By Laura Weirich

My family and I live in an apartment, and we cloth diaper. Yes, you can do both. So here are some of my tips about it.

1) Ask– If your unlucky enough not to have wash/dryer hook-ups in your snazzy apartment, then it's common courtesy to ask if washing cloth diapers is okay. Some laundry mats will not allow you to wash your cloth diapers there. My apartment complex has two on-site laundry rooms. Before we signed a lease, the first thing I asked was if I could wash my diapers there. The management said it was fine. I figure if I have any problems with other residents I can always explain that I asked.

2) Get some good laundry detergent– It's important to have good diaper laundry detergent no matter where you launder.

3) Get a drying rack– For all-in-ones especially you can really go through a lot of quarters on drying alone. To save some money, use a drying rack inside your apartment. I normally let my diapers go through one cycle and then hang them up over night.

4) Rinse the heck out of your diapers– I have a diaper sprayer hooked up to the toilet (you may want to ask for permission for this too). I spray the heck out of the diapers so that I can avoid an extra cycle. Another alternative may be to use a wet pail method and soak your diapers prior to washing them.

5) Take advantage– Some washers will allow you to add another cycle (wash or rinse) for an additional quarter. Take advantage of that.

6) Watch the dryer sheets– A lot of residents fail to remove their dryer sheets. Make sure that one isn't in there before adding your diapers to the dryer.

Happy Washing!