How Often Should You Wash Gym Clothes?
Gym clothes, unlike your normal everyday clothing, are functional by design and thus require specific care to keep them working
This was, perhaps, the most convincing reason for our family. After running the numbers, our estimated savings per year comes to over $250! This INCLUDES the cost of utilities for the washer and dryer. Extra money in the bank? Yes Please!
Obviously cloth feels better than paper. In addition, many disposable diaper brands use chemical concoctions in the diaper production process. While these chemicals help with absorption, odor, etc, they can also irritate baby’s’ delicate skin. No thanks!
Cloth diapers have come a long way over the years. Today’s parents have all kinds of options to choose from. There are even entire companies dedicated to cloth diaper “technology” (← Yes…Really!) and production
Before choosing the cloth diaper route, we did a TON of research. What we learned certainly helped us decide. Did you know, in the US alone, an estimated 20 billion diapers per year make their way to landfills? Twenty. Freakin’. Billion…Per YEAR. We didn’t.
What should you do with dirty diapers between wash days? The most popular ways to deal with diaper storage are the Wet Pail and Dry Pail Methods.
With the Wet Pail method, dirty diapers soak in a bucket of water until laundry day. Baking soda, essential oils or distilled cleaning vinegar can be added for extra stain and odor fighting.
With the Dry Pail method, diapers are tossed into lined container similar to a trashcan. To reduce odor, baking soda can be sprinkled inside the liner along with a few drops of essential oil.
Pun intended? Perhaps obvious, simply dump any solid waste into the toilet and flush. This is, by far the easiest method and your first line of defense whenever possible.
Disposable liners are available at retailers nationwide. They make cleanup a cinch and keep diapers protected from the majority of stains, smells and similar soilings. On the other hand, disposable liners aren’t particularly cost effective or environmentally friendly. Nevertheless, if they make the cloth diaper process easier they still beat disposable diapers.
A quick dunk in the toilet used to be considered an effective method to prepare diapers to be washed that cloth diapers were dunked in the toilet in order to prep them for the washer. This isn’t necessarily needed anymore.
Attach this bad boy to your toilet’s water valve and voila! It looks similar to a kitchen spray hose and is relatively easy to install If you’ve tried “The Dump” (see above) and the diaper’s still a mess, hold the it over the toilet and rinse the mess downward into the bowl. To avoid splatter and over spray, hold the diaper at a downward angle close the water.
Choose how often you wash a load of cloth diapers based on how many diapers your child goes thru daily, your soiled diaper storage and your odor tolerance. Running a load each day or every other day is ideal, not to mention least stinky option. Obviously, that’s not always possible. Not to worry. You can certainly get away with going 3-5 days if you’d like. Try the Wet Pail Method (see above) if you prefer to wash less frequently.
For best results, consider washing about 8-15 diapers (1-3 days) per load. Many manufacturers suggest washing no more than 24 diapers (3-5 days) at a time.
It’s best to run each load of diapers through the washer TWICE. Start with a cold rinse or soak setting and follow with a hot wash. If odor is an issue, use a few drops of tea tree oil and about a cup of distilled vinegar during one or both cycles. You can pour the mixture right into your machine’s fabric softener dispenser so it will disperse properly.
Cloth diapers can be air dried on the line, a dryer rack or tumble-dry on the low or warm setting. Line drying is arguably the most popular way to dry cloth diapers as sunlight can be especially helpful in getting those pesky stains out.
If you prefer using the dryer, as always, read the manufacturer’s instructions. Some cloths diapers need to be dried on medium or low.
Don’t worry if you can still see faint stains after washing. Diaper stains are tough to completely eliminate just like stains on other garments. To reduce staining, add a drop of Dawn dishwashing liquid, a scoop of oxiclean or washing soda and ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide to the wash.
Bleach will eat away at the fibers and can leave holes in your diapers. If you need some extra whitening power, use baking soda, washing soda and/ or oxygen bleach instead.
Fabric softeners will leave a liquid-blocking layer of residue on your diapers. This will leave the diapers unable to properly absorb resulting in leaking and potentially messy clean-ups.
You may be tempted to bring out the big guns when it comes to getting the diapers clean. DON’T! Stick with gentle cleansers to keep them clean and make them last longer.
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Gym clothes, unlike your normal everyday clothing, are functional by design and thus require specific care to keep them working
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