WHY YOU SHOULDN'T STRESS ABOUT DIAPER LAUNDRY

I'm writing this post for my April Mommy friends and anyone else who might find this helpful.  Yes another laundry post but this is about reassurence and explanations. Hope it helps.

First of all stop stressing. You all have being doing your own laundry for years with nice clean clothes as a result.  Cloth diapers are the same thing with just a few differences.

First a diaper load tends to be smaller then a regular laundry load so you need less water and less detergent.  I'm not saying to skimp on detergent just make it and the water match the laundry load.  Also if you have access to a top loader use that, they clean laundry better, all laundry.

Next difference. This is laundry that has been pee'd and pooped in; Rinse it and wash often.  If your kid pee'd their pants your first step would be to rinse right?  Same thing.  If you wash every 2 days then a lightly pee'd in diaper is fine but a heavily pee'd in diaper needs rinsing and so does a poo diaper, even ebf poop. diapera 6-8 layers thick? Rinse every single diaper.  The thicker the diaper the harder to get clean. If you use diapers with synthetic fabric rinse every single diaper.  Many synthetic fabrics dont wash as clean and microfiber was designed by the cleaning industry to trap germs.  So rinse right away.  Personally I won't use most of them especially microfiber. 

Another difference, the biggest difference is that diapers are washed every 2 days on average.  To break that down it's like this: If your baby wears an OS and potty trains at 2 years old then your diapers have gone through 365 washes.  The average piece of clothing will have been washed weekly.  That's 104 washes (significantly less washes).  So unless you wear your favorite shirt every other day no other laundry item goes through this.  The effect is fabrics wear out.  That's a reality of all fabrics.  Wash your favorite shirt every 2 days and it will wear out. 

Bleach:  for all the of above reasons bleaching your diapers is a bad idea.  Imagine bleaching a shirt every month.  It's not gonna last.  You have the laundry knowledge to know this. The only time I recommend bleach is 1. If you get ammonia.  2. If baby has a yeast infection. 3. Before using second hand diapers unless it was bleached prior to sale. 

Sunning.  Ever hung laundry to dry outside?  Then it smells all great and looks bright and clean?  Yeah that's the sun.  Those UV rays kill bacteria and bleach out strains.  Wanna bleach?  Sun instead. 

Detergent: You don't need extra detergent.  That will lead to build up.  You don't need less detergent cuz then your diapers won't get clean.  You don't need specialty detergent.  Regular stuff has been cleaning diapers since before you were born.  Except nowadays they have all kinds of new crap in the detergent.  But most brands have 3-4 variations so buy the variation without softeners,  brighteners etc cuz they will make your diapers repel instead of adorb.  And you sure as Hell don't need dawn dish soap or any other weird ideas.  On this note skip bounce sheets for the same reason and buy a dryer ball. 

Speaking of things you don't need.  You don't need advice from someone who became an expert in 3 months and you really don't need advice from someone who is am expert at stripping landry cuz that's someone who dose not clean their diapers well,  Unless they work for a diaper based charity and strip second hand diapers to give them away. 

Know your fabrics: This your mother taught you when she taught you to do laundry, so not a difference, just a reminder. Some things don't handle high temperatures such as elastic and PUL.

Vinegar: vinegar is awesome.  Its been used in laundry for a long time.  Some even use it in their hair to get rid of shampoo residue so they don't get build up.  So guess what? You can use it to rinse at the end of a wash cycle to get rid of detergent residue to prevent build up.  I use after hand washing.And when machine washing I vinegar soak prior.  I also use it to clean out my diaper pail. 

Ironing: like hanging diapers to dry in the sun but dislike the stiffness?  There are two options. 1. Iron afterwards.  2. Throw in the machine dryer for 5-10 min with a damp cloth and a dryer ball or tennis ball, both will bring the fluffyness back to your fluff. 

Hope this takes the stress away so you can relax and enjoy laundry time. 

A PREFOLD THAT'S ALSO A HYBRID FITTED

So if you saw my last 4 posts (part 1-4 tutorial) you'll know I got to experimenting again and made a prefold diaper with a fitted leg that's also a hybrid style (water repellent). It's been on my mind since someone thought I was making water repellent prefolds cuz I decided to call my prefolds "prefold hybrids" meaning it was a hybrid of two diaper styles (prefold and fitted). So to avoid confusion I'm calling them "fitted leg prefolds" or "FLP's" and now I've created their cousin the "hybrid fitted leg prefold" or "H-FLP's".  I've also moved the Velcro tabs so they fit better when baby is a lil bigger (now that my baby is a little bigger at almost 3 months lol). Things you learn as you use something.  I am also preparing to make my next size diaper so I need to test out my new idea to see if I like them and want a few in the mix. 

Because prefolds get folded, I couldn't just cut a rectangular piece of polar fleece otherwise when folded the water repellent layer would be in front of the absorbent layers.  So after some thought I created a T shaped fleece layer

This way when you Angel fold or Jelly roll fold (which is what I do), the fleece isn't in the way. The fleece goes across the back of the bum and up threw the core.

I've got just one made (life with a young baby), and 3 prepped. Last nights H-FLP was tested today but baby Moss pooped in it so water repellency wasn't tested lol.

The leg fit very well so I am happy with that and the shift in the Velcro tab fixed my tummy fit issue. Also the previous Velcro placement on my FLP's ment they sometimes touched baby Moss's skin.

I have 2 potential concerns to test on this new invention of mine.
•1. Will there be wicking at the leg? I will know and post once the other 3 diapers are made.
•2. Laundry: Making a hybrid means using a synthetic material. Now polar fleece does wash well compared to other synthetic fabrics. In fact I rated it high on my fabrics post. But can it stand up in a hand washing routine? Well I'll need to test almost daily for a month to know and I will of course post those results. I'm pretty excited to see how it all works out :)

FITTED LEG PREFOLD TUTORIAL PART 4

FINISHING:
8. •Set machine to zigzag or diamond stitch. 
•stitch around entire boarder of fabric.
9. • At top inside corner of fabric (for H-FLP this is at the top of the T on the all cotton side) place the 1in Velcro loop and the 2in Velcro hoop. Sew to diaper with hook tab hanging over<br>
•repeat on other side.

• sew 2 in loop piece to back of one of the hook side tabs. This allows for overlap on a small waist.
• sew long loop piece of Velcro to outside bottom of diaper in the center. (For H-FLP this is the stem of the T on the flannel-fleece side.

And That's All Folks :) Below is pics of folding in angel fold. To size down amf fit under belly button of newborn just fold down back edge and wing out the tabs.

FITTED LEG PREFOLD TUTORIAL PART 3

ADDING THE ELASTIC:

Ok its time to give these a fitted leg.
4.b, (H-FLP step) place the flannel-fleece layer under the all cotton layer. Pun together at core only.
5. • open up one side along the core. (H-FLP'S: On all cotton layer)

•Place elastic beside core Where we marked for stitching the core at. 4.6in and 11.2in. •Pin.
•repeat on other side.

6. •tack down one end of elastic. I sew forward and backward several times.
•sew down along side of elastic stretching material out straight as you sew. Careful not to sew elastic. Now the elastic is encased.
•tack down other end in same manner.
•repeat on other side.

7. • pin sides of diaper making sure all ironed hems are even.

FITTED LEG PREFOLD TUTORIAL PART 2

LET'S START SEWING :
2.  (If sewing H-FLP set aside the fleece-flannel layer for now).
•Sew threw all layers of fabric along the sides of the core.  I like a diamond stitch but zigzag is good also.

3. • set machine to straight stitch. Sew down center of core
• measure down core and mark at 4.6 inches and 11.2 inches. Sew across core in these 2 places.

3. b, (H-FLP step)
Sew fleece to flannel on fleece flannel layer

4. •Iron 1/2 inch hem (tucking in) on sides of all flannel pieces (including fleece-flannel layer if making H-FLP.

FITTED LEG PREFOLD TUTORIAL PART1 (with hybrid option)

PART 1: THE INTRO:
I'm doing this blog post in parts because my phone doesn't handle posts with many pictures very well.

Also I'm calling my prefolds "fitted leg prefolds" (FLP's) now because using the term "hybrid" confused people.

However that confusion got me thinking: is a hybrid prefold possible?  And after much thought I think it might be. I'll call it a "hybrid fitted leg prefold" (H-FLP's). It will however mean the diaper can only be folded in Angel fold and Jelly roll fold (with or without poop catchers). Again I don't see this as an issue personally since I only use these two folds anyway and having the fitted legs already creates these fold restrictions. 

Will I create other prefolds crossed with other modern diaper styles? I don't think so (but who knows).  Doing the hybrid option means using a synthetic.  I'm semi ok with using polar fleece (windpro is a great brand of this) since it washes well and prefolds traditionally are not to thick and the combination of number of layers, cotton (or hemp) and their open design means they wash well.  I will be testing these out to see how well they wash as I believe this is an important aspect of a diapers functionality.  Again, ammonia should never be a common occurrence.  It should be a one time accident while learning proper wash routine. I will make a post on my thoughts on this and initial reaction and later a long time use post.

Cut & Prep.
FLP: •Cut 2 flannel outer pieces. 14X18 in (width x hieght). Birdseye or muslin are also good fabric choices.  Some people may wish to use 3 or 4 outer layers. I don't recommend more then that and I find 2 is sufficient.
*if making the H-FLP stick to 2 outer layers.
•Cut 2 core layers 5X15  I have one cotton batting and one flannel.  Again Birdseye and muslin are also suitable, as is cotton Sherpa, and cotton or hemp Terry's.   4 layers is also an option but I don't recommend more, and I find 2 is sufficient. 
• Cut two lengths braided elastic 4.3 in inches.
•Cut 2 lengths of Velcro  (hook side)  2 inches and 1 (loop side) also 2 inches
• Cut 1 length of Velcro (loop side) 5.4 inches
•Cut 2 lengths of Velcro (hook side) 1 inch for laundry tabs.
* Velcro is optional if you prefer to use snappies or boingos you won't need Velcro.

H-FLP option:
•Cut 1 outside layer in printed cotton woven or knit. I'm using flannel (obviously printed is a personal choice) 14x18
• Cut 1 "T" polar fleece 13x17"T" top x5 Deep "T" stem x7 Wide (I initially cut the stem at 5 inch wide but think this may cause more wicking around the leg). *My 6yr old cut the T in this tutorial and didn't mention he couldn't find the lefty scissors so excuse the messy.cut lol.

1.•clean your bobbin run, change your needle and thread your machine.
•iron all fabrics
•place outer layer right side down
• place core layers on top
• iron top and bottom edges of fabric over core
Place inside layer over top. Tuck and iron top and bottom edges to match.

1. b, (H-FLP step)
•place 3rd large flannel piece top side down
•place fleece on top
•iron top and bottom of flannel over fleece in the same way you did in the previous step.

MACHINE WASHING WOOL

So today I bravely threw 3 of my wool diaper wraps in the washing machine (top loader at laundry mat) and they came out perfect.   Then I lanolized and hung to dry.  I have been hand washing the covers due to fear that I would shrink my wool wraps.   I am so thrilled to know they do machine wash. :) I hand wash my diapers through the week and machine wash every 7-10 days for the past 2 months with great results (as in no ammonia aka stink).  I'm a happy Cloth mom.  I haven't successfully sold any wraps or covers and only one diaper which is disheartening but perhaps knowing I can machine wash my wraps will help change that.