4 Easy Peasey Steps to Care for Your Hemp Cloth Diapers

Showing your hemp diapers a little extra love, will go a long way. Here's how.

In this post I'll cover questions like...

• How do you wash hemp diaper inserts?
• How often should you wash hemp inserts?
• How do you prep a hemp insert or hemp diaper?
• How do you prewash cloth diapers?
• Is Oxiclean safe for hemp cloth diapers?

• My promise to you

I am a mom of four that had the "privilege" of diapering 4 babies (2 boys and 2 girls) - and that came with a lot of mistakes and lessons learned. So in this blog I share the diapering tips and strategies that worked really well for me. My hope is that these tips make your diaper journey super easy - so that you can spend less time online reading articles like this, and more time on the things that matter most -  like your sweet little one. So let’s dive in!

 

• Quick answers

I would love for you to read this full blog, but if you just want to cut to the chase, here’s the quick answers to the questions that are top of mind for you.

1. How do you wash hemp diaper inserts? Rinse in tap water before tossing in the diaper pail. On wash day, wash once with hot water and detergent, wash again with cold water – no detergent, dry thoroughly in the dryer.
2. How often should you wash hemp inserts? Every 2 to 3 days preferably, but if you pre-rinse in tap water, you can wait up to 5 days before washing.
3. What does a bacterial diaper rash look like? It looks like a yeast rash. See pictures below.
4. How do you prep a hemp insert or hemp diaper? Wash 3 times in hot water with no detergent, followed by a cold rinse cycle. Then dry thoroughly in the dryer.
5. How do you prewash hemp cloth diapers? Prewashing is the same as prepping (see answer to #4)
6. Is Oxiclean safe for hemp cloth diapers? Yes. Oxiclean is a type of oxygen bleach (not to be confused with chlorine bleach). Oxygen bleach is a natural, plant derivative product called sodium percarbonate. It's made from sodium carbonate which is sometimes called soda ash, and hydrogen peroxide. Use it to eliminate hard to remove stains and set in odors in your diapers.

 

• All About Hemp

If there’s one thing you’ll come to learn about me – it’s that I love hemp. And once you start using it you’ll love it too. 

Now I told you before, I can be a nerd. So before I get into how to care for your hemp, I want to share a few fun facts that I learned that are sure to make you a hemp evangelist as well.

1. Sustainable - Hemp can produce 250% more fiber than cotton and 600% more fiber than flax using the same amount of land. It only takes hemp about 3-4 months to grow to full, harvestable size vs. cotton (5 – 6 months) and bamboo (3 – 5 years). Hemp uses only 1/20th the amount of water as regular cotton to grow and process, requires very few pesticides, and no herbicides. Additionally, hemp absorbs more cotton than it produces, making it carbon negative.
2. Strong - In addition to being one of the most sustainable crops on the planet, it is also among the strongest. Hemp is 3 times stronger than cotton and 62% more resistant to tears.
3. Comfortable - Because hemp fibers are derived from a plant, they are hollow which means when they’re woven into fabric they provide warmth in the winter and help you to keep you cool in the summer.
4. Durable - Hemp’s natural strength also makes it extremely durable. Diapers made with hemp fabric will last 2 to 3 times longer than diapers made from cotton or bamboo.
5. Rare - It wasn’t until the 2018 United States Farm Bill, that it became legal to grow and produce hemp in the United States. As a result, there are very few U.S. based hemp farmers (2 when I last checked), so China remains the world-leader, producing more than 70% of the world's hemp output. Followed distantly by France producing about a quarter of the world’s hemp production.

• Care Instructions

Now let’s talk care.  Follow the instructions below to ensure your hemp diaper lasts long and always stays thirsty!

 

STEP 1: Rinse - After wearing (especially at night), remove the diaper from your baby, rinse it in tap water, and toss in your diaper pail. This will avoid the urine sitting in the diaper too long and potentially causing damage and smell.

Note: If your diaper has snaps on it, snap the diaper closed on the loosest settings before tossing it in the wash to avoid it getting snagged on other diapers in the wash.

STEP 2: Wash Hot with Liquid Detergent - Run one long hot wash cycle with detergent (preferably liquid).  But be sure to avoid using too much detergent when washing. Hemp is very absorbent and will hold that extra detergent in its fibers, resulting in detergent build-up which will later cause it to stink.

Note: If you have hard, set-in stains or tough odors, add a few scoops of oxygen bleach in this cycle as well.

STEP 3: Rinse Cold - Cold water helps to condition and soften the fibers in hemp. So be sure to run a final rinse cycle with cold water.

STEP 4: Dry thoroughly - Hemp diapers hold on to moisture so it's important to get them thoroughly dry. Any moisture trapped in the fibers will cause your diaper to sour and smell. So put them in the dryer, and make sure they get dry all the way through. Depending on your dryer or how many diapers you have, you may need to run them through 2 drying cycles.

 

• The Bottom Line (pun-intended :-) 

Taking care of hemp is super easy. And with a good wash routine your hemp diapers and inserts can last years (in my case, 7 years and 4 babies). Just always remember to follow these 4 easy steps:

1. Rinse
2. Wash Hot with Liquid Detergent
3. Rinse Cold with no Detergent
4. Dry Thoroughly

 

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Related Links:

• Hemp Overnight Super Soaker ($34)
• Nighttime Bundle ($107)
• Wool Nighttime Bundle ($124)
• Changing the game with hemp 
• Benefits of the Pooters Overnight Hemp Fitted