Washing Diapers in a Twin Tub Panda Washer

I've seen several inquiries and google searches about washing cloth diapers in a Twin Tub Panda, I'm no expert, but have been doing this for a year, changing routines, adapting to new situations and battling ammonia, so I'll see if I can answer your doubts to the best of my abilities.

Is it possible to wash diapers in a Twin Tub portable washer?
Yes. It takes more time than doing it on a regular and you have to do it more frequently, but it can be done.

How often should diapers be washed?
Depends on the number of diapers being used and the age of the machine. When it was newer, I could wash 10-12 diapers at a time, which allowed me to go for a couple of days without them accumulating if I had only one child in diapers (I had 2 for several months). Since it has been losing power due to barring and over use (and abuse), I do 7-8 diapers now, so I can wash twice every three days.

Should I spin the diapers inbetween rinses?
I do, just like in a regular machine, because it gets rid of more soap and more ammonia, but if you have good results skipping that step, good for you. This machine is extremely flexible, you control the time, the ammount of water and how many times you wash and rinse, there is no automatic cycle you have to adapt to.

Do diapers come dry out of the spinner?
No. But they dry much faster when you hang them than coming out of a regular washer. Polyester fabrics come almost ready, it takes a couple of hours, natural fibers are usually dry overnight, depending on humidity conditions.

Can I use a different detergent for my regular clothes?
Yes, I do that all the time, just give a rinse to the tub before you start filling it up.

Can I drain the water in the bathtub, will it overflow?
Yes, you can. It fills about 1/5 of the bathtub when you drain and it empties out in a couple of minutes. It is much safer than draining in the bathroom sink and pumping water in the drainage.

Do diapers get ammonia when washing them in a small portable setting?
Like any other devise, they might. In order to wash the ammonia buildup away, you need a combo of temperature, detergent and time washing. I use a ton of soap, hot water and 12 minutes in the wash and that keeps it down. I actually have an easier time dealing with ammonia with the Panda than with a regular Maytag.

Will my diapers get stained?
They might, I get less stains than in a regular washer, but if they do, I just hang them by the window and they are good as new after 2 or 3 washes (stains do not affect the diaper's funcionality).

What do I do if the washer starts walking?
Your spin drier is out of balance, open it and reaccomodate the clothes on top, trying to put them evenly and flat.

I like my puffy prefolds, can I get puff in the spin drier?
No, you need an air based drier for that. Time also helps, sometimes prefolds I haven't used in weeks appear fluffy later on.

How long does it take to get the diapers clean?
50 min to an hour according to my routine. About 2/3 of the time, the machine is doing its job by itself, no need to stay and babysit.

Can I leave the tub filling and come back later?
Yes, the machine has a hole on top that keeps the water draining into the inner tub and out, so it won't overflow (you still need to save water).

Can I leave the tub draining and come back later?
Yes, but there is no timer in the draining pump, so I wouldn't recommend leaving it on for  an undetermined period of time.

Can I leave the washer and/or the spinner working and come back later?
Absolutely!

Will my diapers get damaged if washed in the Panda?
I've been using diapers for more than a year in a very limited stash. The Fuzibunz look good as new and so do the Tots Bots and the Blueberries. The Grovias do look wasted in the leg elastics, but I bought those used already.

How many times should I wash/rinse in the tub to get them clean?
As many as you seem appropiate. I do 4 (3 min hot rinse - 12 min hot wash - 5 min hot rinse - 3 minute cold rinse) and do not spin between 1 and 2. That's the equivalent to 2 cycles in a regular washing machine but with hotter water.

Can I use Dawn or Oxyclean in the Panda?
I do. Much safer to use Dawn in a Panda than in a regular washer.

Do diapers get moldy if left inside the spinner?
Depends on how long, the only times I have had mold issues the diapers were inside a bag damp for several hours, it was only the Grovias. I would still recommend not leaving them overnight in the spinner (no problem with leaving them soaking in the big tub).

I hope this helps, feel free to ask more.

Appartment Living and Laundry Debate

The super came yesterday to fix a couple of tiles, of course, I got up and immediately took the washer out of the bathroom and into a bedroom, thankfully I had already taken care of everything and the unit was ready for moving.

The evidence and trail that we have a washer is huge: all of a sudden, the bathroom door opens out instead of in, there is a bench inside it (with a baby bathtub to disguise it), in front of it there is a hanging rack  with diapers, the main bedroom open can show more hanging clothes, including a sheet, there is detergent inside the bathroom and the laundromat boy has not come in several months. The main reason for having called the super is that two tiles fell, most likely due to the vibrations of the spin dryer.

But the super comes, does his job in 10 minutes, and leaves, either clueless or just playing dumb. I hate hiding it, specially since I think we're not doing anything wrong, but for those who wonder why it is forbidden to have washing machines in pre-war apartment buildings, here is the top 5 reasons for the ban:

1. Risk of flooding. Nobody likes getting water from your ceiling. That can happen if your neighbor upstairs has a flood due to a leak in his laundering system. Is it plausible? sure! indeed! It actually happened several years ago to me. I had a big washing machine in the kitchen, perfectly legal, with a place for it and installation and everything. Well, my washer was old and had been fixed before, I had gotten it from a friend that moved out of town. In any case, the risk is high when you have a device which require open faucets for installation and deals with large amounts of water.
   How I deal with it? my machine is not "installed". I fill it up with the shower hose, I never have a full time open faucet. On top of that, it has a limit placed on top, if you overfill, the water will automatically get into the inner tub and down the drain. And since it is lifted, I don't even need the draining pump. Just in case there is a double leak and water starts pouring out of the unit, well, it has less than 1 cubic foot capacity, less than 2 buckets. So that's my very unlikely worst case scenario: a bathroom flooded with the water of a bucket and a half.
2. Sudsy water in your sink or bathtub. Another annoying side effect for your neighbors downstairs. A friend of mine told me he once had a turkey marinating on his neighbors laundry water. Why does this happen? well, old buildings have a very old draining system, with a very limited capability in the water they can take. This flow of liquid can go to a max of 7 gal/min (or something to that effect, please correct me if I make a mistake). Pumping devices in washing machines get the water out at a rate higher than that. The time elapsed from having it full to having it empty and ready for spinning is quite short and the plumbing can't take it. Therefore, the water, having no place to go, gets out in lower apartments from the drain up.
   The solution is to have a buffer tank in which the water can go from the washer, so that it can get into the building's system at its own rate.
   In our case, the draining goes to the bathtub, which works as said buffer, and the water stays there until it can slowly go where it has to. Since it is a small unit, the bathtub is more than enough the size of what is needed.
3. Power capacity. Washers use a lot of juice. A brand new top load Maytag sucks 0.23 KWH per load. My Twin Tub Panda works on 250 W. That times .25  plus another 3 minutos of spin drying at 135 watts is 69WH, less than a third of a regular MayTag, and the equivalent of 3 light bulbs of full capacity for about 15 minutes, not a problem at all. Plus, my building does not have a ban in drying machines, dishwashers or AC, which can suck up much more.
4. Noise. That would be a good argument for newer buildings and hollow materials, but in pre-wars? I dodn't hear my machine from the kitchen, let alone from outside of the apartment, is that good enough? Just need to make sure the spinner is balanced, though.
5. Business arrangements with Laundromats. If there were coin oparated machines in the basement, this argument would be a little valid, not here, nearest place is a couple of blocks away. Since such agreement is not in the lease, I can't believe they would try this one on me, I didn't know I would surrender the freedom to handwash or wash in my spare house and have to patronize a specific partner of my landlord. Really?

So there you have it. I'm not breaking the lease because my machine is not "installed". But I don't think my landlord has the patience to come and look at it, he may just start a fight if he hears "washer", so we will keep hiding it.

My Working Washing Routine

I have been cloth diapering for around 3 months. Has it been honey over flakes?* not exactly. Has it been better than disposables? In a lot of ways, yes. Of course, it would be better to have a leak proof diaper that you can reuse and doesn't need to get washed, but in a perfect world, we wouldn't need diapers at all (we wouldn't need toilets either and sewage wouldn't exist, right?).

The biggest problem hasn't been washing them, I have my panda twin tub that works like a champ. It is the behaviour of the fabrics once they've been washed.

Turns out I didn't have much problem at the beginning, but with time passing, I got a horrible cumulation of ammonia in the prefolds. The smell was so untakeable I needed to change diapers on Little Guy almost every hour.

I mentioned before that battle, and it seems I've won it finally. But I changed the routine and the devices for washing until I came up with my own formula. It may have ingredients not recommended, but, as everybody says, do what you have to do and what works for you. I use these things a lot, my stash is short, and whatever they last, they already paid for themselves.

So here it goes:

Prewash

I dump diapers and bag inside the washing tub. I fill it to the top. If there's poop, I throw some baking soda, otherwise, I don't. Then I leave it washing for 4-5 minutes and drain.

Wash

Turn on the hot water, fill the tank up. Put 10 drops of Free & Clear detergent plus 2 drops of blue Dawn plus 2 drops of Dr Bronner's peppermint soap plus one teaspoon of OxyClean plus half a teaspoon of Baking Soda in the detergent's lid. Aim the shower hose to it and let it drop on top of everything else. Set the timer to agitate for 7-8 minutes

Spin

Take all the stuff to the spin drier and let it spin for about 1 minute, while the tub drains. This gets rid of tons of soap.

Rinse

Fill with half a tank, or just enough to cover the diapers with cold water, let it agitate for 3 minutes, drain.

Re-rinse

Repeat rinse procedure but only for 1-3 minutes

Hose

Pass the pieces one by one through the high pressure of the shower hose to remove any remains of soap in the surface and drop them in the spin dryer.

Spin dry

Spin dry for 2 minutes

Hang

Hang the diapers in the clotheshanger. If there are stains (usually the Grovias are the only ones that remain stained after such an adventure), hang them by the window in the baby clothes hanger so that they get sunlight. Pockets just need to be put from the middle, prefolds require holders and shaking.

It may not be perfect, but it's working for now in preventing the ammonia from coming back and keeping my boys' butts all nice.

It is also very different than other moms due to my peculiar washer and my having the laundry room inside the bathroom, but I'm here to demonstrate that one can cloth diaper a child in a laundryless apartment and under a budget.

__________

* Mexican expression meaning perfect, beautiful and romantic.