Having a baby means having a lot of laundry to take care of. Here are a few guidelines to taking care of that seemingly tedious part of the job.
Cloth diapers can become a laundry problem if you neglect to rinse them thus letting stains set in. Wash only about 18 diapers at a time, because overloading will not allow the diapers to get thoroughly clean. Wash diapers in hot, soapy water. You may add bleach if necessary daily or ever two or three washings to remove stubborn stains. When using bleach, run diapers through a second, final rinse, adding one-half cup of vinegar to the water to be sure there is no soap or bleach residue left in the diapers. Note: Using fabric softener too often will cause the diapers to be less absorbent.
When clothes are stained with formula and stains are left to set, they become permanent. No amount of bleach or magic formula will remove them. This is why it is very important to try to remove the stain as soon as possible.
To remove formula and other stains from baby's clothing, soak the clothes in all-fabric bleach (also called non-chlorine bleach) that contains enzymes. Look for it on the shelves where laundry products are sold. Follow the directions on the back label for amounts to use. Use this type of all-fabric bleach on a daily basis and you will find the laundry will be cleaner. But always rinse well, so the bleach doesn't remain in baby's clothing.
Diapers will be soft if you soak them as soon as you remove them in a solution of borax and water according to the directions on the box (about a handful or so of borax to a diaper pail of cold water). Always rinse off feces in the toilet bowl before soaking.
Soaked diapers (and milk-stained undershirts that have been soaking in borax water with them) can be dumped into the washer after you pour off any excess water from the pail into the toilet bowl. You don't have to wring out or even touch the diapers; the washer will do that for you. Put the wash through a cold-rinse cycle with a bit more borax, and then wash through the heavy-duty cycle in the hottest water available with a mild detergent or soap. With some washers, you need to add a second complete rinse to get all of the detergent out. Most of the time you won't need fabric softeners with this system and will have absorbent and odorless diapers.
Using a diaper liner will help cut down on stains. You can purchase them or make your own, using soft, washable, and reusable material cut to fit. Or, for disposable diaper liners, cut to size handy disposable dishcloths.
Keep an unwrapped bar of soap handy near baby's changing table. It makes a great pin cushion and the soap helps the pins slide easily through the cloth diaper.
Disposable diapers have mostly replaced cloth diapers, however. Then you have no need to worry about washing or getting them clean. One disadvantage is that there are some that have tabs that won't stick, so you must be sure you have a diaper that is well secure.
Diaper wipes are also great! This means no more stacks of dirty, wet washcloths to deal with each day.
Turn the baby wipes container upside down when not using to keep the top wipes moist. Store new containers of wipes this way too.
This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names.
