I used cloths for my little guy's first 6 months only. When he outgrew the outer protective pants, I never got around to buying bigger ones so all I ever had to deal with was breastfeeding stuff which wasn't at all bad to wash. Not all the diapers came out looking like new but I knew they were clean.

If you go with a FL make sure and get one that has a sanitize function. I would also choose one that has a way to choose an extra rinse cycle. Granted the sanitize function will take two hours to run. However, when I used to do diapers many, many, years ago with a TL it would take forever. That was because I always had to run it through the cycle twice to make sure they were really clean and clear of all detergents.

If you want a top loader look at the Speed Queen model. Apparently they work like the old TL's.

OP, if you want a TL with the advantages of an HE washer, I would highly recommend Maytag Bravos. I have a Bravos washer and love it. If I were washing cloth diapers (as I did eons ago when my children were babies), I would buy the 850 model, as it has a built-in water heater. This would ensure hot water wash cycles were truly hot, as USA government regulations have 'dumbed down' water temps these days.

I don't know how you do your diapers. I always soaked them in a prepared 5-gallon pail (hot water, 1 c. borax, and a little bit, about 1/4 c., of Clorox to kill odor and stains) until the pail was full, then dumped the whole thing -- diapers, soak water, and all -- into the washer when I was ready to wash. I used the Spin cycle to get the water out (btw, Bravos does have a cycle for Spin only), then ran them through a wash cycle with HOT water and detergent.

On the advice of my pediatrician's nurse, I used 1 c. of vinegar in the final rinse to be sure all detergent was completely removed, thus preventing irritation to my babies' skin. This system worked extremely well for me.

Well, cloth diapers aren't as straightforward these days, lol... a sanitize cycle can't be used because the high temps will destroy the fabrics. I'm not using cotton prefolds most of the time, although I do occasionally use them. Usually we use what is referred to as a "pocket" diaper - the fabric is PUL - a specially laminated fabric that is waterproof - on the outside and the interior is suedecloth, or microfleece. The absorbent inserts are usually microfiber. So most of them are synthetics, like polyester, and cannot take high heat. The manufacturers usually recommend washing on warm, NOT on hot, that will usually void any warranties. (lol, it amuses me greatly that diapers have warranties. But there is also elastic in them and that also wears out quickly at high temps)

Anyway... .the biggest issue with cleaning diapers is the fact that they are highly absorbent by their very nature. So they quickly sop up all the water in the front loader, and there's no water left in there to clean. They just need some good swishing action!!

How I wash them - they go into a dry pail, and I wash every night. The diapers get dumped into the washer, I do a cold rinse, then I add detergent and wash on warm. Then I do another full cycle without adding detergent, also on warm, to rinse them. (Warm water is better at rinsing detergent than cold water.) Sometimes it takes a few rounds to fully rinse all the detergent out, but assuming they get fully rinsed, they come out totally clean and odor free. We don't really care about stains, but the synthetic fabrics don't really stain much anyway.

I will check out the Bravos, as well as the Speed Queens, thanks for the tip!

laranita, keep in mind -- if you buy a new washer, the hot water cycle will actually give you warm wash water. That's because of the aforementioned government regulations.

My Bravos washer has a warm wash/warm rinse cycle which you might really like, if you don't mind the water being cooler than warm water in older washers. In the winter time when our water is noticeably cooler than in warmer weather, I wash cold water laundry on the warm temp wash cycle.

Bravos washers have cycles which use more water than others (the Bulky, Sheets, and Wrinkle Control cycles use more), so you might want to wash the diapers on one of those cycles.

Personally, I would try the Normal cycle first to see how that works (you can watch the washing action through the glass lid) -- and I'd be sure I didn't use too much detergent. I've never had to re-rinse laundry to get detergent out.

You can still buy washers that deliver true hot water. Assuming the new Miele W4842 is like the previous model W4840, the Hot setting is 140degF. If that's too hot, Very Warm is 122degF. If the incoming hot water is cooler, it'll boost the temperature (except on Normal cycle, but you can use Custom cycle instead, or Extra White cycle for Hot or Very Warm temps only). Again, those details are for W4840, I don't know if W4842 behaves exactly the same.

Another possibility is the Speed Queen top-loader. It's said to fill with hot water only, on the Hot setting, unlike many (most?) agitator top-loaders today.

you can aldo usually add up to a half pail of hot water to the tub before starting the cycle. This is what I do when I'm 'washin' my was machine once a month to get the water up to a 'splash' level. They also take forever to dry because they are so absorbent.

Suburbanmd! Thank you, thank you. Way past the diapers stage but really doggone upset over not being able to get HOT water in my washer. Sometimes I think the govt is intending for US to be 3rd world.......no hot water
among other things!

red geranium... Asko is another brand that has an internal heater. I have a old model that can heat to 200 degrees! I love the internal heating function. The machine doesn't have a bleach dispenser..it doesn't need it.

However, Asko reliablity has not been the best...I have had my set for 12 years and the parts are super expensive.

OP, I had meant to mention earlier -- I have read articles (one was published by the CDC) which recommend washing diapers/underwear/similiar items in hot water. Clorox was also recommended (1/4 c. per load is sufficient). As I understand it, Lysol concentrate (not the household cleaner; it comes in a little brown bottle) can also be used to kill bacteria.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lysol Concentrate

I cloth diapered until my kids potty-trained recently.

I used a Neptune while on vacation for one week. It sucked.

I had a GE FL at home. It was OK. I used the delicates cycle (which still allowed hot wash) as a workaround to force the machine to use enough water. I also limited the diaper load to 12-15 diapers and I wet-pailed the overnight pee and poopy dipes so they would go into the washer somewhat clean already. And most days I ran an entire wash cycle on hot-delicates again without detergent as a good rinse.

A CD-ing friend has a Bosch washer with the sanitize feature. She loves it. I had the sanitize feature on my GE also and used it to strip occasionally. I did not use it regularly 1) because I didn't want to ruin the elastic and 2) because it didn't use enough water.

I recently bought a Miele w1213 (or w1215) -- the last of the 220v ones. It seems to use more water on the rinse cycle. I also heard that you can program it to use more water in general, although I have not taken this step as I no longer wash diapers.

BOTTOM LINE: I think anything would be an improvement over the neptune, at least for cloth diapers. I would stay away from the HE toploaders, personally, because I'm pretty sure I would not be happy with the performance. I would pick a frontloader that has the sanitize option (it's good for stripping even if you don't use it regularly), and an "add water" option if possible. I really recommend the Miele I have currently (w1213 or w1215) -- see link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele w1215 - $1300

I use a top loader that does HE with my diapers - the Fisher & Paykel AquaSmart. I love the machine. I use prefolds, polyester/PUL covers, and polyester pocket diapers (I also use a wool cover but I hand-rinse and lanolize it).

I use Charlie's soap and Calgon to wash the diapers (we have slightly hard water). I don't do any soaking or bleaching and rarely wash a poopy diaper anymore, just urine ones (I potty my 8 month old and have since 4 months, called elimination communication, infant pottying, etc.). Even when I get a diaper with poop, I just throw it in the washer and do my normal loads.

Then again, I'm not completely satisfied with the washing process because none of the preset programs match exactly what I'm trying to do. What I want to do is a simple soak, short agitation, and rinse, all on cold with 1/2 the normal detergent. This gets out the urine and stuff without setting the stains. Then I run a hot cycle with full detergent. What I have to do with this washer, though, is run a full cold cycle with a 2 hour soak (because there's no way to shorten the soak). I usually set this going overnight because it takes so long!

I love so many things about this washer, including the delay feature, but I need a shorter cold rinse cycle with maybe 1/2 hr soak. I also love how this washer can flip between HE and conventional. I wash the diapers using the conventional method, which is not too water-piggy compared to true conventional washers.

I've been using the hot cycle on my pocket diapers for 8 months and the elastic is fine.

I think I can contact the F&P techs to program my own cycle. Anyone have experience with this?

I have used cloth diapers with all 4 of my kids. My oldest is 10 and my youngest is 18 mos old and still in diapers. I have always washed my diapers in the hottest water possible. I have a top loader, so I just turn up my hot water heater to the highest setting about a half hour before I wash. I have a gas water heater, so it gets HOT. It steams when the washer is filling. I haven't had any problems w/ the longevity of my diapers. I am still using prefolds and Bummis wraps that were my oldest son's, and my sister borrowed them for one of hers. I did NOT like Fuzzibunz, however, so if that's what you use, I would blame those, not the washer. lol. They were so thin and cheap, the fit was awful on my baby, and they always leaked. I made my 2nd son some pocket diapers myself and those have held up just fine. You need to either wash items made with PUL in hot water or dry them in the dryer. It is actually good for the PUL. It is not good, however, for the elastic in fitted diapers/aio's, and wraps. All of my stuff that has failed, it has always been the elastic that goes first. But I'd rather run the risk of ruining the elastic than risk rashes and other icky stuff from not killing the germs in my baby's diapers.

I have had nothing but great experiences with my LG Steam pair. I use the "baby" cycle, which is a step down from sanitize. I have never had an issue with my elastic or waterproofing. I use a dry pail (diaper sprayer for poop) and wash every 2-3 days. First, is a cold wash, cold rinse "short" cycle with 1 Tbsp. of Bac Out. Second, is a hot wash, cold rinse "baby" cycle with 2 Tbsp. Tide HE. Third, is a warm wash, warm rinse with no soap "short" cycle. Hope this helps.

We used a Bosch WFK2401 for the last two years of it's life doing nothing but diaper duty. It did a really good job of getting the diapers clean. We used Bummies, Bumgenius and a few prefolds until we were out of the newborn stage.

Normal wash cycles for us was:
2-Quick Rinse cycles on cold to get rid of the yuck.
1-Normal wash on cold with soap and extra rinse
1-Quick Power Wash (Sanitize)

We usually did 15-20 diapers at a time. We have two kids in diapers now and one more on the way.

Since the Bosch died we are using our main clothes washer, Miele W4840. It does an even better job, but with so many diapers per day we really need another washer to keep up with clothes and diapers. We are looking at buying another Miele W4840.

I think you will be very happy with either the higher end Bosch or any Miele.

The only real downside to the Miele is price.

One thing I wish was offered is the ability to design you own wash cycle. It would be so nice to have a diaper cycle that would do all of the above in one shot. Hmmm. Maybe I need to see if Miele can do that.

MooMum,

I don't have direct experience user experience with the F&P AquaSmart models, but I have two agitator machines. Perhaps AquaSmart, or yours in particular (there are several models), doesn't have these two features.

1. A Time Saver option that cuts the cycle time in half, so the 2-hr soak option becomes 1 hour. Of course, that also halves all the other parts of the cycle.

2. Once the soak phase begins, pressing the cycle Advance button cancels the remainder of the soak time (whether or not Time Saver is involved) and moves the cycle along ... so if your machine allows that, you can use it to soak for 30 minutes instead of the full 2 hrs, although it involves manual intervention.

I use a combination of prefolds, all-in-ones, and pockets and wash twice a week in my Kenmore Elite HE5t. I don't ever use the sanitary cycle for the reasons the previous posters have said, but I do wash in the hottest water available.

My routine is the "Kids' Wear" wash cycle, which includes hot water and extra rinses, with an "AutoSoak" added to that cycle -- I have this set as "My Cycle," so I can just press the "My Cycle" button and be done with it! Now that my son is eating solids, I do a cool-water rinse first using the "Rinse & Spin" (sometimes without the spin) cycle, followed by the above "My Cycle" routine.

Anyway, I feel like this routine works really well -- everything comes out clean and smelling great! I don't wish I had a toploader at all, especially because my diapers come out of the wash spun very dry. I'd hate having to dry diapers from a top-loader!

I don't know if anyone heard of/used it but Amazon sells Tiny bubbles detergent for cloth diapers. Seems people like it. It is for HE washers.