Proper Washing Techniques for Washable Potty Training Pants

So you are interested in using cloth training pants, but are a bit concerned about the yuck factor?  How are you supposed to take care of soiled or wet training pants?  Soiled or wet training pants are part of the process of potty training.  If you choose to use washable potty training pants then you will need to learn how to care for them.  The good news is that washing cloth training pants is quite doable. 

To use washable potty training pants just pull on or have your child pull on the training pant.  When your child has an accident and wets the training pant simply remove the training pant, clean up your child, and put on clean training pants.  Put the wet training pant in a dry diaper pail.  You basically want a container to hold the training pants until you are ready to wash.  A dry container verses a container where the training pants would soak is the best choice.  In the case of soiled training pants simply unsnap or pull down the training pants and clean up your child.  Shake off the soiled bits into the toilet to show your child where poop is supposed to go.  Then place the soiled training pant in the dry pail.

Washable potty training pants should be laundered every 2-3 days.  Some families do laundry daily.  Waiting longer than 3 days can cause odor problems.  Manufacturers of different brands of training pants all have their own set of washing instructions.  You would want to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the training pants you will purchase.  However, most manufacture guidelines follow the same general instructions.  Take the training pants you have stored in the dry pail and place them all in the washing machine.  If they have sides that unsnap like on the GroVia My Choice Trainer then leave them unsnapped.  This will allow them to agitate better and get cleaner.  Once they are all in the washing machine run a cold rinse without any detergent.  This will rinse off some of the yuck before you wash them.  When the rinse is complete run a hot wash with about ½ the manufacturer’s recommended detergent.  Manufacturer’s typically recommend detergent that is free from additives like whiteners, softeners, or perfumes.  Those types of things can cause detergent build-up which could lead to less absorbent training pants or odor problems.  After the hot wash do another cold rinse to make sure there is no detergent residue left on the training pants.

Now you have clean training pants ready to be dried.  Remove them from the washing machine and place them in the dryer.  You can also hang them to dry, but a short cycle in the dryer will help them loose their stiffness.  If you use the dryer then run a cycle on medium heat until they are dry.  Turning some training pants inside out may help them dry quicker.  If you want to save on dryer costs you may want to consider training pants that dry quicker like the Flip Potty Training System.  Make sure to never use fabric softener sheets with reusable training pants.

Taking care of washable potty training pants isn’t difficult.  Using cloth will not only save you money, but it may help your child potty train quicker.  There are a wide variety of washable training pants available.  Take a look around Thanks Mama to consider all the different options to help you find the training pants that will suit your family the best.