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Cloth 201: Drying Your Cloth Diapers
November 24, 2013 9:34 am | by
Cloth Diaper Creams

threetierdryingrack1During the summer, most of us have the luxury of drying and sunning our cloth diapers outdoors since the weather is warmer. But during the cool, winter months, most of us can’t.

So what’s a busy mom to do when she can’t dry her cloth diapers outside? Dry her cloth diapers inside, of course!

First off, let’s cover the basic rules of drying cloth diapers. Just because you have to dry your cloth diapers indoors for a few months does not mean that you can do it in the dryer!

bumGenius Freetime – The bumGenius Freetime was specifically designed to dry faster, so we only recommend air drying these diapers. 

bumGenius 4.0 – Since pocket style diapers have an outer shell made with PUL and a thin layer of stay dry material, like suede cloth, you will want to air dry the covers, especially if it has hook and loop closures.

Stay-dry inserts can be dried in your dryer. Just use the tumble and medium heat settings.

bumGenius Newborn and Elemental Cloth Diapers – These diapers can take a bit longer to air dry. You should air dry these diapers, but  you can toss them in the dryer on the tumble and medium heat settings for a few minutes. You don’t want to over dry the diapers and risk losing elasticity, delaminatating PUL or ruining hook and loop. For best results, turn the diaper inside out before placing it in the dryer, to help the absorbent inner layers to dry. Because of the hook and loop closure, you do not want to use a high temperature to dry these diapers.

Two-piece systems like Flip or Econobum should be air dried. Inserts can be tumbled dry on a low or medium heat setting.

Now that you know how to dry your bumGenius, Flip and Econobum diapers, here’s a few tips on how to dry these products indoors.

  • Use an indoor drying rack. Cotton Babies carries a few drying racks; check out the Three-Tier Drying Rack or New Clothesline Co. DUO. Both of these drying racks can be placed anywhere in your house and do not take up a whole lot of space.  The New Clothesline Company DUO can literally hang from anywhere — it mounts to the ceiling or hung from the shower rod while the Three-Tier Drying Rack folds and fits into storage.
  • Hang cloth diapers over a shower rod. This is another great way to keep clean diapers up and away from toddler hands while drying. Maximize your space by using plastic clothes hangers along the shower rod.
  • String a line indoors. If you have a basement, install a retractible clothesline. Just be sure to follow all safety recommendations and find a safe place that is away from little hands.

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Additional tips:  Adding a bumGenius Dryer Ball to your laundry will help reduce drying times. These products are made with 100 percent wool, and gently bounce in your dryer to keep your laundry soft.

Air drying your diapers will always be an eco-friendly alternative that can help save you money in energy bills.

Always be sure to steer clear of regular dryer sheets, as these products contain fragrances that could cause cloth diaper build up.

About the Author

Brittney is a social media coordinator for Cotton Babies. She has three sisters, loves pizza and enjoys listening to obscure bands no one has heard of. Outside of posting on the Cotton Babies Facebook and Instagram pages, she babysits a few cloth diaper-wearing kids and likes playing with her dogs.

Comments

2 Comments

  • Author Rebecca Hamilton said...
    December 7, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    I have the exact same indoor drying rack you pictured!

    I also dry my diapers the same way. 🙂

  • Mukesh said...
    November 25, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    These days cloth diapers are very demand able, but i always use disposable diapers, can you suggest me which diapers are better.