Day 3: Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Today is day 3 of the Dirty Diaper Laundry Flats and Handwashing Challenge. Checkout my blog for posts on the other days of this challenge.

Today I am going to share how the handwashing has been going. I have washed two loads so far. The first load was done with Eco Sprout detergent. The second load was done with Ecos, which is a liquid detergent I buy at Costco.

My camp bucket washer and plunger

I started out the first wash load with four covers and nine flats.

Then I filled the bucket with cold water and used the plunger to give a cold rinse to the diapers.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the plunger agitate the diapers!

After that, I added one teaspoon of Eco Sprout.

I added hot water, without turning on the cold tap. I wanted it as hot as it could be.



I agitated the diapers for about ten minutes. My arms were very sore, as was my back! I then did two rinses with cold water.

No bubbles!

I then squeezed out as much water as I could from the flats and covers. My 2.5 year old went outside with me to hang the diapers on the line. He is an amazing helper! He hands me the diapers and pins so I don't have to do any bending over.

The diapers and covers were dry in less than three hours! The flats did not get stiff at all and the two diapers that had poop stains were very hard because the sun had bleached out most of the stains! They smelled fresh and I was amazed at how clean the diapers were. They seemed to have gotten a better clean than my washer gives my diapers!

I repeated the process today, but I used Ecos instead. WAY too much Ecos... After three rinses in the camp bucket, I finally just hand rinsed each diaper. I discovered today that I prefer to wash the flats first and then wash the covers seperately. It is an extra step, but I felt the covers received a better cleaning job that way. Despite the fact that it may rain, I chose to hang the diapers on the line tonight, so they can have the sun in the morning.

I also discovered today that I could probably have gotten away with only 20 flats between the two boys. 36 flats was wya more than I needed. However, I do need six covers for each boy, maybe a couple more each, as I have not perfected the art of catching poo in the flat and the covers are getting soiled. I am hoping to change that by the end of the challenge!