Drying cloth diapers
In a recent cloth diapering demonstration, a mom asked me how much money we spend on energy to dry cloth diapers. I didn’t have an answer for her - I honestly have no idea. I know we do use more energy drying diapers than before we had children (although the extra cost still doesn’t come close to what we would be spending in disposable diapers - I do know that much!).
She got me thinking though… I cloth diaper because it’s a money saver, it’s better for my babies skin, and it helps preserve our environment. Drying diapers in my dryer is easy and fast, but there are other ways I can go about it. I’m ok with going out of my way if it means saving money or helping our environment. That’s why I recycle, compost, breastfeed, etc. and live a natural lifestyle to the best of my ability. So I can improve my diaper drying!
Hanging diapers outside to dry isn’t exactly an option right now, but hanging them in my bathroom is. I collected all of the hangers in our home that are for hanging pants - with the clips on the end - and a few regular plastic hangers. I clipped a diaper to each of the diaper clips, and velcro’d or snapped my remaining diapers/covers on the regular hangers.
They may dry stiff because I didn’t add vinegar to the wash cycle (it acts as fabric softener). So I may put them in the dryer for a few minutes to fluff. This has motivated me to do the same thing with our regular clothing… Why didn’t I think of this sooner? We use an environmentally friendly detergent, have done away with fabric softener and dryer sheets (Though I hear Shaklee has a nontoxic and biodegradable option I’m dying to try!) and now we’ll save some energy by hanging most items to dry.
I would like to offer one word of caution: if you have a very thick diaper, it may be helpful to dry it so it does dry completely and not develop mold within the inner layers if it stays moist.
If you use cloth (or heck, avoid using your dryer for everyday clothes), I’d love to hear your ‘alternative’ drying ideas!