can I go longer than 3 days without washing cloth?

[sociologygeek]

Ok, so I've been washing my cloth diapers with a hand cranked machine the very night I use them, and that was ok at first but then when i started using cloth more often, and the amount of diapers to wash at oen time grew, I might be on teh verge of burnout. Would it be ok to go wash every few days? I know ive read 3 days is the max, but have some gone longer than that? what say you all? Can one wait a week to do diaper laundry?

[justej]

You have way more patience than I do rob.

[sociologygeek]

You have way more patience than I do rob.

Well, maybe.. I just hate to have spent all this money on cloth and this washing machine only to find that handwashing often is not as practical as i htought it would be. But im not giving up. Everyhting else in my cloth routine has worked suprisingly well, even the flat diapers and the snappis. I was really nervous and unsure when trying out the snappis. I knew that pins wouldnt cut it.. but i knew if I could figure out how to fold and put on a flat diaper, I could try a snappi. It took many hours of trying folds with fleece blankets before I even worked up the courage to buy 3 flats and snappis and boingos. I must have shed at least a pound trying to get a simulated flat on. At one point I was using gorilla tape to put the blanket diaepr on. I just got so sick and tired of all the waste of disposables, and the recurring cost, and the nail in the cofffin was when I had a disposable fall apart on me and had no backups and my dad wasn't willing to bring more diapers to work for me. That was my wake up call that cloth was more desirable. So far it has panned out better than I had hoped.

Peace out!

Rob

[JDinVirginia]

When I wore cloth exclusively, I washed them every three days to avoid the odor buildup of the stored used diapers. IMHO, I think a week would be a bridge too far (way too far).

Would a compromise be of any use to you, e.g., wearing some disposables along with the cloth?

--John
(double incontinent)

[Rope_Wrench]

Hello Gang,

Just saw this post and I thought i would leave my $.02 and experience. I wait till I have 6 cloth diapers to wash before I throw them in the washer. Waiting a week is fairly common for me but I have a system I use that has been very effective in getting them fully clean and not have any lingering odors. I have a tub I soak them in that has water and about a cup of vinegar. That has worked great to keep things in check. The tub I use also has a lid I use so that may help the smell from getting out while I wait to have enough to make a load.

Hope this helps

Rope