|
Wash them with your regular load of diapers, by themselves or in your regular laundry. They will only need 1 regular cycle to get them clean. Dry in the dryer or line dry. It will only take 1 cycle to dry them. Line drying will make them last longer than machine drying.
If they stain
Staining may occur on the pads. Soaking them in cold water and rinsing them after use can help keep stains away. Hydrogen Peroxide and oxyclean can get rid of them. Rubbing the pads with soap and cold water will get the stains out, this will work better with fresh stains. You can hang them in the sun and spray with lemon juice Stains do not mean the pad is not clean, it has just been stained. You can buy darker pads or printed ones to keep from having to see them.
If you have a yeast infection
You can boil your pads(unless they have snaps) or wash & dry them on the hottest settings possible. Use vinegar or tea tree oil in the wash. Repeat after each use until the yeast infection is gone. Though the soakers are Anti-Fungal, this will ensure that any residual yeast is killed off the cloth.
Soaker Problems
If the pads are brand new, you may need to wash them. I pre-wash all material before sewing however the soakers may need a couple of extra washes to get rid of the natural oils and sizing. Any oil that is on the cloth will keep it from soaking up well. The more they are washed the more absorbant they are.
If you have used laundry softener they may need to be stripped, hand wash in dish soap(Dawn/Palmolive) then machine wash till no suds appear.. The softener adds a coating. If you have not used softener with the pad, but DO use it with other laundry there can be leftover softener in your machines that can put the coating on. Strip the pads.
Smells
They should not smell. If they do you may need to adjust your washing system. Make sure there is enough water and room for them to swish around good. You can add vinegar to the machine which will help neutralize smell. Wash as if you have a Yeast Infection. The biggest cause of smell is from using a soaking pot, try dry pailing them.
When to Replace
They should last a MNIMUM of 5 YEARS! Many women use them for much longer. For an average woman each pad is washed once a month, twice if you don't have many pads. That makes 12 washes a year, 60 in 5 years. Most people wash their favorite cloth items, towels and washing cloths at least 50 times a year and they keep for several years before wearing down.
| 