All-in-One Diapers:

1. No soaking is needed. When you change baby’s diaper, dump loose soil in the toilet, (breastfed babies’ soil washes out like yogurt so no dumping is needed). Put the wet and/or soiled diaper into a dry pail lined with a Blue Penguin Diaper Pail Liner.

2. On wash day, use the liner to transport the diapers to the machine and turn it  inside-out like a glove as you put the diapers into the machine. Throw the liner in the machine as well, so you never touch any of the diapers. You can just wash as you would any load of laundry or you can run a cold water cycle first to minimize staining and to remove excess soil. A hot water wash and an extra rinse will get rid of any detergent residues.

3. Dry on high heat or in the sunlight to further sterilize diapers.

Blue Penguin’s Elan Diaper Covers and Potty Training Pants:
The waterproofing of these covers and Training Pants is very delicate and should be treated very gently to prevent deterioration. These covers should be machine-washed and dried on gentle cycle, or hand washed, using mild detergents only. No bleaches or whiteners of any sort, and no fabric softeners.

Diaper Covers, Diapering Accessories and Winter and Summer Clothing:
These item should be washed in warm water, without bleach with the regular laundry.

Washing Tips:
We recommend washing every other day. That will give you a full load and the stained diapers will not sit unwashed for too long. The longer they sit unwashed the harder it is to get rid of stains, although there’s no need to worry about slight staining that remains in washed diapers. It is normally caused by pigments in foods such as grape juice and bananas. If your diapers smell "clean", they are clean.  And most stains are where no one except YOU will see them!
 
The detergent and whitener we recommend are Cheer Powder (or Cheer Free) and 20 Mule Team Borax. Use about 3/4 of the amount of detergent you would normally use of each the Cheer and the Borax. They are non-allergenic, safe for the diapers, contain no strong perfumes or dyes, clean very effectively, and are widely available. No fancy, expensive mail-order detergents are needed. Do not use any chlorine bleach or BIZ. Bleach greatly shortens the life of your diapers, damages the waterproofing, and may irritate your baby's skin.