Wednesday, May 02, 2012

My Disaster of a Laundry Room

I'm just gonna come out and say it:  I hate having a ghetto laundry room.

Oh yes, there was a time when I had 2 children in an apartment with no washer and dryer and we would have to buy quarters from our employers and then lug dirty clothes and fussy toddlers across parking lots to cleanse their apparel.  I would have killed for my own personal ghetto laundry room during those days, I think.

But now I'm about to have more than twice that many kids, there is no dryer, and mice like to commit suicide in my water catching bucket.  Plus the holes in the floor leading to the basement.  And the hot water not working at all- just the cold.  So I'm taking the liberty of hating it anyway.






Yep, just imagine that room filled with shelves full of tools and bags of potting soil and air compressors and shop vacs and a workbench and some seedling trays.  And my lonely washing machine.  Are you pickin' up what I'm throwin' down here, folks?  It's a disaster.

And I'm starting to think I may not be able to cloth diaper this new baby after all despite the enormous stashes of free cloth diapers that have been given to me by generous friends because I have no hot water.

So.  I hate my "laundry room".  And have any of you in-the-know cloth diapering moms ever successfully washed your diapers in just cold water?  Tell me your secrets!
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42 comments :

  1. If nothing else, I think i'd get a giant kettle and boil the diapers - you could be like ma ingalls outside boiling laundry and handing diapers to dry in the sun. :-)

    I hear that there can be uric acid crystal buildup in diapers if you are not careful that can cause ammonia burn on baby bottoms. From a blog i read:
    http://ourordinarylifeextraordinary.blogspot.com/2012/04/our-dirty-little-cloth-diapering-secret.html

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  2. I have nothing to add about cloth diapering. That's for hippies.
    You know what ELSE is for hippies?
    THAT GROOVY WALLPAPER!
    That is epic. Epic.

    (any hippies I may offend by the above comments, please know that I'm writing this 4 days overdue with what I'm strongly beginning to suspect is now a tweenager, and that part of human brains that stops people from making fun of cloth diapering is currently broken)

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  3. Ugh. Sorry, I have no secrets. I would not recommend washing cloth diapers in cold water. Is is possible to fix that so that you can get hot water? I mean, is there a barrier besides having no $$$?

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    Replies
    1. Well, the $ is one thing. And Tommy not having much time or energy now that he's been landscaping being the other. Poopsicles.

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  4. I second the Ma Ingalls kettle o'diapers thing.

    And yes, that wallpaper is for hippies. Groovy.

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  5. Ack! Here I have been complaining about having to drain my washer through a hose out the window. You need a reno stat! Seriously get that room on HGTV or something. How could they pass that one up???

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  6. We cloth diaper and we wash in cold. There I've said it and I'm not taking it back. We use Charlie's soap and we do a cycle that is wash, rinse, 2nd rinse. We've 'stripped' them two or three times (they've been in constant use for 3.5 years now with 3 different kids) and then we've used hot and washed them a few times in a row. If/when you'd need to do that you could either boil them on the stove or go to a friend's house or something. We use no softeners or other cleansers or dry sheets or anything in any of our other loads so there just isn't a lot of build up from stuff getting on them, other than baby stuff :)

    And if you have a top loading machine and you REALLY wanted to do a warm or hot wash couldn't you boil up the water on the stove and dump it into the washer with the diapers. Some extra work I realize, but you'll be so much better off financially using those diapers than buying disposable. And seriously I'm SO JEALOUS of you getting free ones! We bought most of ours used and they are getting so. worn. out after 3 babies. (2 currently in them and they averaging 3 wears/week) They are exhausted, poor diapers!

    But really, we do wash and rinse in cold. Any info I can provide, let me know!
    Heather

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    Replies
    1. This is such great news! My washer is a front loader, so the boiling
      water won't work. But everything else sounds super promising!!!!
      Yay!

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    2. Yay Heather! I'm so glad someone is supporting the cold water wash. (Is there a laundromat anywhere nearby for an occasional hot wash?)

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    3. I do the same -- cold wash, hot only for stripping. I add some vinegar, too; that seems to help with any ammonia buildup.

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  7. We strip our diapers a couple times each year in boiling water, so I know it can be harsh on the diapers. You could do a pre-wash and rinse (sans deterg) in washer, then a wash with hot (think simmering, not boiling) in bathtub. Follow with a cold rinse in washer. It would be a lot of lugging around, but it would get the job done. Or, you could come visit me at the lake all summer and use the washer there! ;)

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  8. Eek. No advice, but I feel your pain. I've lived in some tough laundry situations as well....

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  9. I say wash on cold with vinegar in the rinse then if you really need to strip the diapers just soak/strip them in the tub with hot water (after washing). Hanging them out in the sun is great for sanitizing and stains too! You can do it! And if you get really desperate you can come wash them at my house :)

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  10. We've been Cding for almost 2 years now and LOVE it! Baby #2 is due any time and her little bum will be in cloth from the beginning. So - I'm no expert but I've tried a million different diapers and combos. I'm going to be the lone voice that recommends no boiling. Well... kind of. No boiling diapers that have PUL (such as the nb bumgenius - LOVE those!). Once baby is using pocket diapers or prefolds/flats, fitteds, etc... (anything w/o PUL) you can boil those (just the inserts of the pocket diapers). I'm not sure about cold water - but I'm sure it can be done! I would highly recommend checking out RLR for stripping your diapers. I've heard of people managing to add water to their front load washers... so maybe research that a bit? If there is a way that you could add the hot water (and also increase the water amount at the same time) that might work.

    I just did a quick Google search and this thread came up (you may have already found it yourself!)... http://www.circleofmoms.com/cloth-diapered-munchkins/washing-in-cold-water-483626

    Best wishes! Can't wait to hear what you decided to do!!!

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  11. I have a front load washer and add hot/boiled water to the whites all the time. If it's only a little (a gallon) I might pause the cycle and open the door to add it. If I add more than that I just pour through the detergent dispenser. Once the water reaches the seal you don't want to open the door! Trust me...

    Have followed your blog for some time now up here in Canada. I enjoy it immensely and look forward to each installment. Good luck with that laundry room!

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  12. #1 It's sick, it's wrong, but I love the black and white flowery wallpaper! So vintage, sister! Save me a scrap!
    #2 My newish washer forgot how to fill itself with water so I have to hold its hand. That being said, I do have hot water, but have to switch a hose back and forth from cold to hot. Sometimes if it's on cold and I'm lazy I just wash stuff in that and deal with the results.
    #3 I don't freaking blame you about the cloth. I did cloth for like 10 years and recently stopped. I mean, do what you gotta do, girl, but don't tell all those poopie germophobes out there I said that. Lazy and cheap me would just wash them in cold with bleach. Bleach hates HOT water anyway, likes warm, I'm told.
    #4 you rock!

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  13. I don't cloth diaper (shame, I know), but in the old days when I was a baby (yeah it was a LONG time ago), my aunt who looked after many babies, used to boil water in a kettle, soak them diapers for a few hours, THEN scrub them, before chucking them into the washing machine. And we survived.

    Good luck! I hope your ghetto laundry room gets fixed soon. Some day.

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  14. Wow-yours is even worse than mine! And mine is baaaad. It's outside-like we have to leave the house to get to it-which wouldnt be a huge deal except that I can only do laundry at night and am assaulted by mosquitos and daddy longs legs and lizards the entire time. But I dont have that wallpaper. So yours is worse.

    And I say just try them in cold! They worst that happen is that it doesnt work. But even a few months will save you money.

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  15. Get a large electric tea kettle and plug it in in your laundry room. Half fill your washer with hot water from the kettle when you wash diapers and let it fill up the rest of the way with cold. Rinse them in cold water and add white vinegar to the rinse.

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  16. Ooh, that is bad! Time to get Donkey guy an official nesting list like I give my husband :) But the wallpaper does have a kitschy vintage feel, I could actually see it in a remodeled room. As for diapers, guess it won't hurt to try cold! I'm sure it can't be that bad if you pre rinse and rinse after. And don't they say breast milk poop is pretty benign anyway? So maybe it wouldn't be all that bad. I'm so not a germaphobe so it wouldn't bother me too much, I guess!

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  17. nak

    Wah in cold, dry in sun...oh wait, you already do that !

    Some thoughts and experiences. The ammonia build-up that was mentioned can happen but it is not a result of not washing in hot water, at least nt in my experience. You might need to strip the diapers every once in a while but that can be as simple as using vinegar in the rinse and doing a couple rinses or going to a laundromat 4 times a year. Just remember, no water in a washing machine gets hot enough to sanitize your diapers. It's not boiling water in there. It's just poop and pee, it washes off your clothes just fine in cold, it will wash off diapers just the same. Sunning for antibacterial purposes is a good idea but even in the winter when that's not an option it won't be a big deal.

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    Replies
    1. That wallpaper is hideous, apparently I am not "hip" enough to see it's vintage value. But I am a hippy! (I buy organic broccoli!)

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  18. Ooooh, this was flipping timely! I seriously want to cloth diaper the current inmate of my womb, but our washer situation is not so much ghetto as country fried. It works well, but it's in what I like to call the "outbuilding", i.e. the shed. No hot water and no chance of getting it to make hot water. I love the idea of doing the occasional stripping in boiling water or at a laundromat and rinsing with vinegar after a normal cold wash. Happiness.

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  19. I liked the electric teakettle idea too since whenever i use a frontloader for diapers i have to figure out a way to get more water in there anyhow (if you need to trick the machine throw in a couple extra soaking wet hand towels or even soak down a few diapers before throwing them in)

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  20. I'm so glad you received all this advice and encouragement! Yay! It makes me wonder how pioneer babies lived--did mamas back them boil all their diapers? I'd bet not.

    Love the vinegar idea, the adding hot water idea, the line drying idea...

    Seems like you're better off than you thought!

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  21. Well, I am an odd man out - I have NEVER cloth diapered. Not the least bit interested, and I know that is awful. With our first baby my husband wanted to cloth diaper, but we were living in a house that had only a small, hand dug 8 foot well, and we were running out of water all the time BEFORE the baby. So, it just couldn't be. I was thrilled - I had no interest.
    As for the laundry room - I think that will take some Dwija magic!

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  22. My washer is sad, sad, sad. Even on the hot setting (and I have hot water plumbed to it) it's still cold after a fill. I just boil a kettle or a big pot of water and dump it in after it's done filling. It's a front loader and it needs the extra water anyway. I double rinse and put vinegar in the first one. I've never had to strip my diapers and we have no rashes.

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    Replies
    1. So do you poor it through the detergent receptacle? Honestly, it has never occurred to me that I could add more water to the front loader, so these area all brand new ideas to me!

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  23. that qualifies as an emergency in my house.

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  24. Okay, all of this information has been immensely helpful. I already rinse every load of laundry with vinegar, so doing that would be no problem at all. And because I'm a little slow, I had never thought of adding more water via the detergent receptacle. Duh!

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  25. Is your front-loader a HE washer? When I was looking into cloth diapering with an HE washer, and before we moved back home to Mom and Dad's (with their standard top-loader), I thought I had read that washing cloth diapers in HE washers is problematic, because of the lack of water. Anyone have this issue? We're moving soon, but I think we'll get a standard top-loader when we do.

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    Replies
    1. It is a front-loading HE, which we bought when we were in SoCal and had to pay for water. Now that we're here and on well water, a top loader that uses more and that you can add to more easily would probably be better for cloth diapering. But there are so many good tips here in the comments that I think I can make it work!

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    2. I heard someone once say to put an extra sopping wet towel in with the diapers, just to draw more water by the weight of the towel. For what it's worth.

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  26. I am using my cloth diapers some of the time right now at my in-laws and they have a HE frontloader and really hard well water. I am doing a short cold wash with no detergent and no spin then a hot cycle with detergent and an extra rinse. I still find it helps to add a sopping wet towel or something even though the no spin cycle gets them good and wet before I run the actual wash cycle.

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  27. I've got hard water (with a water softener system that I sometimes remember to add salts to), a front load HE washer, and I always use cold water!

    I run the pre-wash setting to get them all wet, then run a long wash cycle with extra rinse. I add vinegar to the 'fabric softener' spot every couple loads (I did it more often when we had a top loader with city water....it doesn't seem to need it that often now). Kiddo #2 with cloth diapers (the same diapers, thank you very much). I always hang the covers to dry. I hang the diapers when I can, and use the dryer on a warm setting other times. They don't stink, they're still absorbent, and yes, they have a few mild stains. (They are diapers, do I really care if they have a faint stain here or there? Nope. Again: Hello, diapers!)

    I've never found the wet soak, the extra washes, the yadda, yadda, yadda that some say you have to do to be worth it. Simple and easy is my game! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Sweet! This situation is looking more hopeful every day :)

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  28. I've been loving following your blog. We have a lot in common, although you are much funnier than I am. We have used cloth diapers for all three of our kids, even when we lived in a cabin with no running water or electricity. Sometimes I washed them in a bucket and hung to dry, sometimes lugged them to the laundromat with the rest of the clothes. Once we built the basement for our new house and had solar power and water, the first thing we got was a washer. I heated water to pour in the washer, but maybe I didn't need to. We have never had a dryer, and the clothes dry pretty quickly hung up inside in the winter with our woodstove. By the way, look into a Staber washer - American made, but a European top-loading design. Very efficient - it needed to be to run off of our solar power. And totally designed to be serviced by the end user - their owner's manual tells you which panel to take off and what to replace if something goes wrong (which it hasn't in 8 years). We have always used disposables at night, because our babies have always slept in bed with us (makes nighttime nursings really easy), and we wanted to be sure our bed would stay dry. (And yes, they did move out of our bed when they got bigger.)

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  29. One good thing about your laundry, it's on the main floor. Mine is in the basement, the basement that may or may not have been the set of Silence of the Lambs.

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  30. tha ghetto laundry room is so funny that i had to comment. ours is bad too...there is always something leaking and my kids swear there are mice down there although i've never seen them.

    i cd'ed for the first 2 and despite all the hippies swearing its the best its really all not that great (sorry hippies). I have 6 kids going on 7--so laundry isn't always a priority to me and dirty laundry sits around for weeks so that would mean in my case poop bacteria sitting around for weeks causing the next plague. regardless... my advice on it is that almost all diapers and covers that i have seen actually say on the packages/labels cold water only so that would be ideal for you and line dry also--if you wash diaper covers in hot and put them in the dryer they lose their ability to be waterproof covers (at least the ones I had were this way).

    first get a bucket and soak the dirty diapers in baking soda and vinegar then wash in cold.

    we have a HE washer too and I think they suck. just my opinion....

    btw where were you in CA? we were in san jose/san fran for 7 years then same thing for us--my husband quit his job and we moved to PA. CA was too expensive.

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    Replies
    1. We don't have a dryer (everything is line dried, even in winter) so I think we're safe on that front, and I wash laundry every single day (with no dryer, if things get backed up, there's no way to catch up!), so we're good there too. Sounds like I just need to get my soak on :)

      We were in inland SoCal- San Diego area, but in the desert. It sure is nice to have rain fall right from the sky on a regular basis...

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  31. AHAHA! I aspire to cloth diaper if we ever again decide to procreate, but I'm totally with ya on the ghetto-fied laundry room. Mine is in the attached garage in a little room that used to house a bat colony. I put in a window for light, and so I could run the water hose to the washer from the spigot in the back yard. (It really is an improvement; when we moved in, W/D hookups were in the kitchen. The CARPETED kitchen. Blech.

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