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We’ve been using cloth diapers for almost four years now and through those years I’ve learned a lot! However, it wasn’t until just this year that I learned this one tip that makes line drying diapers much easier!
First though, let’s talk about why you would even want to line dry diapers. Aside from the fact that lined dried diapers is just one of those iconic things that you do with cloth diapers, there are some actual legitimate reasons for hanging diapers on the line to dry.
Why You Should Line Dry Diapers
- Lined dried diapers is the eco-friendly way to go. I think we all know that using the dryer takes up a lot of energy. If you were to line dry your diapers every time you could save around 1,110 pounds of CO2 emissions! (that’s a rough estimate which would really depend on how often you wash your diapers of course.)Now of course, many people can’t line dry their diapers through the whole year but that doesn’t take away from the fact that each time you do line dry, it’s a little bit of energy saved.
- Line drying helps diapers last longer. The dryer can really add wear and tear to diapers. You spent good money on those cloth diapers; line drying them will help you get a longer lifespan from them.This is particularly true of diapers that have waterproof materials such as PUL or TPU. If you are putting those through the dryer, it cuts down on the waterproof ability of the diapers a lot!
- Line drying is great for stains! Diapers are not the prettiest thing to look at. They are more often then not stained and that’s okay.However, I think we all prefer our cloth diapers to look nice and white. Bleach is not really an environmentally friendly way to go and repeated use of it is not good for diapers either. However, the sun has an amazing ability to whiten diapers and zap those stains right out!
Now that we know why line drying is so great, how about I share that awesome tip?!
Normally when you line dry diapers you use clothes pins… lots of clothes pins.
Now if you have cloth diapers that are part shells and part inserts (like an AI2 or pocket diaper) then you will still need to use a few clothes pins. However if you have an AIO diaper or even just for drying the diaper shells, this tip will be a game changer.
Dry all your diapers with just two clothes pins!!!!
An Easy Way to Line Dry Diapers
- To do this, take your diapers and (assuming they are snaps) snap them together to form an intentional diaper change. (If you have hook and loop diapers, then I’m not sure this method is the best idea as hook and loop diapers probably wouldn’t hold a diaper chain on the clothes line very well.)
- Once you have your diaper chain, lay it on the clothes line, alternating the diapers so that one hangs in front of the line, the next in back, and so on.
- Use a clothes pin to keep the diaper chain in place that the two ends.
- When diapers are try, simply, remove the two clothes pins and pull the entire diaper chain off the line. Voila!
If you do not have all the same brand of diapers then you may have to do a few different diaper chains as some brand’s snaps do not work with others. However, this tip is still a time saver!
And yes, as you can see, those are my converted to snap GroVia diapers that clearly have seen some use through the years.
