If you have been washing diaper laundry for sometime then you have figured out most of what you need to know.  We will just remind you of a few points to give you best success.  If you are new to the whole reusable products and washing training pants will be a first for you then these instructions will be quite important.

Is your child still having poo accidents in his training pants?

Poo should be removed from trainers and flushed down the toilet.  A diaper sprayer o may be a good idea if the stools are not formed.  Add  trainers to the washing machine and run a cold rinse (top loading machine) or short cold wash (HE machine).  Add towels to make at least a half a load of laundry. Add the proper amount of detergent.  Wash on warm or hot.  Dry in dryer or line dry.  (Imse Vimse Brand trainers care instructions say to line dry)

Are your trainers only wet, no poo involved?

Washing peed in trainers is easy.  Add trainers into your washing machine add towels to make it at least a half a load.  Add the proper amount of detergent.  Wash on cold, warm or hot.  Dry in dryer or line dry.  (Imse Vimse Brand trainers care instructions say to line dry)

Rules to Remember:

Choose a good detergent.

If you have been cloth diapering, then you have figured out a detergent that works well for your family.  If this is new to you we suggest starting out with a great detergent.  It will just make washing easier if you do.  For detergent comparisons check out these pages.

• At a Glance

• Top-Loading

• High-Efficiency

Choose a proper amount of detergent

It doesn't take a lot of detergent to wash trainers or diapers well.  In fact it probably takes less than you would imagine.  We recommend using 1/2 the manufacturer's suggestion for most mainstream detergents.  Detergents like BumGenius, Rockin' Green and Tiny Bubbles are formulated for cloth diapers and will give easy directions right on their containers.  For top loading standard washers, people are often using 1 Tablespoon of detergent for a full size load.  For an HE machine, they may be using as little as 2 teaspoons for a full size load.  If you only have a half a load in your washing machine then of course, use half of that so a 1/2 T and 1 tsp respectively.

Remember this simple evaluation.  Trainers that smell bad when peed in probably were washed with too much detergent.  Trainers that smell bad out of the washer or dryer may need to be washed with a bit more detergent.  Trainers that have been fine for months and now smell really awful could easily be the result of mineral buildup.

Do not use fabric softener in either the washer or the dryer.

We do not recommend fabric softener in your washer or dryer sheets in your dryer.  Do not use with reusable trainers and we prefer not with any laundry.  If you just can't give them up, then please avoid them in the load of laundry washed prior to your training pants.

Do not use diaper rash creams while using training pants that are not suitable for cloth diapers.

You don't want an oily buildup on your diapers from diaper rash creams, that could cause your trainers to leak.  We discuss rash creams in detail here.

Do not wash less than a half a load of laundry.

It seems that most washers just do not wash well enough if asked to wash a load of laundry smaller than half of its capacity.  Even if the washer is designed with a small load setting or claims to adjust for whatever load size "word-on the-street" is they just are not a good option of washing diapers or trainers.  So add towels or other clothes at the appropriate time and wash a half size load or greater.