Learn how to clean cloth diapers with poop on them!
Ewww poop. Literally the worst part of dealing with cloth diapers!
There are some things you can avoid in life, but if you are cloth diapering poop is not one of them.
You might be new to cloth diapering and trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of how to handle number twos or maybe you are a seasoned cloth diaper parent wanting to learn better strategies to make poopy diapers less crappy (see what I did there? :p)
You’ve come to the right place! I’m here to share the tools you need to make dealing with poopy diapers easier as well as break down the step-by-step instructions and some helpful tips I’ve learned along the way.
Let’s poo this! I mean DO this! 😉
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Essential Tools that Make Dealing With Poopy Cloth Diapers a Breeze
When you’re adding cloth diapering to your already long list of baby/kid duties, you’ll want to have all of the best tools for the job. There are plenty of unnecessary doodads that are being marketed for cloth diapers. I want to share with you only those essential tools that I love and use that will help cut down on the time you spend handling poopy diapers.
- Diaper liners – Diaper liners are cloth diapers best sidekick. You can choose from either disposable liners or cloth liners but both will help you dump the poo with much more ease. Basically these liners allow liquid to pass through to the cloth diaper and keep the solid waste right on top. When you go to change your baby, you can fold up the liner with the poo right inside and either flush it down the toilet (if you are using a flushable liner – or you can toss it in the trash if you’re worried about your plumbing) OR shake the poop right off (if you are using a reuseable cloth liner) and add it to your dry pail. My favorite diaper liners to use are these ones.
- Diaper sprayer – A diaper sprayer is another essential tool to have in your poop removing arsenal. These handy dandy gadgets attach easily to the clean water tank of your toilet and allow you to spray off the cloth diapers easily. You’ll also want to grab a splash guard that can be placed on top of your toilet seat to help prevent overspray. My favorite diaper sprayer is this one with this splatter guard.
- Diaper pail – A good diaper pail makes the difference between an awkward and smelly cloth diaper “disposal” and one that is easy, breezy and (relatively) nice-smelling. I shared some of my favorite diaper pail options in this post, but some features that will make for faster changes include a pail that is simple to transport to the bathroom/laundry room and one that can be cleaned easily. My favorite diaper pail for cloth diapers is the Grovia Perfect Diaper Pail.
- Wet bag – When you are on-the-go, a wet bag will keep your soiled cloth diapers from getting your diaper bag wet and/or smelly. A good wet bag will have a strong, waterproof zipper as well as be created from waterproof cloth that holds moisture inside. You can also use a wet bag instead of a diaper pail at home if you want something super portable. My favorite wet bag is the Kanga Care Wet Bag.
Step by Step Guide to Cleaning Cloth Diapers with Poop
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of cleaning the poop off your cloth diapers. Follow these steps to maximize your cloth diapers’ cleanliness and minimize the fuss and bother.
- Head to the toilet and remove solids. If you are using a disposable liner, throw the poop into the toilet and flush, dispose of the liner in the trash. If you are using a reusable cloth liner, shake the poo into the toilet and flush.
- Use diaper sprayer (splatter shield is a huge help here). If you aren’t using a liner, baby’s solids are more liquidy than is desired, or if there are chunks of poop that didn’t come off in step #1 you’ll want to use your diaper sprayer + splatter shield next. Clip the diaper to the splatter shield and spray the poop directly into the toilet.
- Put diaper in dry pail until wash day. You are done with the least enjoyable part of poop removal! Place your diaper in a dry pail until you are ready to launder them. (You can read more about wet vs dry diaper pails in this post…TL;DR I recommend dry pails).
- Do a pre-wash rinse cycle on your diapers, then run a warm wash with your detergent. You’ll want to do an extra rinse with your laundry machine BEFORE running them through the warm wash cycle with your laundry soap. This will help get off any bits of poo that you missed in steps one and two.
- Wash your hands and celebrate with a special mom treat, drink, or nap!
Helpful Tips for Cleaning Poopy Cloth Diapers
There are many tips and tricks that parents learn along their cloth diapering journey. The beauty of the internet is that you can get these helpful tips from parents who know BEFORE you start to cloth diaper! WIN!
Here are some helpful tips to make dealing with poop while cloth diapering easier.
- Meconium Strategy: Use a diaper liner or consider using disposables for the first few days of meconium poops. Not only does meconium have the consistency and color of tar, it is also highly likely to stain those adorable cloth diapers! Save yourself a headache by using liners or disposables until your newborn is past the meconium stage (usually by day 3-5).
- Pre-Solid Food Shortcut: Until your baby starts eating solids, their diapers can go straight into the wash…poop and all! Baby poop before eating solids is quite soft and totally water soluble. You can rinse poopy diapers if you prefer, but your diapers will come out clean and fresh even if they go straight from bum to diaper pail/washer.
- Rinsing Tip: Grab a smaller sized wet bag and bring it to the toilet when you are washing out the diaper. Then you don’t have to worry about carrying a dripping wet diaper back to your laundry room. In fact, buy a stash of cute wet bags (they are useful for a lot of things!) and keep them in a drawer in the bathroom.
- Stain Prevention: Keep a spray bottle of stain remover in the bathroom. If you get in the habit of spraying your cloth diapers as soon as you change them, you’ll spend less time at the washing machine prepping your diapers for washing.
- Money Saver: If you are using disposable liners, you can save money by paying attention to your baby’s pooping schedule. Often babies poop at fairly regular intervals. Write down what time your baby has a poopy diaper for a few days to see if there is any consistency. If you find a “usual” time, you can use the liners only on diaper changes that are close to pooping time and save some money!
- Hand Helper: Between changing cloth diapers, preparing them for washing and laundering them, you will find yourself washing your hands more than you thought possible. I recommend keeping a moisturizer like O’Keefe’s Working Hands by all of your sinks and using it every time you wash. It works as a kind of protective layer to keep your hands from drying out and cracking.
The Final Word
While poop isn’t the most fun thing to discuss about cloth diapering, knowing what works and doesn’t work can save you both time and trouble.
By choosing the best tools for removing poop from a cloth diaper, following the steps I mentioned above and using the tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way, you can make poop removal so simple you don’t even have to think about it.
I hope these tips will make things easier for you! You can read more about my recommendations for cloth diapers in these posts:
Best Diaper Pail for Cloth Diapers to Keep the Stink Down in the Laundry
Best Overnight Cloth Diapers – How to Conquer Cloth Diapering at Night
How Many Cloth Diapers Do I Need?
The Lazy Mom’s Complete Guide to Cloth Diapers
10 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before Starting Cloth Diapering
