If washing cloth diapers were an art, it would come in different forms. Almost every person who needs to wash diapers has developed their own unique way of doing so. However, there are still some basic requirements that need to be followed when washing cloth diapers. If you do it right, you will be able to save a ton of money in the process.

1. Never wash soiled diapers with other clothing, even if you scraped anything you see off the diapers.
2. Never use laundry detergent that have whiteners, brighteners, or any such ingredient because these usually leave residue on the diapers which could cause rashes.
3. If you don’t want to use a pail to keep soiled diapers, you can run brief cycles on your washing machine. This removes the odors but does not completely clean the diapers. With this method, you can still do diaper laundry once or twice a week, but not have to deal with any odors or messy pails.
4. If you can avoid it, don’t use super heating washing machines for diaper laundry because this will damage the cotton diapers faster, and would ultimately be a waste since you will need to buy cotton diapers more frequently.
5. Using warm water will help rinse soap residue better than if you use cold water.
6. If your baby develops a rash, it could be that you are using too much laundry soap on your diapers, or the laundry soap is too harsh for your baby. The rule of thumb with laundry soap (or any other kind of soap) for babies is that the less additives there are, the better it will be for the baby. Additives refers to perfume, cologne, whitening substances, stain removers, among others.
7. It is better to rinse more than to rinse less. Water is an absolute necessity to making sure that no residue is left on the diapers. If there are bubbles or any suds in your final rinse, then, it should not be your final rinse. You could also decrease the amount of soap you use if it takes too many cycles to rinse properly.
8. You may have heard about using vinegar to clean diapers, but this may not always work because the acid content in vinegars could damage the ability of the diaper to absorb liquid, and be less likely to hold even the urine properly.
9. Use the sun as much as you can when drying diapers. This is nature’s way of removing bacteria and germs that may have been left behind. On the other hand, if you feel that there is a buildup of detergent on the diapers, consider hand washing them with a mild liquid detergent.

Diapers don’t need too much attention after the washing is done. You do not even have to fold them, and you can just grab some off the laundry basket. It’s a lot easier and cheaper than running to the store at the most inappropriate time.