Caring for your Happy Heiny Products
Store wet and soiled diapers in a dry pail. There is no need to rinse soiled diapers prior to washing. The solid waste of older babies can be removed by gently shaking the diaper over a toilet.
Remove inserts from pocket prior to washing. Then:
- Cold Soak
- Wash on hot with slightly less than 1/4 cup of detergent
- You can add a downy ball of vinegar to the wash if desired. I recommend a downy ball because it releases the vinegar at the right time. You do not need to wait by the machine.
- Rinse well to ensure all detergent is removed from diapers.
- Drying in the dryer is allowed for PUL. We personally dry our PUL products on high heat and although we have had prolonged use with these products we have not noticed any break down of our PUL. Drying on high heat can keep your Happy Heiny functioning like new.
Detergents to use:
We recommend Tide, Sunlight, Cheer, Era, and Clout (Costco brand) These are not made with any of the natural oily substances which leave residue on fleece.
Detergents NOT to use:
Natural soaps are often made with oils. These should NOT be used. They will leave a residue on fleece causing it to repel urine.
The following detergents will cause a soap build up. Do NOT use them.
Dr. Bronners Soap,7th Generation and Bio-Kleen.
Baby detergents such as Ivory Snow, Dreft and any ALL free detergents.
Sport-Wash and Sensi-Clean - Potential for detergent burn in babies.
Never use fabric softener of any kind on diapers. Liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets both leave a waxy residue on diapers which causes fleece to repel urine and decreases the absorbency of other diapers.
The use of diaper rash creams can cause repelling. For best results either place a small wash cloth on top of the fleece or use a rice paper/gerber paper liner.
Stripping Diapers:
Build up refers to residue left by detergents, fabric softeners, and other substances used to clean diapers. In rare instances, baking soda will react with certain minerals in water and also cause build up. If you notice a decrease in the functionality of your diapers, build up may be the culprit.
Stripping refers to the removal of residue on diapers. To strip diapers, simply hand wash your diaper with your regular dish soap (gets the oils out), add a bit of dish soap to the fleece, either rub the fleece vigorously together or use a medium bristle dish brush or hard bristle tooth brush to scrub the fleece. Turn inside out and repeat on this side. Rinse very good, making sure that the water runs clear. You may use this method at any time you feel that the diaper may be repelling or as a preventative measure once a week. If you are still having problems, special cleaning agents may be used to strip diapers. These options include a very hot wash using 2 scoops Oxyclean or you may also try a hot wash with 1 ball of RLR (found at Wal-Mart in the laundry aisle hanging on a clip).
Hemp:
Your hemp product has been professionally washed and dried 1 time. It will need up to 8 more washings and dries before it is fully absorbent. When washing you hemp the first few times do NOT was it with your fleece products. Hemp has natural oils in it and the oils can coat your fleece. After your hemp has been fully primed you may wash it with all of your diapering products.
Heiny Huggers™ - Sherpa Fitted:
Wash new diapers before use. You may notice that they produce a bit of lint in the beginning, this is normal for Sherpa.
- Cold rinse
- Warm-hot wash
- Same detergents as the HH
- No chlorine, no bleach, no fabric softeners.
- May be dried on high heat.
Occasionally you may notice that your Sherpa diapers are not as soft after a few months of use as they were when new. All you need to do is rinse the diapers a few times in the wash, no detergent but add some vinegar to the rinsing. This will help to restore the softness to your Sherpa diaper.
