This is a guide and information for you who are curious about or have started with Cloth Diapers and are wondering how to establish a functioning washing routine! Washing cloth nappies quickly becomes part of your everyday routine.
In essence, it's simple. Everything with cloth diapers goes into the washing machine. All products from Green Poppy can be washed at 60 degrees Celsius and then air-dried for the best results.
Let's start from the beginning. The diaper is wet and soiled. What do you do? As long as you exclusively breastfeed or provide formula, the poop is water-soluble and can be put directly into the washing machine. If your child eats solid food, you may want to check our guide on "But what about the poop?!"But the poo?!”.
At the bottom of the inlägg page, you’ll also find a video from our YouTube channel about washing routines.
Quick guide to washing routines:
Start by removing any insert from the nappy or separating the insert/flat diaper from the cover. If you’re using a wool cover, you can reuse it as long as there’s no poo on it. If the nappy has a pulp outer layer, it can go in the washing machine.
For best results, wash cloth nappies using a fragrance-free powder detergent for coloured clothes – not a detergent for whites. The washing powder should contain less than 5% soap, otherwise there is a greater risk of detergent residues remaining in the nappies. The detergent should also not contain bleach. When washing cloth nappies, you can use around two-thirds of the recommended amount of detergent; this is also to avoid leaving detergent residue in the nappies. If any detergent residue remains, there is a risk that your child’s skin may become irritated and that an unpleasant odour may develop. In that case, a deep clean may be necessary (read more about this here on our site and here on Blöjupprorets site).
We recommend starting with a cold prewash without detergent to rinse the laundry. After that, run a long cycle at 60 degrees Celsius, preferably with an extra rinse. Depending on your washing machine's efficiency, you may need to run an additional rinse after the program finishes. This is primarily to ensure that all detergent residues are thoroughly rinsed out of the laundry. We recommend a minimum of 1200 revolutions on the spin cycle.
Once the wash is complete, all items are best left to air-dry. However, all Green Poppy products that do not contain polystyrene can be tumble-dried, such as insert, flat diapers and washing cloths. Tumble-dry on a low heat setting. This helps the insert retain its softness for a little longer. When tumble-dried, some inserts may become slightly curled at the edges; this can easily be remedied by running the insert along the edge of a worktop, for example, once they have dried.
All done! And then you're ready for the next wash. Not too complicated, right?
If cloth diapers get stains from feces, there's no need to worry; they won't function any worse because of it. However, stains can also be treated. The gentlest and most convenient way is to lay out the diapers with the stain facing upward, in the sun, and let them sunbathe. You can also treat the diapers with, for example, stain remover soap.
Below is a section from our cloth nappy school on how to wash cloth nappies. Please feel free to take part in our YouTube series where we go into depth about how cloth nappies work! You can also find short tips and clips on our Social media.
Green Poppy is run by entrepreneur and midwife Emma Kajmo, entirely from home in Eskilstuna.
Founded in 2023 during parental leave, born from a love of reusable and sustainable alternatives, Green Poppy came to life. After a few evening courses and a million Google searches (“how to start your own business”), we were up and running.
Read more about Green Poppy here
