Anyone handwash diapers??

[Gator-mom]

Dh and I are TTC #2 this year, mostly because ds is going to be 4 this year, and we didn't want the kids too far apart and dh is going to have a year of lesser school requirements..but we are both students, we live in Low income housing and we have no washer and dryer in our apt.

I am wondering if it is possible to handwash cloth diapers in the bathtub effectively. How would I go about doing this? Do I need special soap? Do I need to soak them/ how much do I scrub? If anyone has done this, I'd really appreciate some advice!

[lapis]

I don't really know, but i wonder if you could do a soak, swish and boil kind of routine... I've heard flats are easiest to launder in general because they are so thin so all the gunk can get out and because they are so thin, will also dry very fast so you might not need to have/wash, so many.

good luck.

[Jazzmin]

I did for about 6 months when we lived in an apartment. I used FB primarily since they dry so quickly. I also tried flats because they also dry quickly, but I'm not that great at folding.

I thought having a sprayer was essential so I could spray poo off the diapers before washing. I also soaked them in cold water before I washed them. I washed in the sink with hot water and a bit of soap, cold soak/rinse and hung to dry. When I would go visit family I would give them a good washing in a machine. I also paid a few times to wash them at the laundry mat.

I think it is doable, but definitely have access to a machine now and again to give them a good cleaning.

[Gator-mom]

What are FB Jazzmin? I was planning on using prefolds and soakers mostly. It's what I have already.

I will be going to my in-laws on the weekends for a good wash..it's just too hard to get there during the week as I'm a full-time nursing student, so that's why I want to do hand washing in-between. When ds was still in diapers I tried just going up there to wash, but it was too much for me. I'd end up going up to 5 days between washes, and they they'd smell really bad even after being washed.

[NettlesMama]

I hand wash diapers! I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do cloth and hand wash. But this is what we do and it works out pretty well for us. We spray all poopy diapers out and then all diaps go in a bucket with some water and apple cider vinegar (it helps to nutralize the acidity of the urine) and then we leave them there until we are ready to wash. We literally have a big wash tub (we have no bath tub) and a wash board and buy this handwashing bar soap, although you can you regular laundry soap and just soak them in that while you are washing. I usually let the diapers soak in the soapy water for a few minutes and then scrub all the stained parts and rinse them all.
We do this EVERYDAY! We have enough of a stash to last us a couple of days, but then you are washing diapers forever, and you have to figure drying time too, which for us usually takes about one full afternoon. So every day either me or DH do it. We usually wash in a machine at the laundry mat once a week or so with the rest of our laundry.
Don't let people tell you it can't be done, it totally can. In fact with DS was first born I would just put him in a sling and wash the diaps in the sink. I am not going to lie, it's pretty time consuming, but totally worth it to save on the cost of disposables, not have the chemicals, ect.

[JTA Mom]

I posted this in your country living post too, but thought I'd add it here too.

Get yourself 2-3 rubbermaid totes/buckets. A clean toilet plunger. Cut a slot in the lid of the tote/bucket. (well, you can get away with just one bucket too)

Fill the first bucket with hot water, detergent and dirty diapers. Let soak 20 min. Put the plunger in, then the lid over it. Then plunge the heck out of them for 5 min. Take out, wring lightly.

Fill the other two tubs with hot or warm or cold water, and repeat the above. These are your rinse cycles.

Wring them in a mop wringer.

Hang to dry.

Technically you could do this with just one rubbermaid tote if need be.

Ami

[skybluepink02]

I don't, but my mom did when me, my older brother, and younger sister were all in diapers. She was too broke for a machine, so she used an old fashioned scrubbing board and cleaned them in the bathtub. I have great respect for that woman!

[Katie T]

If I was going to hand wash diapers I would get flats (even if you just fold and lay in a cover or stuff in a pocket diaper) and do what JTAmom suggested. Actually sounds kinda fun!

[NettlesMama]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

I posted this in your country living post too, but thought I'd add it here too.

Get yourself 2-3 rubbermaid totes/buckets. A clean toilet plunger. Cut a slot in the lid of the tote/bucket. (well, you can get away with just one bucket too)

Fill the first bucket with hot water, detergent and dirty diapers. Let soak 20 min. Put the plunger in, then the lid over it. Then plunge the heck out of them for 5 min. Take out, wring lightly.

Fill the other two tubs with hot or warm or cold water, and repeat the above. These are your rinse cycles.

Wring them in a mop wringer.

Hang to dry.

Technically you could do this with just one rubbermaid tote if need be.

Ami

Oh my gosh, this is soooooo helpful. You basically just create a makeshift washer. This is awesome. I am going to have to email this to DH right now as he is getting ready to wash our diapers. Let me ask you, do the stains come clean this way? And what about stuck on poo residue?

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by NettlesMama

Oh my gosh, this is soooooo helpful. You basically just create a makeshift washer. This is awesome. I am going to have to email this to DH right now as he is getting ready to wash our diapers. Let me ask you, do the stains come clean this way? And what about stuck on poo residue?

I haven't used it for diapers (new babe isn't here yet, ds is too old), but I have used it for clothes. Gets them nice and clean. I do pre-treat the stains on clothes (I'm anal like that ). As for stuck on residue--nice, long soaks in hot water help. A lot.

The agitation is key though. The more agitation, the more dirt comes out. Oh, and don't overstuff. It's like a washer, the more room for agitating the item, the better. I don't mind the washing part, it's the wringing that is the annoying part. I'm still trying to figure out a nice old fashioned wringer contraption I could build.

Ami

[NettlesMama]

You know you can find those wringers online there are some good amish supply stores that still have the good old timey stuff. I would love to get one too, the only problem I have heard of is that they will break and smash buttons, but other than that I've heard they are awesome.

[Jazzmin]

Gator-mom: FB stands for Fuzzi Bunz, they are a pocket diaper.

JTA: What a good idea! Now I know what to do when the washer breaks (which it seems to do every 6 months. Technology )

[EmTheWife]

Wow, you've gotten some great and creative ideas!
My 2 cents: I hand washed flats for the last week while on vacation in the bathtub at our hotel: Filled it enough to cover diapers with HOT water and detergent, agitated with my feet by swhishing and stomping, and let soak for about an hour, repeated the swhishing and stomping, then drained, re-filled with HOT water for a soak (no detergent), drained and rinsed again. All in all about 2 hours, but only 20 mins of actual labor. They came out super clean!