How do you wash your diapers?

I just throw it in the washer and wash it.

In all seriousness, I just wash usually on cold, sometimes warm,cold, othertimes hot. I use a 1/4 of the cup for detergent, and put it on the longest setting with a 15 minute soak. No extra rinses, etc. Then I throw it in the dryer, I dont add anything to that ether. I suggest starting with the simplest then adding things as the need arises.

First off avoid all fabric softners with diapers. They "coat" the fibers and reduce absorbency. Even a "used" dryer sheet has been known to cause problems. NOT a good thing for diapers. Not a bad thing for all Fleece covers though.

Rule Number #1: Keep It Simple Silly!

So many people can get caught up in extremely complex washing routines and get quickly overwhelmed. Try to keep your rountine as simple as possible. When you add too many variables, you have great possiblities for "problems".

Your water type can make a big difference. The harder the water, the water to rinse out the detergent residue.

Rule Number #2: Keep watching for those suds.

Residue is the number one problem most people deal with. Leftover detergent causes strong urine smells and unpleasant diapers.

Rule Number #3: No bleach.

Try to not use bleach as much as possible. It destroys the fibers of fabric and wears out your diapers faster.

Rule Number #4: The sun is your friend.

The sun will get rid of lots of staining. Just take diapers out of the wash and lay out in the sun for an afternoon (sometimes it might take a couple rounds to get those really stubborn stains out. A little lemon juice works good too.

I agree with someone else who said you'll get a different rountine from just about everyone.

My routine that I've used for the last three years. And rarely a smelly diaper.

We dry pail. Just try to dump/scrap as much poop off as possible then into the pail. I usually wash every other day now. When I had 2 in diapers I washed just about every night.

1. Cold soak load, takes care of the rest of the poop and helps to keep stains from setting. Sometimes if there are a lot of poopy diapers, I'll let them soak overnight and start the load first thing in the morning.

2. Hot water wash with 1/6 of a cup of detergent with second rinse. We use All F&C.

3. About "once" a week I do an additional wash cycle with a cup of vinegar to take care of any risidual detergent.

4. Into the dryer. Then off to the folding pile and put away.

You'll find what does and doesn't work for you. HTHs.

I am new to all this CD stuff but this is what I do:

Throw dirty diaper in the washing machine. I don't have a diaper pail for many reasons, plus the washer is very close. I add a few drops of TTO to control the smell. Every night (or after a big yecky poop) I run a cold soak, sometimes with washing soda, sometimes not. If I don't, the laundry room starts to stink and DH starts to complain.

Wash day: I wash every 2 days or so. I run a cold rinse, the a long hot wash with 1/4 cap of tide free (DD is VERY sensitive to stuff on her heiney) and 8-10 drops of TTO. Then I run a cold wash with no detergent (I add 1/2 vinegar every so often). Basically a wash and 3 rinses.

Dryer: the bum cloths and the fleece liners go in the dryer because there are so many of them and hanging them on the line is a serious PITA.

The diapers, doublers and covers go on the line outside to dry. Eventually I remember they are out there and go get them. I then throw them in the dryer for 20 mins to fluff them up.

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any more detailed information from those with hard water? Does using 1/2 cup of Borax help "condition" the water like the box says?