Washing Series, Hand Washing

This topic covers different systems of hand washing.

Why hand washing when it is so much work?

An average conventional washer uses 40 gallons of water per load. If you run your diapers through 4 times you are using 160 gallons of water wash time you wash diapers. An average HE washer uses 20 gallons of water per load. If you need 7-9 cycles with a HE washer each time you wash diapers you are using 140- 180 gallons of water for your diapers, which is not really saving any water. However HE machines will save you money for water on other laundry washing.

I use on average 20 gallons total to bucket wash one load of diapers. Compared to the 160 gallons of water I would be using in our washer, heck even if I double the amount of rinses and up my water usage to 40 gallons (that is a lot of 5 gallon buckets btw) I am using significantly less water to bucket wash than to machine wash.

Add in the fact that you are not using electricity other than a couple of buckets worth of hot water heated and looking at the fact that you can buy all of the supplies required to bucket wash for about $30 (most you likely have on hand already) and you can immediately see the savings.

Other benefit is bucket washing is more gentle and will prolong the life of your diapers significantly, saving you yet more money!

Bucket washing:
You will need:
* 2-3 five gallon buckets
* 1 brand new, clean toilet plunger
* Liquid dish soap, Original blue Dawn, (I prefer an all natural chemical and fragrance free alternative.)
* Borax (optional)
* Washing soda (optional)
* Baking soda (optional)
* Peroxide (optional)
* Vinegar (optional)

Price Break down:
1 five gallon bucket $2.50 (3 buckets $7.50)
1 plunger $6
1 bottle Dawn $2
1 box Borax $3.50
1 box Washing soda $3.50
1 big box baking soda $6
1 big bottle peroxide $1
1 big bottle white vinegar $2.50
1 twelve gallon wash tub $9
 Less than $30 for everything you need.

Remember the golden rule of washing. Water, detergent, heat and agitation.

Water and agitation were the first things used by humans to wash clothing then we discovered adding detergents and heat helped to sanitize and kill odors and that detergents helped loosen and lift soil.

A good average load size is 10-20 pocket covers, or 20 prefold covers, or 10 all in ones, or 10 two in ones, or 10-15 prefolds,  or 10-15 fitteds, or 10-15 flats, or 10-20 inserts, or 10 trainers. If you add in a wet bag it should make up about 1-3 of the above items dependant on the size of wet bag, be it diaper bag sized or pail liner size. Diaper bag size = about 1 above item, pail liner = about 3 above items. You need enough cloth to rub against each other for cleaning action but enough room for items to move freely enough to fully agitate.

Routine:
You will want to wash when you have about a half a bucket's worth of covers and about a half a bucket's worth of cloths (prefolds/ inserts etc). If you wait too long and your buckets are too full it will be difficult to get things sufficiently clean as it will be difficult for things to agitate. If you do not have enough items they will not properly agitate as you need enough items to rub up against each other and again things will not get properly clean. For us this is about a weeks worth since my daughter only wears diapers to bed and trainers when we are out of the house on errands. (I do not recommend waiting a week between washings due to odor and sanitation issues.) This may be a day or two for you if you have a young baby.

Presoak:
First treat any soiled or stained areas. (Any solids will have been removed as soon as you removed diaper from child.)

First wet your item to be treated, then add a drop of liquid dish soap, and using fingers and rubbing the fabric against itself scrub fibers together until mater is loosened and stains fade. You may need to add a bit more water and repeat scrubbing a few times until soap is deep into fibers.

Next take your two buckets.

Separate all your PUL items such as covers, all in ones, two in ones and trainers into one bucket. Put all of your items without PUL into the other bucket, this will be inserts, prefolds, fitteds and flats so forth. Hold out anything wool or silk to be hand washed separately. Fill both buckets with cold water till all items are covered with water and till both buckets are about 3/4 full of water.

Take your clean plunger and agitate both buckets one at a  time by pushing plunger down through the cloth and pulling back up repeatedly. It works best to move plunger around bucket, back and forth and side to side as you work up and down to ensure all cloth get fully agitated. Meaning lifting up and down and moving between 4 quadrants of the bucket, etc. Speed of agitation does not matter. More vigorous agitation just means more sloshing and risk of getting wet. Risk of splashing and sloshing is why it is best to wash with buckets sitting in your tub or sitting outside. I suggest going back and forth and side to side several times to ensure fabric is well saturated and water has moved through all cloth several times.

Let soak at least 20 minutes. This allows urine to release from fibers. The water may well take on a yellow or even brownish tint during this time, dependant on the amount of urine in the cloth, water may smell pungent. Wring out items and set aside in third bucket. Empty buckets.

Washing:
Run hot water from the tap till water is nice and hot. Return items to buckets and fill 3/4 full of very hot water.

Add a couple of small squirts of dish soap (Or if using washing detergent use about 1/4 to 1/8 what you would use for a HE machine.)  to each bucket. This should be just enough to form light suds on top of the water 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. If you add detergent to bucket as you are filling with water it is easier to gauge sudsing and see if amount is right. You just want a nice froth on top. You can now add your borax and washing soda if using. You now want to take your plunger and agitate each bucket well, I suggest agitating for a couple minutes till soap is well circulated and all items are nice and worked through.

Go get a cool drink and let your buckets soak 5-15 minutes.

Now go agitate again. i tend to agitate a bit, wonder off to do something else and go back to agitate each time I pass by the bathroom. I often go back and forth between agitation and soaking for about 2 hours.

You can just sit down and agitate thoroughly in one sitting but I find this more tedious.

Now ring out your items and set aside in your spare bucket again. Empty and rinse your buckets well.

First rinse:
Keeping items separated return to their buckets and again fill about 3/4 full with hot water.

Using hot water for the first bucket or two rinse cloth till you are no longer seeing strong suds.

Second rinse:
This time fill buckets with cold water:

For inserts and prefolds (non PUL items): add 2 tbs baking soda and 2 tbs peroxide. Do NOT add peroxide to covers or anything with PUL.

For covers: (anything with PUL) add 2 tbs baking soda.

Take your plunger and agitate buckets well. Peroxide bucket may become foamy, this is normal. Repeat same soak agitate process you did for detergent, I usually leave them from 2 hours up to over night.

Wring items out and set aside (I suggest keeping them separate). You may note they feel slightly slimy, this is just the baking soda and fully normal.

Third rinse:
Return to buckets and agitate again. You will agitate, wring and re rinse until you no longer see any suds, or feel any film on your items. You should not feel any slim on your items when you wring them out when done. Rinse your buckets well.

Fourth rinse:
Return items to their separate buckets and fill 3/4 full of cold water.

Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your NON PUL bucket. DO NOT add vinegar to your PUL items such as covers!

Fill you PUL bucket only with water.

Agitate both buckets well again and let vinegar bucket soak 20 min up to 2 hours.

Agitate again, wring out and rinse vinegar bucket well.

Fifth rinse:
Return to their separate buckets one last time and again fill with cold water.

Agitate both buckets again several more times, wring items out, see if you feel any film at all if you do rinse again with only water till you feel nothing.

Smell your cloth stuff, is there any odor beyond vinegar? If so reexamine the golden rules of washing. Water, detergent, heat and agitation. Did you use enough water, enough rinses, and enough soak time? Was your water hot enough for the wash cycle? Did you agitate enough? I would examine these aspects first. If they are not the issue and a couple of hot rinse cycles do not cure the issue re examine your detergent, did you use enough, did you use the right kind? Did you have a nice layer of suds on top? If so you can try adding borax and washing soda if you did not. But be aware more detergent means more rinsing and more risk of build up. Build up can also lead to odor. Too much detergent can be just as much an issue as not enough.

Once you are sure your laundry is nice and fresh and clean give everything an extra good wring and hang it up to dry.

I suggest not hanging cover in direct sun as it can damage fabrics and shorten their life along with causing fading. If you have stains that have not come out or if your child has had a yeast or bacterial  or any diaper rash, you may hang items in direct sunlight for 20 minutes up to 2 hours, after which please promptly move to a shady location.

Microfiber, hemp, bamboo and cotton inserts, prefolds, fitteds and flats may be dried fully in direct sun.

Please never place wool or silk in direct sun, certainly never longer than 10-20 minutes.

Please make sure covers only have inner portion exposed to sun and not the cloth outer. While the sun will fade any stains it can also, as I mentioned fade and damage fabrics. Limiting sun exposure can also prolong the lives of covers, both PUL, elastic and fabric. Moving them to a shady spot after 20 minutes is highly advised.

Non PUL items other than silk and wool can be dried in the dryer. Cotton, Bamboo, Hemp and MF. I suggest low heat for anything with MF. If baby has any rash line drying in sun is best for sanitation reasons.

PUL items can be dried in dry on air, I do not recommend machine drying with any heat at all as it can cause damage.

See our drying document for further information on drying.

A few extra pointers:
Bucket washing is so easy a 2 year old can do it, no really!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.396182463826379&type=1

When washing diapers on a nice day, think of washing outside. You can empty your buckets onto your garden plants. Just make sure you don't use vinegar as vinegar will kill plants if it gets on their leaves. Vinegar when activated by the sun causes sever burning on plants. Amazing weed killer but terrible for gardens. It will kill indiscriminately, so use great caution. Simple dish soap and washing detergent will not hurt your plants. Dish soap kills aphids and other garden bugs both good and bad but will not harm plants. If using ona  garden you consum please use only detergents free of any chemicals.

An average "load" of diapers will use 4 squirts of dish soap, 2 dustings of baking soda, a splash of peroxide, a splash of vinegar, and 40 gallons of water. This is not much! I know 40 gallons of water sounds like a lot, but thats 20 gallons per bucket and lots of rinsing. When you think of how much more water you use even on a HE machine and then add in the fact that all that water can go right back into your garden to water your plants leaving 0 waste, it doesn't seem like much at all. Remember vinegar and plants = bad. Natural detergents and plants = natural bug deterrent and happy plants.

Compare the total amount of water used for a full washing in buckets to the 40 gallons one cycle for a Top Loader and the 20-25 gallons water used on the average front loader or HE machine per load. That is only running them through your machine once. Most people run their diapers through the machine multiple times, or at very least add multiple rinses.

Added bonus of 100% human powered. This means a light workout and a lower power bill. I know it sounds like lots of work, but remember a 2 year old can do it.

Also SIT DOWN! Your back will thank you, I promise. If washing with buckets in tub, sit on edge with feet in preferably for best comfort, or out for dry feet. If doing laundry outside, grab a chair and get comfy! It will make your life easier and your back will thank you latter!

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Another member of our group washes her cloth diapers exclusively by hand, here is her method.

She uses Sunbaby diapers and Original Blue Dawn dish soap.

For urine she uses a single drop per diaper. She fills her sink with her daily diaper load about 8-10 inserts for one kiddo, filled at bed time. She sets the pocket shells aside. She adds very hot water, so hot as to be barely standable to hands. Add her drop or two of Dawn. She then gently agitates them with her hands, swishing and squishing. She then empties the sink. She then rinses each insert wringing firmly. She then sets them aside.  She then repeats the process exactly for covers minus the wringing. She does not wring the shells due to strain on the snaps. She then hangs them to dry on her shower curtain rod. She lays shells flat across rod with insides up. She then turns her heat lamp/ exhaust fan on and turns a floor fan facing them and allows them to dry.

For poo diapers, she uses disposable liners. Remove liner, dispose of in pail with poo. Remove liners and lay in sink. Drip Dawn onto poo saturated areas. Let sit while dealing with shell. Repeat dripping Dawn onto poo areas of shell. let Dawn sit on poo spots for 3-5 minutes. Then scrape, scrub, and rub the soap deep into insert and cover. Then using cold water rinse rinse rinse them till all the poo is gone. Then turn water to very hot and rinse rinse rinse some more. Then hang them to dry.

(Poo is easier to deal with when dealt with immediately rather than sitting on diaper for extended time.)

It is a lot of work but it works for apartment living with no washer or dryer, or when traveling. It also greatly extends the lives of diapers as it is far more gentle than machine washing even with "gentle" machines.

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Wool Soakers and Liners:
Wash once a week, when odor sets in or when soiled.
Wash by hand only!
Wash with wool wash or gentle baby soap.

Run tepid water into a bowl large enough for item to float freely. Add wool wash. Gently swish item. Let sit for 5 minutes. Swish again. Gently massage any soiled areas. Turn wrong side out. Rinse in tepid water by allowing water to run over item. Gently remove any soiled matter and work area lightly with fingers. Drain water and gently squish out excess water. DO not wring. Lay on towel and roll tight to squish water out. Hang to dry.

One a month or when they cover begins to leak you will need to lanolinize cover. Inserts usually are not treated with lanolin.

Add a pea sized drop of lanolin and a pea sized drop of wool wash/ baby soap to a mixing container (a squeeze bottle works well), fill half full of very hot water. Shake vigorously till it turns a milky color. Fill sink or wash pan with tepid water. While still shaking vigorously. Check mix for any blobs of lanolin. Place soaker in tepid water. Add mix a little at a time, making sure it is not all in one spot, and aiming bottle away from wool. Rinse container and poor into water with soaker. Gently swish soaker, squishing water through it. Turn soaker over and swish and squish other side. Make sure all of cover has been coated. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain water and gently squish out excess water. DO not wring. Lay on towel and roll tight to squish water out. Hang to dry.

Dry by rolling in a  towel to remove excess water, then hang in a  shady spot. Direct sun may fade or damage wool.

If using wool liner it will be dependant on how you use them whether you want to use lanolin on them or not. Please see document on liners for further information on this.

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Silk Liners:
To ensure a long life and best performance always hand wash silk. If you can not hand wash use gentlest wash cycle and a very gentle detergent. Always hang to dry!

I highly suggest following the wool wash directions above minus the lanolin for best life and performance of silk.

Run tepid water, add wool wash or gentle detergent such as baby wash, gently swish, let soak 5 minutes, gently swish again. Gently massage both sides. Rinse in tepid water. Gently remove any soiled matter, and work soiled areas gently with fingers.

Dry liners by rolling in a  towel to remove excess water, then hang in a  shady spot. Direct sun will  damage silk! Sun and heat can cause sever damage and brittleness to silk.

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Here is a link to our groups document on detergents and washing agents and how they affect your laundry. This can be very helpful especially when hand washing.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClothBumsofEugene/doc/401024023342223/

Here is a great link on hand washing.
http://onefitmom.ca/2012/04/17/cloth-diapers-coin-laundry/

Another great blog on hand washing.
http://www.clothdiapergeek.com/2012/10/how-to-hand-wash-cloth-diapers.html

Hand washing, the how and why.
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/you-what-handwashing-cloth-diapers-full-time-the-whys-and-hows/

Video on hand washing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeWgnJtfcgk

Another video on hand washing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=706n3s4Cb0w

Step by step tutorial on hand washing.
http://www.theaccidentalwallflower.com/2012/05/hand-washing-cloth-diapers.html

More on the why of hand washing.
http://naturalpureessentials.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/how-to-hand-wash-cloth-diapers/

Great hand washing methods including wool washing.
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/washing-diapers.html

Someone in our group was wondering about the fancy bucket set ups with the special plunger and the lid with the hole in the top. The lid acts as a splash guard, but I see no need for this unless you plan to wash clothes in your living room, which would mean carrying buckets of water through your house. It makes the most since to me to wash where your water source is, which is outside or in your tub. As long as you don;t get too vigorous in your washing there is no need for a splash guard as the water will stay put in the bucket anyway. I never get wet from splashing myself, the only times I get wet is from a cover squirting me when squishing excess water out.

Our bucket and plunger straight off the shelf work fine!

Of course if you get carried away and too vigorous you WILL get wet, but use common since and you should be fine. I can also tell you splashing water all over doesn;t get clothes any cleaner than using care to keep your water in the bucket. It isn't hard either, I promise. Remember even a 2 year old can do it. I mostly think the special lids and plungers are marketed to the fad group. Remember people have been hand washing since we started wearing clothes.

I also want to add if you want to bucket wash part time to save money, do it in the summer!!! Kids love washing sweaty clothes while "playing" in the water. Hand your kid the plunger and your clothes will wash themselves.

You also may need to play around and adjust your detergent. Remember you are using way way less water, so you will also need less soap, other wise you will end up with build up.