it would be a good option for regular, lightly soiled laundry. Note - this product has been discontinued. Full strength detergent, comparable to Dreft. Excellent "green" or CD Safe choice.
Actually better than Kirkland Free and Clear. Contains sodium cocoate, which can build up on fibers, trapping soil and bacteria. Requires two full scoops. Requires two full caps, and when enough to clean was used, the HE washer we were testing with threw a suds error. No longer available. This is the green bottle lavender scent that appears to have replaced Kirkland environmentally responsible. We do not recommend any detergent pods, for reasons of cost-effectiveness and safety.
This is a new version of the Kirkland Free and Clear and is much better than the old one. Canadian brand.
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