~Care of Rumpters~

Preparing your Cotton Designer AIO for the first wear.

Cotton AIO's are a little bit different than the regular polyester AIO. As you may or may not know, polyester does not conduct liquid as does cotton. To become waterproof it has to go through the same laminating and coating (with a water resistant coating AKA: DWR) process as polyester. Unfortunately, when sewn upon during the diaper creation and after the lamination process, small pin holes are created in the lamination. To rid these pinholes, a hot wash and dry cycle prior to wear is completely necessary. You will have leaks if this is not done first. Of course, if this step is skipped, it will be taken care of in the first wash cycle after wear. We only recommend you do this because we do not want you to have a false sense of failure if tried before washing. Once washed, this diaper will stand up to anything you throw at it! If after 20 or so washes you notice it is starting to leak around the edges, try recoating the diaper with a water resistant spray available in your local stores camping department. Just follow the directions and the diaper will be like new! This works for any PUL'd diaper.

How to Wash Your RumpWrap Diaper Covers

How to Wash Your Hemp Diapers

The Simple Version:
1. Remove solids into the toilet
2. Rinse diapers in a cold rinse
3. Wash on Hot with a double rinse cycle
4. Hang to dry (preferred) or dry in dryer

The More Complex Version (for those who are more inquisitive or have other issues):

1. Empty solid waste into the toilet before putting in the washing machine.
2. The best suggestion I have heard for dirty diaper storage is to keep your washer filled to a low level with water and continually throw your dirty diapers in during the day or use a bucket filled with water ~ this is called a wet pail. Empty and refill your washer or bucket with water periodically (at least every 12-24 hours!!) to get rid of the waste water and to help keep any elements from setting in the diaper.
3. If you cannot or do not want the diapers sitting in your washer all day, place in a wetbag or dry pail and set aside until laundry time. I suggest not leaving soiled diapers for longer than 3 days.
4. When ready to wash, rinse your diaper with cold water allowing the diaper to fully rinse before the actual wash cycle.
5. Wash your hemp diapers in hot water with desired laundry detergent. Do not ever use fabric softener since it is known to reduce the absorbency of the diaper by coating the fibers.
6. Do a final double rinse and I suggest an extended spin cycle to reduce drying time.
7. Either hang to dry (which is the preferred method for diaper longevity) or dry in the dryer, but never insert a dryer sheet as it too will effect the absorbency of the material.

Please note that your diapers will periodically need to be stripped of left-in laundry detergent or deep down oils and grime. To do this you can wash in plain water several times checking during the agitation cycle for any bubbles. You will know when all the soap is eliminated because there will be no bubbles in the agitated water. You can also use soap offered or recommended by many of the diaper sites to reduce or eliminate build-up. If you do find that your diapers are carrying an odor still, it usually has to do with the water type you have and the detergent you use. Some detergents are harder to get out of soft water or hard water and may just be reaking havoc on you through unpleasant odors. Be open to trying different kinds of detergent to find what is best suited for you. Every location and water supply is different!

If you notice after many washings that your PUL is not as waterproof as before, try purchasing DWR (water resistant coating spray in the Wal-Mart camping section) and applying to PUL as directed.

More on Odors: Because Hemp is a favorite material for nighttime wear due to its incredible denseness and absorbency, you may use it so often that you find your child waking up with an unusual vinegary odor. This can be due to two different things, detergent build up as discussed above or it may not be getting fully clean. To ensure it is getting fully clean, consider placing a pot of boiling water in your hot wash cycle to make sure the water is getting hot enough to get deep down in the very dense hemp material. Afterwards, try placing your hemp diapers in the sun for a day or two to dry out afterwards. The sun is a natural bleaching agent and since using household bleach isn't good for the material in any cloth diaper, the sun is certainly the next best thing and has no chemicals to harm your little one either. Note that prints may fade with the suns bleaching. If you have a particular set in stain that you want to get out, try applying lemon juice to the stain before placing in the sun.