Caring for Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers

Store wet and dirty diapers in a dry pail. Older babies? solid waste can be removed by gently shaking the diaper over a toilet. The fleece will release solids easily ? there is no need to rinse them before washing.

Washing instructions for pocket diapers and trainers:

• Remove the inserts
• Cold Soak for 10-20 minutes depending on the level of dirt
• Wash on hot with slightly less than 1/4 cup of detergent
• You can add a downy ball of vinegar to the wash if the diapers have a heavy urine scent. I recommend a downy ball because it releases the vinegar at the right time - no need to wait by the machine.
• Rinse well to ensure all detergent is removed from diapers.
• Dry on warm. The warm of the dryer will keep your Happy Heiny functioning like new. We personally dry our PUL products on warm and although we have had prolonged use with these products  have not noticed any break down of our PUL.
• DO NOT use SANITARY CYCLE. Use of the sanitary cycle can cause melting of elastics, Aplix, snaps, and it can make the waterproof layer no longer water proof. Use of sanitary cycle will void all warrenties.

Caring for Thirsties Diapers

Wash all diapers at least one time before use. Washing and drying your hemp and natural cotton diapers at least 3 times before use will wash away the natural oils that inhibit absorption.

Shake solids into toilet after each diaper change. Store your soiled Thirsties® Cloth Diapers in a DRY diaper pail. A standard 52-quart garbage pail with a lid works great and can be purchased at your local department store. Be sure to line your pail with a Thirsties® Diaper Pail Liner to avoid having to clean your pail on every laundry day.

Stow your stash of Thirsties® Fab Wipes in an accessible location to your changing table along with some fresh water for wipe dipping. Toss soiled wipes into your pail along with your diapers.

For optimum cleanliness, limit the size of your load to no more than 18 diapers and wash every other day. Use COLD water for the pre-wash cycle with 1/2 ounce Thirsties® Pre-Wash solution to help pre-clean your diapers. If you do not have a Pre-Wash cycle on your washer, a Short or Quick Wash cycle will work just as good.

Choose a HEAVY cycle and wash on HOT for the main wash. Use 1/2 ounce Thirsties® Super Wash per load. Thirsties® Pre-Wash and Super Wash is HE safe and has been custom formulated for use on cloth diapers.

Avoid all soaps, many "Free & Clear", and popular baby detergents. Most detergents on the market will leave a residue on your diapers that will affect the absorbency and will cause odors and diaper rash.  Be sure not to use bleach or fabric softeners, either. OxyClean® Baby is safe for occasional use, but is not necessary when using Thirsties® Super Wash in combination with HOT water. Thirsties®  Super Wash is uniquely formulated to naturally brighten and eliminate harmful bacteria.

Hang your cloth diapers to dry or dry in dryer. Add a dry towel to the dryer to speed the drying process. Drying in direct sunlight is the very best method for drying and disinfecting. Hang drying also helps to  preserve the textiles of your diapers and is great at getting rid of stains. Cotton and hemp diapers will be somewhat stiff when hung to dry. One option to soften sun-dried textiles made from natural fibers,  is to use the dryer for the last 15 minutes.

Even if you follow all the rules above, you still might end up with occasional stinky and less absorbent diapers due to water mineral residue. Simply replace your regular detergent with 1/4 cup Calgon®  water softener (found at your local grocers) or 1-2 Tbs Dawn® or Ivory® dish soap. This process is often referred to as diaper stripping. Strip your diapers as often as needed, but not at every wash as it is  a bit harsh for your diapers and your baby’s skin.

Caring for Bummis Diaper Covers & Diapers

A note about washing machines
Top loaders are great for washing cloth diapers!
High efficiency front loading machines are great because they don’t use much water, but they can cause a big problem because of that too. Not using enough water to wash and rinse your diapers can cause serious residue problems. Set your machine manually to maximum water level to wash your diapers. If this is impossible, call the manufacturer and ask them how to adjust your water level manually. If it is still impossible, use the wet towel trick! Reduce the number of diapers per load and add a wet towel or two to trick the machine into adding more water. Multiple rinses are not necessary if you are using enough water to wash and rinse your diapers clean.

Before You Start Using Your Diapers – Very Important!
Wash diapers in hot water with a small amount of zero residue detergent before first use in order to make them absorbent. If your diapers are made of unbleached cotton, bamboo or hemp, you will need  to wash and dry them at least three times to remove natural oils and waxes that will inhibit absorption.

Test your diapers for absorbency before you use them! If your diapers are made of natural fabrics, you can test their absorbency by pouring a small amount of warm water onto the fabric. It should be absorbed immediately. If your diapers have any sort of ‘stay dry’ synthetic layer, you will have to apply light pressure before liquid absorbs. If thewater beads on your diapers, they are not ready to use! If your cotton diapers do not absorb properly after 3 washes and your synthetic diapers after 1 wash, please refer back to the previous “note about washing machines”, as you probably need to increase the water level in your washing machine.

Please check the washing instructions for the specific product you have purchased as they may be different.

What To Do With Dirty Diapers
Remove diaper and diaper cover from baby. Flush away flushable liner or shake off excess poop into the toilet. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, there is no need to shake excess poop into the toilet as it will wash out easily. Unfold your diapers to ensure thorough cleaning and remove liners or inserts. Secure velcro type tabs by sticking them to the fold back tabs (on the inside back of the diaper cover or diaper).

Put wet or soiled diapers in a pail or a hanging diaper bag. Dirty diaper covers can be stored with your dirty diapers (never soak them!). Wash every 2-3 days. Polyester diaper covers can be washed with your diapers; nylon and wool diaper covers should be washed separately.

Washing Diapers

• First run a cold pre-wash (or a short cycle with no detergent).
• Then do a regular wash in hot water (60C/140F max) Do not use a sanitize cycle on any products with velcro type closures or elastic. See detergent information below please!
• Rinse diapers in lots of water to avoid build-up of detergent, bacteria and urine.
• Dry in the dryer or outside on a clothesline (check the label of your product, as some products should only be hung to dry). Sunlight is a natural brightener and disinfectant!
• Once washed, your diapers should not smell like urine or detergent! If they do, chances are you have a residue problem.

Detergent
We recommend using a zero residue detergent! If you have a top loader, you can use the full recommended amount of a zero residue detergent. If you have a front loader or HE machine, stick to the lower end of therecommended amount of detergent.

If you are using anything other than a zero residue detergent, use maximum half of what the detergent package tells you to use and one quarter of the recommended amount if you have a front loader or HE machine. Choose a detergent that does not contain any of the following additives, as they can create residue problems. Detergent residue will lead to leaking, absorbency issues and stinky covers.

• Fabric softeners
• Natural oils
• Perfumes
• Dyes
• UV brighteners
• Stain guard ingredients
• Enzymes (they will not affect performance, but may cause rashes on some babies’ skin)

Please be cautious about using vinegar and/or baking soda, as they can together or individually cause problems with some diapering products. We recommend that you do not use either of these unless specifically suggested by the manufacturer of your diaper or diaper cover.

We recommend the following washing products:

• Sensi-Clean and Sport-Wash (www.atsko.com)
• Charlie’s Soap (www.charliesoap.com)
• Country Save (www.countrysave.com)
• Allen’s Naturally (www.allensnaturally.com)
• Mountain Green Baby Free & Clear (www.mountaingreen.biz)
• Seventh Generation Delicate Care (www.seventhgeneration.com)
• Nature Clean Powder or Liquid (www.naturecleanliving.com)
• Claudia’s Choices (www.claudiaschoices.ca)
• Wonder Wash (www.wonderwash.net)
   

A bleach alternative can be used on an occasional basis for stain removal. It should contain no ingredients beyond
sodium carbonate or sodium percarbonate. We recommend the following bleach alternatives:

• Oxy-Boost Oxygen Bleach (www.oxyboost.com)
• Nature Clean Oxygen Bleach (www.naturecleanliving.com)
• BioVert Oxygen Bleach (www.prolav.com)