Washing Cloth Diapers Ok, I'm ready to get my hands dirty!!...wait a minute don't run away gagging. That was a poor choice of words, its really not that bad. Its not much worse than just changing diapers. And although my husband thinks the "Dirtiest Jobs" crew should be called in every time there is even a threat of poo, we moms know that it just has to be done. And since you're going to be changing diapers anyway-why don't you save yourself some $$ and be a good stuarts of our beautiful planet and put some cloth on those baby's heineys!!!
This is just a guide line to how I clean my diapers. You can make your routine as complex or simple as fits your personality. I say this is a guideline because there is not an exact science to it no matter what; everyone's needs are going to vary and it will also be subject to the condition of your water and what kinda settings your washing machine has. Once again though, I don't find it difficult or very time consuming. When my son was born I was so worried that it would be a hard routine to start that I had a package of newborn disposables in reserve. With daddy's help the routine was started right away in the first few days. I think we used about 5 of those little throw away nappies and never looked back.
Step 1:Putting dippies in the pail. I use a Diaper Champ; the price was right and it was easily accessible at Target(I also see them on Craigslist and at resale stores all the time). I also like it because you can use any kinda bag you want. You can pretty much use any pail you want that is pretty air tight, although I won't suggest a diaper genie. I use plastic trash bags(don't use anything scented, it soaks into the diapers) in mine, and I reuse them for several weeks. But ideally a moisture proof diaper bag would be the best. I have yet to offer diaper pail bags or reusable diaper bag totes on my website, but if you bug me enough I will stop procrastinating about it.
Now, if your baby is exclusively breast feed just roll the diaper up and put it in, no more too it. At this time I make sure that any velcro is where it should be and any poo is rolled inward, preparing the diapers for washing after they have been sitting for a day or two is NOT something I like to do. Some people will say to turn your diapers inside out for washing, I have never found that to be necessary. If your baby is supplementing or eating solids it will sometimes me recommended that you dump some of the poo into the toilet. Don't make this too disgusting, if it doesn't easily fall off then don't worry about it. It should drain easily in the the wash.
Diapers should be taking out of the pail to wash at least every other day to 3 days. Sometimes I don't even touch the diapers, I just put the mouth of the bag to the washing machine and empty it from the outside.
Step2: Washing the Nappies. You should try and select a cycle that has the hottest wash cycle and then a cool or warm rinse. I use two different soaps just depends on what I have and what I feel like, one is Sun-Clean and Clear and the other is a homemade recipe**that I will post below. If you use a commercial soap, make sure it is scent free and as "clean" as possible, Borax is also good. I also use a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle every other wash or as needed to neutralize odor
and rinse off any residual soap. If you are noticing any dinginess, odor or lack of absorbency a diaper stripping might be called for, but shouldn't be necessary too often. Once again I like to keep this simple too. All that is needed is baking soda, put about 1/4 cup in the wash cycle, making it as HOT as possible(you cant change your water heal temperature temporarily). Open the wash when the whole cycle is done, if you smell laundry soap or a bad smell then repeat. When you smell nothing then put them thru another cycle of just warm or cool to rinse. 
Step 3: This is the easy one. When putting diapers in the dryer always remove covers made of PUL. They them out somewhere or hang them over a towel rack, they should dry pretty quickly. You'll probley just have to experiment with your dryer to see which cycle dries them the best/fastest. But my favorite is 'line' drying when it is nice and sunny out. A good sunning, takes out stains you thought would never come out and makes them smell soooo fresh. I don't actually use a cloth line, I just throw mine over a little picket fence. You could use lawn furniture too, as long as there are no dogs or goats around to eat them(sorry- a little Little House on the Prairie reference, hanging clothes on the line always makes me feel a little like Caroline Inglis).Well there you have it. A little long winded, but that's the meat of it, if you have any questions you can always post them as comments and I will respond the best I can or you can contact me thru my website http://www.ecochic-boutique.com/.
One more thing that should be noted: if you are washing new never been used diapers, they should be wash at least 3-4 times before use for best absorbency. You will probley notice maximum absorbency around wash 10.
