Our site features a detailed resource guide on how to properly care for and launder cloth diapers; and I wanted to share some wonderful tips I found in Readers Digest on using natural ingredients to get your cloth diapers (and other laundry) even cleaner and brighter!  Forget expensive stain fighting boosters, fabric softeners and whiteners.  Save your money- these inexpensive ingredients are non toxic and are probably in your pantry.  These tips are from the article:  8 Ways to Naturally Boost Laundry Detergent

Baking Soda
It may sound like a cliché, but adding 1/2 cup baking soda to your usual amount of liquid laundry detergent really will give you “whiter whites” and brighter colors. The baking soda also softens the water, so you can actually use less detergent.

Lemons
To remove rust and mineral discolorations from cotton, pour 1 cup lemon juice into the washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the juice will zap the stains and leave the clothes smelling fresh.

Vinegar
There are so many benefits to be reaped by adding 1 cup white vinegar to your washer’s rinse cycle that it’s surprising that you don’t find it prominently mentioned inside the owner’s manual of every washing machine sold. Here are the main ones:

• A single cup of vinegar will kill off any bacteria that may be present in your wash load, especially if it includes cloth diapers and the like.

Rachael’s note : For diapers, vinegar should only be added to the rinse cycle. If you have hard water, the vinegar can combine with trace minerals in your water supply and this can cause your diapers to stink once peed on.  If you have normal to soft water you can use 1/4- 1/2  cup in your rinse cycle as needed.

• A cup of vinegar will keep your clothes coming out of the wash soft and smelling fresh — so you can kiss your fabric-softening liquids and sheets good-bye (unless, of course, you happen to like your clothes smelling of heavy perfumes).
• A cup of vinegar will brighten small loads of white clothes.
• Added to the last rinse, a cup of vinegar will keep your clothes lint- and static-free.
• Adding a cupful of vinegar to the last rinse will set the color of your newly dyed fabrics.

Rachael’s Addition : Don’t Forget the Sun
Hanging your clean wet diapers outside will reduce stains and give them an incredibly sweet , fresh smell. You can air dry them in the dryer afterwards to soften them up.