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Laundering
We like to suggest a cold water rinse followed by a wash cycle on Hot (not sanitize!) and a final rinse in cold water. Be sure to use a reduced amount (appoximately 1/3) of the recommended amount of detergent to limit reside which can hamper your diaper’s absorbency and may cause skin irritation. Most leaks are caused by residue buildup on diapers.
As with all fabrics, the gentler you are with your laundering, the more longevity the fibers will have. Our Fleece and PUL manufacturers suggest drying on low heat or tumble dry as this is the most gentle on the fabrics.
Products without an inner cotton core such as wet bags and pocket diapers, should only be dried on low heat or hung dry.
Cotton Terry Inserts for pocket diapers and wipes should be laundered separately from diapers for their first wash as terry will give off lint for the first few washings. While it will not damage your diapers, the lint may cling to your diapers which is referred to as secondary pilling and will eventually wear away.
The Scoop on Detergents
What to Look For in a Detergent
At best, a detergent to be used on your baby's diapers would NOT contain enzymes, dyes, perfumes, optical brighteners or any other component designed to be left on your diapers after washing.
Specialty detergents with fabric softeners or wrinkle guards will not be suitable; however, a detergent with non-chlorine bleach or oxygen bleaching capabilities may be fine. And just to be clear, soaps are not detergents, and soaps are generally not suitable for washing diapers.
Top Mainstream Detergent Pick
The top mainstream detergent that we recommend is Tide in all forms. Over the years Tide has proven itself to be one of the most stable and readily available detergents on the market. The HE variety for HE machines has been the one detergent that our customers have not reported build up problems with.
Top Environmentally Friendly Detergent Pick
Our favorite top environmental detergent is Country Save. Country Save has no enzymes, brighteners, scents or dyes. Country Save is one of the few environmentally safe detergents that our customers have stated works wonderfully for their heavily soiled work clothes as well.
Some other environmentally safe detergents that we recommend are:
- Allen's Naturally Powder/Liquid Standard & HE compatible
- Mountain Green Free & Clear Standard & HE
- Nellie's All Natural Laundry Soda Standard & HE
- Planet Ultra Liquid
- Planet Ultra Powder Standard & HE compatible
- Planet 2X Ultra Standard & HE
Detergents to Avoid
Natural soaps often contain various oils. These should NOT be used because they will leave a residue on fleece, causing it to repel liquids.
The use of any of these detergents listed below will void the warranty of our products. The use of any free and clear formulas may cause a waxy build up that will cause the diapers to repel and no longer work. We also very specifically do not recommend the use of Sportwash, Sensi-Clean, Charlie’s, due to the possibility of severe burn like reactions that can happen the first time of use or months after successful use. Due to the nature of these detergents the use of them will void all warranties of the Happy Heinys products. The use of chlorine bleach will also void all warranties and can lead to the breakdown of the waterproof layer of our fabric making the diaper unusable.
Avoid:
- Dr. Bronner’s Soap
- 7th Generation
- Bio-Kleen
- Ivory Snow
- Dreft
- Charlie’s
- Any ALL free detergents
- Sport-Wash & Sensi-Clean have the potential for detergent burn in babies.
Never use fabric softener of any kind on reusable diapers. Liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets both leave a waxy residue which causes fleece to repel urine and decreases the absorbency of other diapers.
Diaper rash creams can also cause repelling. For best results either place a small wash cloth on top of the fleece or use a liner. |
