my daughter is 2 1/2 and we are in the process of potty training. i unfortunately did not use cloth diapers with her but i am now using the cloth/plastic training pants. what i was wondering is what is the best way to wash them and also what to do with them until night when i can wash all the dirty ones together! i hope this makes sence! jami
Rinse them in vinegar, if there is poo on them, scrape it off and maybe use some bleach on it, as poo is pretty bacteria laden. IF you are washing wet or dirty training pants every day, or even every other day, your baby is probably NOT ready to be out of diapers yet. When the child is ready, potty learning is pretty painless. And not too messy, either.
I wash training pants the same way I wash dipes. I keep them in a "dry pail" (just an empty garbage can ) untill I have a full load. I plop the poop in the toilet, if some sticks to the dipes, I don't go scraping it off (I like to stay as far away from poo as I can ). I wash in All Free and Clear. It's the only mainstream brand that doesn't have any enzymes that can irritate pee soaked skin. I would reccommend NOT using bleach, it could burn a kids skin when the bleach and pee collide Also don;t use any fabric softener as that really inhibits the absorbancy of the dipe Good luck potty learning
Um, I've used bleach in my loads with four kids. You RINSE the bleach out, even do an extra rinse, if you want. I mean, if you don't want to use it don't, but when there is shit around, or kids are puking NOTHNING kills bacteria and viruses like bleach. I don't like illness causing bacteria and virues around my house, it makes people sick and spreads illnesses that might otherwise be confined. (Believe me, when you have had two or three kids puking and shitting ALL at once and you are sick yourself, you'll see why I try to keep people healthy by not spreading disease around. and I'll do anything to prevent the spread of illness, in a house with so many children.) But bleach DOES rinse out. Really. I've never had a child with chemical burned butts. Personally, I find paper underwear and diapers MUCH more irritating to a child's behind than nice soft cotton, even if it was washed in bleach and then rinsed out. I didn't put paper underwear on my kids.
Maggie Sugar, I'm sorry if I've offended I just don't want to risk using bleach. I actually don't even keep it in the house cause it's just so caustic. I've only had two kids so far, but I've yet to have them get sick from dipes.
thank you guys for the ideas! i really do believe my little one is ready. she shows all signs, and if i just let her run around with no bottems on at all she always uses the potty. as soon as a put underwear or training pants on she goes in them. BUT last night she had underwear on and told me that she had to go, pulled them dpwn and went on the potty. progress!! slowly but surely! smiles, jami
I wasn't offended. I mean, don't use the bleach, if you feel it is best. I just don't see any harm in it. It's your house, and you can use whatever you want on your laundry. I just wanted to state why I DO use bleach, and that it isn't the horrible poison that some beleive. I wouldn't drink it, but I will use it on thing which have been stained with shit or vomit. If you don't want to use it, it's up to you. But it really isn't all that harmful. One more point to make, ALL paper diapers and pull ups have been BLEACHED, with chlorine bleach, to make the paper white, and they are not as rinsable as cotton it. So if you DO want to completely avoid bleach, stay AWAY from disposable diapers and "pull ups" and "good nights" type training underpants and sanitary napkins and tampons totally. Bleaching cotton doens't form dioxin, bleaching paper pulp does. So, if you are going to stay away from bleach, just be consistant. At least in your home, you have control over how much, what type, and how well it is rinsed. You don't have this control with store bought paper underwear of any kind.
i have cloth diapered 4 now and i have used bleach. though i try not to use it everytime as i have always heard that it breaks down the cotton fibers. so i never wanted to destroy the diapers. i also use things like vinager to neautralize the acidic urine and borax for extra cleaning. i mostly use borax for cleaning. but if i don't think there rinsed so well i'll run the washer without anything added again.
