Thursday, May 13, 2010

"I Can't Possibly Add to my Laundry"

As a mom new to cloth diapering, I know many Moms thinking about using cloth are worried about the added laundry. I'd like to help alleviate some of that concern. Let me start by saying, I hate laundry - with a passion. It is one my least favorite house chores. I don't mind the actual washing, but folding it and putting it away just makes me want to scream. The good news is, I don't hate diaper laundry. When reading about laundering it can seem quite overwhelming, but once you actually get down to the nitty-gritty, it's not so bad.

My Laundry Routine **See 7/23/10 update**
(Every other day, in a top-loader, using the highest water level)
Store in dry pail, with pail liner
Throw it all in the washer, including pail liner
Cold rinse
Hot wash, cold rinse - 1/4 "cup" (manufacturer's cup) of plain old powder Tide
2nd cold rinse if needed to remove suds and detergent residue (haven't actually had to do this yet)
Dry on low in dryer (Hang dry some covers that specifically say not to machine dry)
Take out and stuff pockets if needed, then throw in storage bin - no need to fold and put away in so many drawers!

I usually do the diaper laundry after I've put Little Man to bed, and I'm done before it's time for me to go to bed. Quick and Simple.

I will admit that I haven't been doing it for long, and I know I may run across some issues in the future, but so far this process has worked really well for us. The detergent is easy to buy anywhere, so we don't have to special order anything.

Sun-bleaching Stains
Why have I not done sun-bleaching with other clothing? The sun is miraculous! If you have any stains after the wash cycle, just lay them out in the sun to dry, and voila: no more stains.

1 comment:

Ida Mae said...

Hi there! I found you from the Cloth Diaper Bloggers and I 'm now following you. Great post showing how easy the laundry really is. I have written a couple recent posts over at http://www.treeswillbend.com
Come on over and check them out when you get a minute and if you like follow me back :)
~Ida Mae