How do you dry your dipes?

[sassafrassmom]

I've been CDing for over 3 years now, and I am always reading things I never knew! like the other day I read that you should only dry your PUL on medium heat. Well, firstly, my drying only has low heat or high and I've been drying on High the whole time. I've never noticed any issues. Have you ever had issues with this kind of thing?


Also....I read a warning against using vinegar in the rinse b/c it may wear out the elastic and PUL--same thing I've been doing this regularly for a long time, but now I'm confused. :scratch

[LovinBeingMommy]

I use the "low" setting on my dryer, but it generally runs hot, so that's about the same as "medium" on most. :shrug3 I heard the same about vinegar. I had actually tried vinegar when I saw something about it helping with an issue I was having (although I don't remember which one now, I had several at the beginning since I was clueless), but it didn't fix the problem, so it didn't seem worth the effort.

[blondie]

I hang PUL, and throw the rest in the dryer on Medium.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I'm new to this, but I've been hanging my PUL.

[passionatemom]

I hang. They dry quickly. Same with the waterproof fabric I use for a changing pad.

[cyndib]

we hang ours.

[Sundance]

I hang mine when it's sunny and warm out....but other than that, they go in the dryer on high.

(but I also wash my diapers with Tide, so don't listen to me!)

[BriansLovie]

I hang mine as well if it contains PUL.

[joanna]

I hang anything that has elastic or PUL, and dry my prefolds in the dryer, unless it's a particularly hot day, then I hang them outside. (Disclaimer: I use prefolds+covers, so only ever have 4 or 5 covers to hang dry. If I had an entire stash of pocket diapers, I wouldn't have the room to hang a whole load to dry.)

[JenLovie]

In the Spring, Summer and Fall I hang everything outside to dry (I may toss fitteds, prefolds and any hemp inserts in the dryer for about 5 minutes). In the Winter everything goes on a drying rack inside. I find that most everything will dry overnight during the winter. If I'm getting ready to run out of diapers I will dry some inserts, but I try not to let it get that far.

[november]

I hang dry my PUL pocket shells/covers and throw the inserts on the dryer on high. Once it cools down a little bit, we're going to build my first-ever clothesline and dry them that way! :0) I can't wait - it'll save us a ton of $$!

[milkmommy]

HA I high heat dryer dry. I HATE line drying with a passion and only do so if I'm sunning the ocassional stain. IT means getting all sticky and sweaty ICK no thanks.. Anyways I put EVERYTHING pul cotton snaps velcro AIOS fitted prefolds covers wipes liners EVERYTHING in the dryer have from many years and not an issue. I'm not a big vinager person it gives my LO rashes after a bit so can't really comment on that but I add a scoop of oxy with every load without issues.

[Two Little Birds]

I hang my covers all year round and hang my inserts when the weather cooperates.

[twentysixcats]

I hang dry all my covers, but I do dry the few pocket diapers I use on "normal" which I think is medium heat.

[jubles]

We have all pockets, and the outside part has PUL.

In the UK:
In spring/summer (if we have dry weather) we line dry outside. In autumn/winter/wet weather we tended to wash them in the evening and dry them overnight over some racks that attach to our radiators. The outside parts in particular dried very quickly that way. They were mostly dry by the morning. Didn't put the PUL directly onto the radiator, though did put slow drying things like hemp or bamboo inserts on directly. If we had a lot of washing, I would finish them off in the dryer, but this tended only to be necessary for the inserts.

In Africa:
We line dry on the porch. In the dry season they dry very quickly this way. It's rainy season now, so it's taking a couple of days for them to dry (inserts mainly). Keep them on the porch rather than outside as it has screens which stop mango fly laying their eggs in them and then the larvae burrowing into E's skin (a real issue here - thankfully it hasn't happened yet). Also don't want to dry them in too strong sunlight as it can wreck the elastic/PUL.

[Gingermommy]

I usually line dry everything esp lately as it has been so hot! In the winter I hang everything in my laundry room and the covers dry within a few hours. Sometimes I toss the inserts in the dryer with other clothes if I am already drying things. If I need them in a hurry though I'll toss everything in the dryer on high. I've never had a problem drying covers with snaps but Velcro seems to have some issues in the dryer. I also feel like my prefolds lose thickness in the drier. I rinse with vinegar ever 3rd or 4th wash or if I had 3 days in-between washing instead of 2. Hope this helps.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I just read somewhere that you should dry your PUL once on high to seal it, but the instructions I got with my diapers says low heat always.

[holmama]

We primarily use Grovia AI2s and line dry just the covers. the insides are lovely cotton and get nice and soft in the dryer :D Our backups (i.e. it's washday for the Grovias!) are Flip covers and Bamboozle fitteds and I pretty much do the same thing with them as well. The natural fibers get softer and softer with every dry.

[sassafrassmom]

Ok, so I got a clothesline and am going to just start tossing them onto that to dry since I have enough, and it's really not that much extra work. thanks for all the responses! helps to know what others are doing.

[MrsHutch]

I mostly hang, and occasionally tumble dry on high.

I'm also really careful about HOW I hang-- I fold the diapers over the line so that there is the least amount of stress on the elastic, rather than hanging them by the top or bottom so that the leg elastic gets stretched. It hurts me to see diapers hung where they're all stretched out.