How to Get Yeast Out of Cloth Diapers
Antibiotics might cause your child to develop a yeast infection, which is basically an overgrowth in the body of Candida or yeast. If you use cloth diapers, this yeast can be harbored in the diaper material and can reinfect your child or spread to your other children who use the same diapers. If your child gets a yeast infection you do not have to throw out your diapers. The yeast can be killed and your diapers will be clean again.
Things You'll Need
- Washing machine with hot wash cycle
- Dawn dish liquid, original
- Bleach
- Vinegar
- Clothesline or window area
- Dryer
Instructions
Soak your diapers in a cold rinse like you normally would when washing them. Use 1 tablespoon of original Dawn dish liquid. Run your diapers through the entire cycle. You also want to wash your cloth wipes, your child's bath towels and washcloths, and possibly their sheets and blankets. Rinse your diapers in the rinse cycle again, until you cannot see any suds in the water. This use of Dawn strips all detergents and buildup from the diapers and really cleans them. Rewash your diapers using the hottest wash cycle your washer has, preferably over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the largest water setting so that there is plenty of water to completely saturate each diaper. Once the washing machine fills with water add 1 cup of regular chlorine bleach. Your bleach should contain no additives. Add half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar acts as a natural yeast killer by attacking and neutralizing it. It also acts as a natural fabric softener for clothing. It'll soften your diapers after killing the yeast. Use white distilled vinegar. Repeat the rinse cycle without any vinegar once the vinegar rinse is complete. Sun your diapers. The sun acts as a natural yeast killer and can also remove stains from your diapers. Hang your diapers in an area of high sunlight for at least three hours to ensure all the yeast is killed. If you live in an apartment with no clothesline available, place your diapers in windows that face the sun or in the car windows. You can also spread your diapers over a blanket on the grass for the same amount of time. If you cannot sun them, dry your diapers on high heat in your dryer for at least an hour. If you do sun, fluff your diapers for about 15 minutes in a dryer to soften the material. Repeat the process if you continue to use cloth diapers while treating your child's yeast infection. Some parents choose to use disposable diapers while treating the yeast, but this isn't necessary. Just repeat the bleaching process a few days after initial discovery of the yeast and about a week after. If the yeast infection returns, bleach again.
