How to wash in a Front Loader It is a common misconception that HE machines are terrible for cloth diapering due to the fact that they use less water. This is absolutely not true. When used correctly, they can be great at cleaning cloth. Some might even say efficient. I believe that this myth came about due to users blaming their otherwise poor routines on the small amount of water these machines use. It’s not their fault, this is the way they were designed to work. Because of this, many ‘tricks’ came about to try to coax these machines into using more water. Trick #1: I can add water manually to the machine. ~Your machine is on to you and will automatically drain any excess water. This will also undoubtedly void your warranty. Trick #2: If I add a wet towel my machine will add more water because of the extra weight. ~While you may see benefit from having extra agitation, the extra weight will not trick your machine into using extra water. This also falls along the same lines as trick #1. Adding water, in any form, will void your warranty. Trick #3: choosing “no spin” on my rinse cycle will make my load heavier; tricking my machine into adding more water. ~False, your machine does not ‘weigh’ the load. It simply senses the load size, adds enough water to saturate the fabric, drains the excess, then uses a predetermined amount of water throughout the cycle based on the cycle you chose. By not spinning, you are leaving your diapers soaked in poop and pee water and your main wash will now be done in mostly dirty water. **Use your machine the way it was designed to be used** TIP: HE machines perform best when 2/3-3/4 full. This offers the proper agitation needed. If you do not have enough diapers, you may add any other items to bulk up the load. I.e. baby clothes, towels, etc. Routine: Pre-wash. Wash. Dry Prewash (AKA First Cycle) The goal of your pre-wash cycle is to remove as much of the easy poop and pee as possible. This allows the main wash to be much more effective as the detergent can then focus on cleaning the deep down inner layers of your diapers rather than try and clean the entirety of the diapers as well as the dirty water. Cycle options: Speed Wash: If you have this cycle option, use it. Quick Wash: If you have this cycle, use it. Pre-wash button: Be Careful! For many machines, adding this to the beginning of a main wash cycle is insufficient. The reason being is that in many machines it does not spin prior to moving on to the main wash. The spin is crucial in a pre-wash! This removes the most of the poop and pee from the drum and allows the main wash to be done in much cleaner water. Be sure to consult your manual before utilizing this option. Rinse & Spin: While this cycle may be sufficient while a baby is exclusively breastfed (water soluble poop) it is often lacking in agitation. If you have a non EBF baby I would opt for a different cycle to start if possible. Express Wash: On some machines this wash cycle is truly express and runs from 15-30 minutes. If this is the case it is an excellent choice for a pre-wash. On other machines the express wash can at times take up to an hour which makes for an overall unnecessarily time consuming wash routine. What if my machine does not offer these cycles? Feel free to consult with an admin but this may take some more troubleshooting. Look for the shortest cycle your machine allows that will let you adjust the spin speed to high and the soil level to heavy. Extra Options: Spin: Always have this set to the highest possible setting. In the pre-wash it will remove more of the soil and in the main wash it will ensure that more of the detergent residue is removed and allows for a quicker dry time. Soil: Set this to heavy as diapers are obviously heavily soiled. Pre-wash button: Be Careful! For many machines, adding this to the beginning of a main wash cycle is insufficient. The reason being is that in many machines it does not spin prior to moving on to the main wash cycle. The spin is crucial in a pre-wash! This removes the most of the poop and pee from the drum and allows the main wash to be done in much cleaner water. Be sure to consult your manual before utilizing this option. More water/Extra water/Water plus: Do not use these buttons when washing diapers. It will not allow the machine to properly agitate which is crucial for diaper washing. Extra Rinse: Extra rinses should not be used for a few reasons. If you have hard water it can be very detrimental and cause hard water mineral build up. It is also a waste of resources including your precious time in addition to water and power. If you are having an issue with rinsability (i.e your diapers feel soapy or slimy after the rinse cycle) then it may be worthwhile to have a conversation with an admin regarding your best course of action. If your child has a sensitivity to the residue of the detergent you are using you should not combat this by adding an extra rinse. Rather, you should switch to a different detergent. (Please note: It is more than likely that if your child truly had a sensitivity to the detergent it would present itself all over the body and not just in the diaper area. Be sure to rule out all other causes such as, unclean diapers, as this is an issue than can be present without an offensive smell.) Last , but not least, it will prematurely wear out your diapers. Manufacturers aim for 200-300 washes as the lifespan of your diapers. Washes count as 2 cycles. If you add an extra rinse at the end you are now using 1.5 washes every time you wash which will substantially cut the life of the diapers down (by 30%; 133-200 washes). Wash (AKA Main Wash) Heavy Duty: This is a great option as it offers extra agitation. Whitest Whites: As long as this cycle does not use an extra hot temperature or as long as it will allow you to choose a different temperature setting this is a great cycle to use as it most often gives the most agitation. It is ok to wash your diapers on Hot, I would avoid Extra Hot as this will prematurely wear out fabrics, elastics and snaps. Cotton/Normal: If you do not have a heavy duty or whitest whites option this is your next best bet. Just be sure to use the heavy soil function. DO NOT USE Large/Bulky: Your diapers are neither large or bulky. This cycle often uses too much water and not enough agitation. It is designed for items such as comforters or blankets and because of that, it also will not allow you to increase the spin speed to high on most machines. This is not a cycle that should be used. DO NOT USE Sanitize: In most machines this cycle does not actually sanitize laundry. Most, if not all, american residential water heaters max out at 140 degrees. It is safest to have your water heater set to 120 degrees to avoid scalding. It is difficult for even a machine with an internal heater to heat water to the necessary minimum of 160 degrees when starting with water at 120-140 degrees. Even if the machine is capable, it must then keep that high temperature constant for at least 60 minutes. Even if you had a machine like this (for example: those common in Europe) the temperature would be much too high for laundering diapers. It would prematurely wear out fabrics, elastics and snaps. *There is no need to sanitize diapers as we are using proper detergent and agitation toremove the bacteria every time we wash* DO NOT USE Allergiene: (See explanation for Sanitize) DO NOT USE Delicates: Contrary to what some manufacturers might have you believe, your diapers are not delicate. They are extremely filthy poop catchers and should be treated as such. Extra Options Spin: Always have this set to the highest possible setting. In the pre-wash it will remove more of the soil and in the main wash it will ensure that more of the detergent residue is removed and allows for a quicker dry time. Soil: Set this to heavy as diapers are obviously heavily soiled. More water/Extra water/Water plus: Do not use these buttons when washing diapers. It will not allow the machine to properly agitate which is crucial for diaper washing. Detergents: You MUST use truly HE detergent. This detergent is formulated to suds less while maintaining cleaning power. Detergent that claims to be safe for both machines and tells you to just use 1/2 the amount for an HE machine is not truly HE safe. They have not changed the formula at all, they are simply asking you to cut your cleaning power in half. This is the same reason why it is not ok to just use less of a regular detergent either.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 23:56:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015