[Marilyn82]

Does anyone do this? I'm planning to CD this babe, but we live an apartment complex and don't have our own washer/dryer. I have to pay about $2.25 per load (includes washing and drying) but I don't have the option to put things through an extra rinse cycle or anything. Most washing instructions I read have you doing 2 rinses. I don't want to pay another $1.25 per load to put it through another wash cycle if I can help it. Anyone else have this situation? What do you do?

TIA

 

[Galatea]

I would stick with flats and get a diaper sprayer. Thoroughly rinse every diaper so you don't need a prewash. Then consider washing very simply: I used to use just baking soda and soak the diapers for awhile. Then it wouldn't matter so much if you can't do an extra rinse.

 

[JTA Mom]

I agree with Galatea.

Rinse well, then I'd wet pail.

I wash only 1 time a week too. I use mostly prefolds, flats and some microfiber. I spray off poop with my detachable shower head (near the toilet), then toss into a dry bucket with lid. The night before washing I fill up the bucket with cool water and a capful of bleach. Let sit overnight.

Next day, I pour off the water, toss in the machine.

I have a crappy front loader, so I need to do 3 wash cycles to clean the prefolds.

If you have a regular toploader then one wash should do it.

ETA: Do not put anything with PUL on it (covers, pocket diapers (the inserts themselves are fine) and AIOs) in the bleach water. It will eat the PUL away.

You can do this with microfiber inserts for your pocket diapers and it will be fine. You will have to wash the pockets separately though since you don't want them to be in the bleach. If you have microfiber, you can't really wash once a week without bleach--they will still stink (they hold on to stink BAD). I just wash the covers I have by hand when they get dirty, so I never really have a 'load' to do.

Ami

 

[Mommy2Austin]

I did this when I first started cloth diapering in our tiny apt. with DS1 (no washer/dryer either):

I had 12 flat diapers and a few wrap covers. I washed everything by hand and hung it to dry inside! I washed them up with a little laundry soap in the water in my sink and then I rinsed them out and let them soak in clean water for a bit. Then ring them out and hang up. They dried completely within an hour or two if I put a fan on them.

Now that I've been CD for awhile I'd say invest in some nice fleece covers! They wash up really easy and dry super fast and are pretty bullet proof even at night on my super soaker!!

 

[moxygirl]

I also live in an apartment with no washer/dryer. I had planned on washing all my diapers by hand before I had DS. Here's what I did:

Purchased 4 dozen flats from Little Lion (LOVE these!), a few PUL wraps, and one wool wrap. (I found these weren't enough covers and got a few more after DS was born.) Thinking scrubbing by hand would be time-consuming and tiring, I got one of these: http://www.laundry-alternative.com/washing.htm
I found I couldn't keep up with the wash (newborns go through a LOT of diapers, even if you don't change every time they pee, and DS likes to be held most of the day). So now DH takes the dipes to the laundromat once a week and I wash in the hand-cranked washer in between laundry trips when I can. (Warning: the crank broke off the washer after two months of moderate use, so now I have to rotate it with my hands instead. It's not that hard but some people might be annoyed at buying something that breaks. It was/is still worth it to me.)

Here's my system:

Rinse poop (DS has very sticky poop - partially formula-fed due to supply issues - so it does NOT rinse off well. If you exclusively breastfeed, I've heard it's easier). Toss these and merely wet diapers into dry pail. If I wash in the hand-cranked washer, I use the hottest water allowed by the manufacturer (194 degrees) and wash 6 diapers at a time with a tiny amount of All Free and Clear HE, do a warm rinse with vinegar, and then three warm rinses with clear water. Takes abot 10 minutes, not including the time to heat the water. I toss them on a drying rack in front of a fan and they dry in a few hours. I do this with wet diapers when I can and generally leave the dirty ones for the laundromat. If I have some stained diapers or ones that are still stinky after washing, I soak these in an Oxiclean Baby solution for a few hours, then wash in the hand-cranked washer.

Once a week DH goes to the laundromat, tosses the diapers in a couple top load washers. Does a cold cycle with no detergent, a hot cycle with an extra rinse, adding a quarter cap of All Free and Clear. I alternate having him add 1/4 scoop of Oxiclean Baby to the wash one week (to get rid of stubborn spots), and a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the first rinse the next week (neutralizes ammonia from urine). Dry on hot 1 hour. Yeah it's more money to do an extra wash but it gets them really clean. It's probably not really necessary.

If, like you, I decided not to do two wash cycles, I would presoak like PPs suggested, swish, and wring, then do a hot water wash. If I didn't have the option of a second rinse, I would rinse by hand after the wash, then wring and dry on the drying rack.

Hope that's not too many details for you. I'm pretty anal about some things and diaper washing is one of them!

 

[Marilyn82]

Thanks guys, this has been really helpful. I am a little overwhelmed because my husband and I both work full time and I REALLY want to CD this time around and am committed to it, but am anxious to find a system that is going to work for our family. It seems like we are sooo busy, it's hard to imagine doing anything else! I'm lucky that my laundry room is at least a few short steps away. I want to buy one of these portable washer/dryer combos SO bad: http://www.compactappliance.com/Laun...efault,sc.html but I don't know anyone who has had any experience with them, and I just don't think we can afford it at the moment.

 

[JTA Mom]

Along the lines of the washer/dryer you found, what about this:

Danby Tub

There are more reviews from the site you linked to and it sounds like a winner! It spins them incredibly well. With flats, all you'd need to do then is get a drying rack and you are set! It'll dry in just a few hours, according to the reviews.

Ami

 

[junipervt]

For over a year I washed 1x a week at a laundromat. I had a stash of pf, fitteds, pockets & aios.

I only did 1 hot wash w/ allen's naturally detergent. I had a sprayer at home so poop went into the toilet & I drypailed.

I had no stink problems. If you have any specific questions feel free to pm me

 

[Marilyn82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom Along the lines of the washer/dryer you found, what about this: Danby Tub There are more reviews from the site you linked to and it sounds like a winner! It spins them incredibly well. With flats, all you'd need to do then is get a drying rack and you are set! It'll dry in just a few hours, according to the reviews. Ami

Thanks! I'm definitely looking into this!

Quote:

For over a year I washed 1x a week at a laundromat. I had a stash of pf, fitteds, pockets & aios. I only did 1 hot wash w/ allen's naturally detergent. I had a sprayer at home so poop went into the toilet & I drypailed. I had no stink problems. If you have any specific questions feel free to pm me

I just might do that, thanks!

 

[justmama]

wonderwash

there are a few people on diaperswappers who use this and love it. It's small so you would probably have to run it two or three times for a few day's worth of diapers but it's something you can do at home with the baby in the sling while cooking dinner, ya know? And it's really affordable when you consider how quickly that same amt of money would go at the laundromat. If I were going to cloth diaper without a washer, I would totally use this. And I would do flats and pul covers for simplicity and ease of washing and for the cost effectiveness because they are cheap and one-size AND I would hang dry. Use a baby gate(the cheapo tension ones for $9 at wal-mart) and use clothespins to pin the flats to the plastic part. Suspend it over the backs of two chairs and in an hour or two your flats will be dry. I promise it can be done with a little creativity and a very very small amt of work. Cost effective too!