Flats Handwashing Challenge: Day 4

Today is Day 4 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge, hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. This year, there are over 450 participants from around the world. I'm at the halfway point in this year's challenge and it's going very well. I had once Snappi failure that resulted in a damp patch on the floor, but it would have happened had he been wearing a prefold instead so I'm not blaming the flats!

The washing isn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. My Hillbilly Washing Machine speeds up the process and gets them really clean without a lot of effort. My hands, however, would like me to invest in a pair of rubber gloves, as wringing out so many wet diapers has left them a bit chapped.

My wash routine is pretty simple:

• put wet diapers in wet bag for storage until washing
• dirty diapers set aside until I can shake solids from the fleece liners (works better if you wait a bit)
• in the evening, I put the diapers into the wash bucket to soak in warm water for 10 min
• drain, then fill bucket 2/3 full with very hot water and add 1 tsp of Nellie's washing soda
• agitate the diapers with the plunger for 5minand let them sit in the hot, soapy water for awhile (maybe 10-20min) while I do other stuff
• agitate the diapers for 5 more minutes, then drain and fill 1/2 full with warm water for rinsing
• drain the rinse water and fill it 1/2 way with cold water for a final "clear" rinse
• wring out the diapers and hang on the line

All dressed up in hanknit wool shorties for work!

They get extremely clean, but this isn't the most water-efficient way of washing. If I were to do this on a regular basis, I'd probably rig up a system to collect and filter the rinse water for reuse. As it is, I'm washing in the bathroom so (other than my first wash) the water is just going down the drain. The process isn't terribly time-consuming, as most of the time is soaking.

We put them under a favorite pair of wool shorties for work yesterday. Super trim!

Today we're going to try coverless with a Snappi to hold it together -- we've some tie-dyed flats we're itching to show off! ;)