If you have a cloth diaper question, have it answered in a Mailbox Mondays post, and get help from other Moms.
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Need cloth diaper advice? Every week, I answer a question asked by a reader, and give other readers the chance to weigh in.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Aislinn says::
My little girl is due in a week and a half, and I can’t wait to start cloth diapering her! I’m from Florida but live in Asia right now. I have no washing machine or dryer, but I do have a house helper who does our laundry by hand. Our CD stash is mostly prefolds & covers with a couple of pocket diapers plus some additional inserts (microfiber and hemp).
I am looking for any and all advice you might have on hand-washing diapers! What’s the best process? What detergent should I use? How often should I wash?
I need to make sure I understand this well enough to try it myself and then teach it to someone else in another language I’ve only been learning for 6 months! Thanks so much for your help.
Hand washing won’t be as easy as using a washing machine, but it can be done! The key to successful hand washing will be similar to machine washing: using enough water, hot enough water, enough detergent (but not too much), agitation and thorough rinsing.
Several moms I know have to pay to wash their diapers, so they partially hand wash them (pre-rinsing and such) to save money. Last year, Alyssa wrote a guest post on cloth diapering without a washing machine, and she details her wash routine there. Hannah used flats while traveling to Italy, and while she had access to a washing machine, flats do well with hand washing since they are a single layer (they will dry quickly too.)
The prefolds and covers will likely be much easier to keep clean that microfiber (the shape of the fibers tend to grab oily material more than natural fibers) but they’re not impossible to hand wash; they will just require more agitation and rinsing.
I don’t know what detergents you have available in Asia, but stay away from anything with bleach, fabric softeners or optical brighteners if at all possible. Often, less expensive store brands have fewer additives than premium brands.
Have you hand washed cloth diapers? What was your wash routine!
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Washing Cloth Diapers
Want the too long;didn’t read version? Here’s the cliffs notes:
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Need cloth diaper advice? Each Monday, I’ll answer a user submitted question.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Carrie says:
Here’s question for you:
I’ll be moving in a few short weeks to a house that has a water softener, which we will use. I have a front load washer and very hard water in my current house, and settled on a routine with Rockin’ Green Hard Rock and a couple of rinses, which generally works most of the time.
Any suggestions for switching to softened water? Any guesses as to whether my older diapers that have been in rotation for 2+ years will improve (less smell, softer, more absorbent that currently).
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It’s time for cloth diaper advice! If I’ve received a question, I will answer it on Monday and ask my lovely readers to add their two cents.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Courtney M. says:
My LO is a heavy wetter & for nighttime we have to use Kawaii heavy wetters double stuffed with one or two hemp babies diaper doublers. They are soaked in the a.m. (but no leaks!) and they smell! I need some kind of solution that doesn’t involve ammonia or him being stuffed in a diaper so big he doesn’t move! any tips or suggestions? I’m hoping my days of middle of the night changes are over…
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Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
