10 June 2011

Cloth Diapering Problems

Before Adelaide was born, Spencer and I decided we were going to use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones.  I had a good time putting her "stash" together, composed mainly of prefolds, covers, and pocket diapers.  I even made my own cloth diaper detergent and thought I had a good washing routine.

But now, we've run into our first cloth diapering issue -- diaper stink!  I've since switched to Rockin' Green Classic Rock detergent and tried soaking them, but things aren't much better.  So I've searched the web hoping find a solution to my problem, but of course there are many different options out there!  Here is what I plan on trying until something (hopefully) works:
  1. Cold rinse followed by two wash cyles (hot wash, cold rinse, cold rinse) with detergent.
  2. Normal wash cycle with detergent followed by hot wash without detergent and double cold rinse.
  3. Wash my washing machine: add 1 cup vinegar to machine and run hot wash and rinse cycle.
  4. Strip diapers.
Any other suggestions or modifications to my plan?  I'm not at risk of getting rid of my whole stash or anything, but I would like to walk past the diaper pail without holding my breath :)
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2 comments:

  1. NikkiJune 10, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    I applaud the thoughtful care that you and Spencer are taking of your baby and the environment. The diaper washing sounds extremely time consuming and will use a lot of water. Sadly, when I went back to work I didn't have the time to spend washing diapers; consequently, I used disposables. Bummis Bio-Soft Flushable Liners sound like a good compromise. (I read about them on the Cloth Diaper Whisperer site. They are reasonably prices 100 for $8.00 and environmentally friendly!)

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  2. JennyJune 10, 2011 at 8:28 PM

    Are they stinky after they've been washed and dried? We had some of that years ago but not yet with Robert. The pail (we have a Fuzzibuns hanging wet bag) always smells like pee, but so did the disposables pail when we used those. I remember being afraid to empty the disposables pail to put it in the trash!

    I put ~10 drops of tea tree oil in every load of diapers. We use Charlie's Soap and really like it.

    I've also been line-drying our diapers in the sun. We got a fairly cheap retractable clothesline from Home Depot (or Lowe's?). The sun will take out stains and it also kills germs and stuff that cause stink. Your diapers won't be as soft as they would in the dryer, but that's not a big deal to me. Our dryer is on its last leg and I REALLY don't want to buy a new one right now, so I'm using the sun to dry diapers whenever possible!

    Julie is an expert on this, by the way. She gave me advice when I was dealing with it. Hope you find something that works well for you!

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