The First Step

You just got all your new diapers and accessories. The first step is to wash all the diapers, doublers and liners. This is to remove finishes that are added to the cloth as well as any excess strings from cutting. If you don’t remove these the diapers will be less absorbent and also irritate your baby’s skin.
Cotton and cotton blends that are unbleached need to be washed and dried at least 4 times before using them on your baby. This is because natural cotton has oils that need to be washed away before touching your baby’s skin. Unbleached fabrics are not absorbent and actually will repel liquids before they are washed. It takes several washings to remove the oils from cotton leaving them soft and absorbent.

Soaking or Not Soaking
We are always asked about whether to add solutions in a diaper pail to soak diapers. It’s actually a matter of preference. There are some parents that prefer to use the “wet pail” method to soak diapers prior to washing. Other parents prefer using a “dry pail” and place the wet and rinsed diapers in the pail.

Rinsing Soiled Diapers
This is the part of using cloth diapers that is the least desirable, however, it is necessary. There are two ways to rinse soiled diapers. The first ways is to “swish” the soiled diaper in the toilet to remove most of the soil. The next step is to rinse off the remaining soil under running water then rub the cloth in a scrubbing motion. The second way is to shake off the remaining soil in the toiled and throwing the diaper in a pail and let the washer do the rest.

Treating Stains on Diapers & Covers
Stains cannot be avoided with cloth diapers. The best thing to do is to rub the stained area with white hand soap. This is great to use on diapers, covers even wool. Just rub the soap on the stained area the rub then gently rub the cloth together and rinse thoroughly.

Washing Wet & Soiled Diapers
Another popular question is how to wash the diapers. There are several different ways to wash diapers. The most recommended way is the “four fold” method. First either rinse or pre wash the diapers, liners and wipes in the washer in cold water. This prevents stains from setting. The second step is to wash the diapers on the longest cycle in either warm or hot water using half a cup of baking soda along with a half a cup of mild detergent. The third step is to rinse the diapers a second time using about a half a cup of one cup of white vinegar in the rinse. The fourth step is to dry the diapers on either regular or permanent press or hang them outside in the sun.

Caring for Diaper Covers
The best way to care for soiled diaper covers is to immediately rinse them before washing. The washing instructions vary for diaper covers and it is recommended to follow what the manufacturer suggests. Most cloth covers can be washed in warm water along with other laundry. Line drying is always the best way and also extends the life of the diaper covers.

What to Avoid
Always avoid chlorine bleach, detergents with bleach, fabric softeners, borax, pure soap products like Ivory Snow and harsh detergents like Tide.



The key to using cloth diapers at night is to determine how much, if any, extra absorbency your baby will need to make it through the night. Usually a tri-fold soaker and a Foldable Booster is plenty, but it will depend largely on your baby’s wetting habits. If they are a very heavy night time wetter, you can add a 100% cotton terry washcloth, boosters, another tri-fold soaker (if doubling the soakers you might want to fold them in half instead of thirds), or even an infant prefold. The nice thing about our AIO’s is that is it so easy to customize the absorbency by just folding extras into the soakers. 




Solid waste should always be rinsed off a diaper prior to storage. This step is optional if the baby is breastfed. Diapers that contain only urine do not need to be rinsed if you do laundry every 1-2 days. Remove as much solid waste as possible from the diaper, rinse in cold water, and put it the diaper pail until wash day. Alternatively, use your tub or laundry room sink as a rinse station

Cloth baby wipes are another way to keep harsh chemicals away from our babies and to save money all at the same time. Disposable wipes are expensive, and even the more “natural” ones contain harsh chemicals. You can wash the wipes right along with you cloth diapers. Little Lambs Baby Wipes come in soft 100% cotton and hemp fabrics. Cloth baby wipes are great for baths, runny noses, and a million other uses. We just run them under warm water before the diaper change, or whip up one of our easy Baby Wipe Soultions. 



Definitely. The key to successful cloth diapering when away from home is a well stocked and organized diaper bag. Depending on the length of time you will be out, you should make sure to take along plenty of diapers. Use Little Lambs AIO’s with a Super Booster or a Foldable Booster for extended wearing time. Make sure that you have some cloth wipes, and some empty zip locking plastic bags (for dirty diapers) in your diaper bag. It is as easy to change a cloth diaper when you are out as it is when you are at home. If you want poopy diaper clean up to be easier, you can even use flushable liners when you are out. 


The production of disposable diapers consumes an inordinate amount of resources and energy adding 2.8 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper to landfills annually. Besides filling dwindling landfill space, disposable diapers endanger health and the environment. The potential for disease to spread via ground water has also been cited.

The average disposable wearing baby will create two tons of bio-hazardous waste that will sit in a landfill for hundreds of years.
It takes a Billion trees every year to produce disposable diapers for the Earths’ children.

Washing cloth diapers is really quite easy. Wash and dry on hot with a detergent! Please see our Care Guide page for detailed instructions.

Yes, you can. Talk to your daycare provider and show them the AIO’s and how easy they are to use. Just tell your daycare provider that instead of folding up a disposable diaper and tossing it in the trash, they can fold up your cloth diaper, put it in a zip lock bag and give it back to you. You can take care of the rest when you get home. Or, to make things even easier, you can use flushable liners while your baby is at daycare.

Cloth diapered babies potty learn an average of a year earlier than their disposable wearing peers.