Disinfecting Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers will be cleaned completely by laundering in a wash cycle that uses an amount of detergent and a water level appropriate for the laundry load’s size and (heavy) soil level. Skimping on detergent (for fear of detergent build-up) and using too little or too much water are some of the most frequent causes of smelly diapers in our customer support history files, so think twice before heeding advice that sounds counterintuitive.

Cloth diapers really shouldn’t need anything more to disinfect them on a regular basis, but sometimes (pretty infrequent) when disinfecting cloth diapers we recommend adding disinfectant additives to their wash cycle. For example, when a child has had a yeast rash or bacterial infection, either of which is typically diagnosed and treated by a physician, it is important to disinfect the diapers so that the infection won’t be continually reestablished.

To keep the solution simple, switch to a disposable diaper until the rash is fully cleared for at least 48 hours. In the meantime, you should be treating cloth diapers for yeast or bacterial infection, as well as any wipes and wet bags that have been exposed to the yeast or bacteria, either by use on your baby or by being laundered with diapers that have been in contact with the infection-causing bacteria. You can disinfect them by washing your cloth diapers with a small amount of bleach (see instructions below.) If you need to use bleach, it should be very periodic, as it can void your manufacturer warranty if used frequently. Make sure to contact your manufacturer if you have concerns or questions about bleaching cloth diapers.

To bleach your diapers, add 1/4 c (for an HE machine bleach dispenser) to 1/4-1/2 c (for a standard top-loading machine depending on volume of water) of a chlorine bleach disinfecting solution to a warm wash cycle after washing with your regular detergent. Do not mix with other laundry additives. Bleach is less effective in hot water, so make sure to use warm water instead. Even if you do not normally need to add an extra rinse to the end of your cloth diaper wash cycle, you might consider rinsing once additionally to ensure that bleach does not come into contact with your baby’s delicate skin.