Cold water washing?

[dangerbunnygirl]

Total newbie mom question but we are getting ready for baby and I plan on using CD, I have a bunch of prefolds and covers that a friend generously gave us. We live in the country and have fairly hard well water, we also don't have a hot water hookup for the washer so everything gets washed cold. What kind of detergent would be best for this situation? Will I need to get anything to add to the wash? Will this work?

Thanks!

[chel]

Maybe also look into flats also. Just trying to get stuff that is very easy to get clean.

I suggest bleach, but I use bleach regularly even with using hot water

[amautik]

Yes, flats would probably be good in terms of washing out very easily and not holding build-up from the water.  But if you've already got prefolds, hey, use what you've got!

I've heard Biokleen is good for cold water washing.   (Edit:  I just saw somewhere that this is not recommended for hard water!)

Also, Calgon is supposed to be good for softening water.

You may need to use more detergent than most people because the minerals in your water make it difficult for the detergents to work.

Here are a couple of good resources on cloth diaper laundry:

http://ca.wazoodle.com/index.php/diapermaking/cat/diapermaking-care/post/101-washing-diapers/

http://blog.bummis.com/2011/10/laundry-science.html

[dangerbunnygirl]

cool, thanks for the links.

[Brambleberry]

I washed ours on cold until dd started eating solids, then I felt like hot water was helpful...  I'm not sure it's really necessary though.  You can use hydrogen peroxide occasionally if you're concerned about disinfecting.  Be warned that it is hard on your diapers and wears them out faster - I think chlorine bleach does too, though.  I would definitely do an extra rinse cycle too.