I did a happy dance recently when the Sears delivery guy arrived with a brand new set of the Maytag Bravos XL he washer and dryer. The dryer in our rental had given me grief for two months, requiring loads to go through multiple times, and line drying is not allowed per community rules. The new appliances thrilled me – he, less water usage, and large capacity. They’ve definitely improved my laundry routine and decreased the number of loads I wash for our family of five. The only drawback? Washing cloth diapers.
Whenever you move to a new place or use a new machine, you have to adjust your cloth diapering wash routine. I tried my standby rinse cold, wash hot with detergent, rinse cold, but the diapers smelled dirty. I adjusted my detergent, tried RLR (which did brighten my diapers!), did another rinse, but they still didn’t seem clean and we struggled with leaks.
I decided to do some research and found some ideas – adding towels, tricking the washer, 5! cycles – and the work involved made my head spin. Thankfully, I particiated in a facebook discussion and discovered a mom with the exact same washer who was having success with her routine. I also learned two invaluable tips from the recent Eco Sprout Twitter party – warm rinse and the no-spin prewash.
Every machine is different, but I wanted to share my routine in hopes of saving some other cloth diapering families a few washing headaches. Feel free to pin and share this graphic if you find it helpful!
This post is part of the weekly Cloth Diaper 101 Blog Hop hosted by Maria at My Diaper Stash.
For another great post, including pictures, visiti How to Wash Cloth Diapers from The Parenting Patch.
I foresee a lot of trial and error for me!
Thank you! I have an upright HE Maytag that I’m ready to kick to the curb! Seriously! CD is supposed to save me money- not make me go broke on water bills. I hear ya- 5! cycles! Thanks for these tips. I am going to try Step #2 with a towel.