Recommended Washers/Dryers for Cloth Diapers

[JDinVirginia]

Seattledoug and Rope, thanks for the very helpful information!

--John
(On travel in Phoenix)

[DarrenF]

I don't think it really matters if you use a HE washer or not, it's more about how you hold the diaper before you wash them. The best situation would be remove the diaper then dump in the the washer and wash it right away. For me, that would require my washer to never stop washing diapers all day long. I go through 3 to 4 cloth diaper combo's a day. To keep the diapers from smelling like ammonia I have pre-wash soak bucket (5 gallon) that i will dump my wet diapers in before I was them. I have a mixture of vinegar, few drops of tea tree oil and water. I dump the pre-wash right into the washer. I do a load every night (sometimes every other night) in a top loading HE Whirlpool washer. I always do a warm soak, rinse and spin cycle first then a hot wash with an extra rinse cycle. I use dreft detergent on all my cloth diapers and covers. I then use the hottest heat setting on the dryer to make sure there completely dry. They always come out super white and smelling fresh. I'm guessing it's all because the pre-wash that I do to keep the ammonia and mildew from forming.

Darren

[msshendo]

Darren, I have never heard of using tea tree oil for diapers. What does that do?

[MSUSpartan]

Tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial agent.

It's pretty common in the baby cloth diaper world.

[JDinVirginia]

Very interesting, Darren. If I understand you correctly, you are saying that good pre-wash handling of the diapers plus using Dreft and the most hygienic settings on the washer sufficiently compensate for any disadvantages a HE washer might have with regard to water level.

Like Msshendo I had never heard of tea oil.

My, the things we learn here

--John

[Rope_Wrench]

Sorry, I didn't think to mention the tea tree oil. I use or too but mainly when I strip them. 9nly piece of advice with the oil, a little goes a long way. I'm talking drops of the stuff. I think I may only use something like 6-10 drops of the stuff.
Very strong

Rope

[JDinVirginia]

Rope and Darren, this certainly will make my wife happier. She was not pleased when I mentioned problems with HE washers and diapers. It seems that I overstated the case. Anyway, I intend to care for and wash my own diapers so that she will not be bothered with that chore.

When I explained the procedures you follow, my wife asked me about DREFT. Frankly, I am ignorant and unsure what role it plays. Is it a more effective soap? Is it o.k. with HE washers?

--John

[Rope_Wrench]

The thing about Dreft is it is supposed to have no added dents or harsh chemicals and better on the skin. Reading a lot of the cloth diaper post for babies I have found that it is not worth the extra cost. I use All free and clear and it has worked great for me. No build up of detergent on the diapers and it gets them clean.
I remember seeing a spread sheet of all the different soaps you can use with pros and con's for each. I'll see if I can find the link and post it. Just keep in mind, it all comes down to preference and a lot of the reviews can be a bit bias.


Just found it in a bookmark I had.
http://detergent.realdiaperindustry.org ... ByName.php

[Wetters]

Dreft is an old-school detergent that's been around since the '50s or '60s. It has a reputation for being good for washing baby clothes and diapers because it allegedly rinses out especially well and allegedly has no fragrance/dyes. Back in the '70s I had a mysterious and persistent skin rash under my arms (I won't go into detail, but pretty nasty). A dermatologist recommended that I wash my clothes with Dreft (also no deodorant and no shaving) while she attempted to find a cure.

Wetters

[MSUSpartan]

Dreft is super expensive, and they tend to sell it in smaller bottles, marketed specifically for baby clothes. I tried a bunch of brands, and original Tide washes remarkable clean and isn't unacceptably priced.