How to care for cloth diapers

Many cloth diapers come with laundry instructions, which you should follow carefully. If you don't wash them correctly, they won't get clean; urine crystals can form and bacteria can fester, which can contribute to diaper rash and odor. Here's the basic drill.

Before first use, wash cloth diapers in hot water with a small amount of detergent to enhance their absorbency. If diapers are made from unbleached fabric, such as organic cotton, you may need to wash them two or three times, drying them in the dryer between washes to remove their natural oils and waxes. Check the label. Test your diaper's absorbency by pouring a small amount of water into one. If the water beads at all, you should wash them again.

For dirty diapers, knock solids into the toilet (or if you use a flushable liner, toss it with solids into the toilet) and store used diapers in a dry or wet pail. Wet pails can help eliminate diaper stains because dirty diapers soak until you wash them. But the elastic on diapers that have it, such as fitted, pocket, and all-in-ones, will wear out faster when used with a wet pail. Dry pails are the most popular choice among parents. Lining the pail with a washable bag makes collecting diapers for the laundry room easier.

Wash cloth diapers every two days so your diaper pail doesn't get too stinky. On laundry day, unfold cloth diapers before washing. Diaper covers don't need to be washed every time; you can wait until they're wet, soiled, or smelly. Run a cold-water rinse or a short-cycle rinse with no detergent in your washing machine; it helps reduce the chances that stains will set. Then, using your washer's hottest water at the highest water level, wash diapers (and covers) with no more than one half of the laundry detergent recommended on the package. Using too much detergent can leave an irritating residue that can affect a diaper's absorbency and smell.

If you have a front-loading washing machine, set your water levels to the highest settings, and use one-fourth of the amount of laundry detergent recommended on the package. If your detergent is formulated for High Efficiency washers— you'll see "HE" on the package or the instructions label will explain—you can use the lower amount recommended on the detergent package. Seemingly clean diapers can smell right after your baby wets them if you don't wash with enough hot water, which is a common problem with high-efficiency front-loading washing machines. "If you can't adjust the water level on your machine manually, you may have to trick your machine into adding more water by tossing in a wet towel," Bummis co-owner Thomas says. Minimal amounts of hot water won't rinse diapers well enough to eliminate urine.

After the wash cycle, diapers should be rinsed well, in cold water. Don't use straight liquid fabric softener or dryer sheets. Your baby may have an allergic reaction to the fragrance. Fabric softener will leave a buildup on diapers, which blocks a diaper's absorbency.