we are going to be drying our cloth prefolds by the woodstove and on the clothseline when the weather is warmer. i want to make sure that the diapers stay soft for her sensitive skin. we use natural biodegradable laundry soap, and vinegar in the rinse cycle. i won't use any fabric softeners or other detergents. i was wondering if anyone else has experience with air-drying cloth diapers and how to keep them from being crispy and scratchy. thanks for your help!!
i guess i should mention that we won't have a dryer at all!
well, we use a very little amount of Biokleen laundry soap for our wash and rinse with vinegar, then an extra rinse.... so it wasn't too much detergent. i think that there may have been detergent remaining in the wash machine from the previous user, so i ran a few cycles with nothing, and then a few with other laundry before putting diapers in again. drying anything by the woodstove makes it a bit stiffer. we found that "beating up" the diapers or rubbing them together (simulating the agitation a dryer would do) softens them a lot. now that the weather is nice, they dry wonderfully outside in the sun and wind. thank you for your responses!
Well, the dryer tips aren't going to work for you since you don't have a dryer! But--less soap, and two rinse cycles with plenty of vinegar (a natural softener) should work just fine for you. The fleece is also a good idea--They now make actual cloth diapers out of fleece too, but the liners should help a lot!
I found some of these tips offline.. its what other people suggested...hope they help
Stop your washer before the entire spin cycle is complete. Having a little bit more water in the wet clothing actually helps prevent them from being wrinkled and stiff.
Use less detergent. Often times, the major culprit s detergent build up.
read an article recently that stated that you should only use 1/2 as much soap or detergent as recommended by the manufacturer. I have done this and it works as well as the full amount. It sounds like there is a soap build-up. The way to cure this is to wash your clothes without soap or detergent altogether (except for the really soiled ones). Then rinse as usual. Take the clothes through the full cycle. I have found that there is usually enough leftover detergent to wash the clothes a second or third time. Try it! Then when all the soap or detergent is gone, only use 1/2 the amount recommended by the manufacturer.
Hot water/whites cycle, half the amount of detergent, double the vinegar, shake them out before you hang them so that they're loosened up. That worked for me.
I love the suggestion of not doing the final spin cycle, and leaving the dipes more wet before hanging them on the line. I look forward to trying that, but I refuse to line dry anything if I have to stand in snow in order to do so...
I'm not sure that would work for you though, if you are drying them inside by your wood stove. One thing I have done to reduce stiffness is to throw them in the dryer for just a short time, and then dry them the rest of the way outside.
If you have problems with your baby having sensitive skin, you could also get some fleece from the fabric store and cut it into strips to put between your daughter's skin and the diaper. It will be super soft, and it will also keep her more dry by wicking moisture away from her skin.
I line dry our diapers in the summer and then throw them in the dryer just for a few minutes to soften them up. Don't use softener - that will create a film on them that will make them not as absorbent and they get plenty soft without it.
Hi JC
I loved line drying our cloth diapers. I hung them 2 at a time, and they flapped into each other and became soft that way. But the tip about fleece is the best, it helps prevent diaper rash. And makes clean up easier when the poo becomes more solid. Just hold each end, aim over the toilet, and pull both ends at the same time. Most of the time it just pops off. If it's still to wet let it sit a while for the diaper to absorb more, and try again.
Good luck on your advanced degrees, those are my fav.
A. H
