Washing cloth diapers: Water temperature?

[wayne]

I started a post on this last week but deleted it after I read online website after website saying that cloth diapers must be washed in hot water to kill the germs. They stated that bacteria are killed at a minimum temperatore of 60C / 140F.

But then I re-read the diaper primer and saw this (under the heading "Washing diapers"):

Hot water has not been an option for machines for many years, if yours has a hot setting you are in the minority. Studies show that hot water does little beyond wasting your energy dollars. Warm water allows modern detergents to do their work very effectively. For germs, the hot-water setting on the old machines was no where near hot enough or in contact with the wash load long enough to kill germs. Chlorine bleach and sunlight were (and still are) the primary germ killers.

So now I am confused. Does this mean that "warm" water (or cold?) is ok for washing cloth diapers? What temperature do folks here use?

[Rope_Wrench]

I set my washer for "hot". i dont have an option for the rinse so it is always cold. I will do one wash cycle with no soap to get all the pee and water i keep in my bucket out and then do a second with the soap. When I need to strip mine, I will switch the hoses on the back so that hot water is going in the cold valve and then set it to do a "cold" wash which will actually be a hot wash and hot rinse.

[Patrick]

Using hot water to launder cloth diapers may indeed waste energy. However, in my limited experience, hot water dissolves fecal residue better than warm or cold water. I use hot water wash/cold water rinse, extended cycle, and Clorox. When weather permits, I hang my diapers outside, to let sunlight finish the cleansing process.

[wayne]

Thanks for the replies. I do agree about hot water when fecal matter is involved. But what about when only urine is involved? Would warm water be suitable for washing? I want to avoid hot water if it is not strictly necessary.

[Ellyn]

Personally, I believe hot water kills bacteria better than “warm or cold” water. There again, how hot is hot water and how hot does it need to be? My husband had a tankless water heater put in after our tanks began to leak. Since then, the hot water isn’t as hot, as indicated by the faucet lever location. I asked him why and he said it’s set at 120 degrees, which is 20-30 degrees cooler than the tanks were set. He also said that increasing it voids the warranty, though he might be misleading me... My washer has a “very hot” setting that claims to further heat the already hot water, but I’ve never used it. I guess it makes me feel like my whites are brighter and cleaner (hopefully killing bacteria) using hot water. Also, obviously the chlorine bleach kills bacteria but also shortens material life. I also use Borax, which helps a lot (I think). I need my clothes bacteria free, especially diapers, though I feel like what I’m doing is fine (bright white and smell clean **without fabric softeners**.
Hanging whites out to dry also kills bacteria (UV light exposure), but then there’s the thing about hanging your clothes out to dry for neighbors to see…., even though our nearest neighbor isn’t at all close by. Passing cars can see my lines however.

[wayne]

Thanks Ellyn. I think I will pick up some Borax soon (I keep seeing refs to it). I find it interesting that google says:

The EU has banned borax on claims of impacts on reproductive health, following studies on mice and rats at high (abnormally high) ingested doses.

I don't think my wife and I have to worry about reproductive issues anymore. At some point I should get my thermocouple out and measure our hot water. I purposely keep the hot water temp turned down so that our son doesn't waste energy with excessively long showers.

As much as I like the idea of natural drying in the sun, that won't be happening either. We live in the city with neighbours close by.

[Patrick]

In our small neighborhood, I see hanging my diapers out to dry as my small contribution to weakening the stigma. Although nearly everybody can see them, nobody has said anything to me or to my family members.

[ILuvLA]

I set my washer for "hot". i dont have an option for the rinse so it is always cold. I will do one wash cycle with no soap to get all the pee and water i keep in my bucket out and then do a second with the soap. When I need to strip mine, I will switch the hoses on the back so that hot water is going in the cold valve and then set it to do a "cold" wash which will actually be a hot wash and hot rinse.

RW: Wow ... this is genius! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be doing this going forward!

Patrick: I echo what others have said here. I do a hot-water "prewash" with water only (no soap) to rinse out the cloth diapers. Afterwards, I run a regular cycle and set the HE machine to a "deep wash" + soak with 2 extra rinses. This keeps stripping to a minimum; but if I strip then I 'pre-wash with borax or baking soda'. And I would also encourage outdoor line drying. Even if the weather is cool/cold, that sunshine does wonders! Of course, on hot days, I rarely use the dryer and the cloth wash goes straight to the outdoors.

[Rope_Wrench]

I set my washer for "hot". i dont have an option for the rinse so it is always cold. I will do one wash cycle with no soap to get all the pee and water i keep in my bucket out and then do a second with the soap. When I need to strip mine, I will switch the hoses on the back so that hot water is going in the cold valve and then set it to do a "cold" wash which will actually be a hot wash and hot rinse.

RW: Wow ... this is genius! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be doing this going forward!

Patrick: I echo what others have said here. I do a hot-water "prewash" with water only (no soap) to rinse out the cloth diapers. Afterwards, I run a regular cycle and set the HE machine to a "deep wash" + soak with 2 extra rinses. This keeps stripping to a minimum; but if I strip then I 'pre-wash with borax or baking soda'. And I would also encourage outdoor line drying. Even if the weather is cool/cold, that sunshine does wonders! Of course, on hot days, I rarely use the dryer and the cloth wash goes straight to the outdoors.

LOL, Thanks. Sounds like we have the same routine to have to minimize the stripping needs. Like minds my friend.