Cold or Hot???

[alittlegranola]

Okay, I'm super new to CD-Day #2 and I have oh so many questions. I hope you all don't get sick of me but this is so overwhelming and confusing!! I happy there is an active group like you out there!

I was just reviewing the 'Ways to Wash' sticky and it almost confuses me more. It seems there really isn't a 'right' way to wash. Even the diaper manufacturers all have different ways. If I followed their directions I'd have to do 5 separate loads for all my diapers!

One thing I'm super confused about is the Cold vs. Hot or Wash vs. Rinse. I have an old washer without a ton of selections (dials, no buttons). How do you know whether to rinse or wash or use hot or cold, or use detergent or no detergent ??!? What's the different results?

Thanks!

[dncnshu00]

You will find most people follow a rinse, wash, rinse routine. Variations from there are trial and error. Start with the simplest and go from there. Cold rinse no detergent, hot wash with detergent, cold rinse. If that works for you then stick with it. If it doesn't....then you can start experimenting.

[vansen19]

try this:

1) turn washer dial to just a cold rinse (like mid-way through a normal wash) that will help get rid of poo and pee
2) do a full wash routine (with hot water and detergent, and a regular cold rinse)
3) follow with a final cold rinse (again turn dial mid-way through normal wash) to make sure there is no detergent residue that might irritate baby's bum

if you do just a hot wash, you'll cook the poo right unto the diaper, create darker stains and repelling/poor absorbency issues possibly. if you do just a cold wash, diapers might not get clean enough and bacteria will grow, cause rash etc. i hope you figure out a good routine!

[jennayoung99]

Yes like the other people said most people use the cold rinse, hot wash with detergent, cold rinse. Its pretty simple, I would start with that and then make changes as needed.

[parterasd]

Absolutely use hot water and the recommended amount of detergent to start with. The most important thing is clean, safe diapers. You can adjust if necessary later. I agree with the previous posters- cold rinse, hot wash, cold or warm rinse.An extra final rinse can't hurt.

[alittlegranola]

Thank you ladies! I didn't understand the difference between cold and hot...except maybe power usage, lol.

Also what about water level? I hear you need a lot of water, but I also hear that lower water will agitate the diapers better. I probably only wash about 10 diapers at a time right now since we don't have a huge supply yet.

Also is there a difference in powdered and liquid detergent. We have a water softener and a top loader.

[alittlegranola]

Originally Posted by vansen19 try this: 1) turn washer dial to just a cold rinse (like mid-way through a normal wash) that will help get rid of poo and pee 2) do a full wash routine (with hot water and detergent, and a regular cold rinse) 3) follow with a final cold rinse (again turn dial mid-way through normal wash) to make sure there is no detergent residue that might irritate baby's bum if you do just a hot wash, you'll cook the poo right unto the diaper, create darker stains and repelling/poor absorbency issues possibly. if you do just a cold wash, diapers might not get clean enough and bacteria will grow, cause rash etc. i hope you figure out a good routine!

Thank you so much! This is so helpful!

[vansen19]

i think your water level will be just fine with a top loader and only 10 diapers! i wish that was the case with me we go days with 2 LO's... it's usually water temperature that is an issue, some people have to turn their water heater up a few hours before washing to make sure it's at least 120 degrees, but you need to double check your diaper manufacturers water temp recommendations. and if water level becomes an issue, i just dump a couple extra pitchers of water to the wash, esp when i wash 24-30 dipes.

powder or liquid- just use sparingly (1/4 cup? not the normal full recommended amoung). most importantly, make sure it is cloth diaper safe: no additives nor brightener nor artificial scents. some mama's use "free and clear" detergents, some use specific "cloth diaper" detergents like bum genius, rockin green, tiny bubbles, econuts, there are many!

[mamamarisa]

hot water sets stains for bodily fliud like blood or poo, so use cold. grease stains rinse out best in hot water though. AND bacteria will still grow in hot water, its actually more likely, unless your washer heats to boiling which is 212 ferenheight then you are not killing bacteria, though over 145 degrees you will SLOW NOT STOP the growth. Bacteria wont grow though if you wash right away. Heat make bacteria multiply, most washers will never get up to 145 degrees. Old washers wash diapers best, more water is better. However much detergent you use, make sure you rinse until the water is no longer bubbly. If it takes more than 2 or 3 rinses you will want to decrease the amount of detergent. Cold water is best, and if you have a water softener it is because you have hard water, so use cloth diaper specific detergent to prevent build up(bumgenius or rockin green, etc not tide, gain, arm and hammer etc)

[editrix]

I don't do a pre-rinse. I can only do cold rinse in my washer, and it doesn't do anything for my diapers. (I've tried--it didn't even rinse out breastfed poo.) I don't know if it's my washer or my water (I live way up north in Canada, and my cold water is super, super cold, to the point of freezing in the winter...big pain!). So I just do a hot wash, that's it. No super complicated routine. One hot wash, that's it, with whatever detergent I have around. I'm sensitive to smells, so I use a scent-free detergent, but that's my only requirement, and it's not "for the diapers," it's to avoid bad headaches because of my sensitivity!

When I wash at my mother's, she has a fancy machine and I do a warm pre-rinse before doing my one hot wash, and it works great.