Laundry Detergent

[alaskamum]

FWIW my ds had similar sounding problems...his were dry red patches, they would come and go. I tried Charlie's, Country Save, and Nellie's the first year, and finally switched to Tide (Free at first, then regular). Suddenly his skin cleared up and we never had another problem. Coincidence? Perhaps. I didn't make the connection right away, I just noticed that I wasn't stressed out about diaper laundry anymore. I think the diapers weren't getting clean enough; they were always stinking too. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay for water that first year (we were still renting), I was doing a million extra rinses and stripping all the time.

[jaykay11]

I use BG detergent but am not sure its the best. Just seemed like a safe choice.

[Rumptastic]

I use tide free and clear, and I know there is some debate as to whether the free and clear is cloth diaper friendly, but it's what I've always used and my dipes are still absorbent and there is no rash!

[Kenner82]

I don't know what detergent you should use for his rash problems, but I can tell you that ammonia means you aren't getting the bacteria out of the diapers. Have you boiled them, at all? You may need a stronger detergent (along the lines of Tide or something) and be sure you're doing all your washing and rinsing with hot water to really kill the bacteria (the bleach followed by a vinegar rinse is a good idea, too!) When you wash ammonia diapers, you can also do a vinegar pre-rinse to neutralize them before washing them.

[Aub's]

I use either Tide liquid or Purex powder. Both work just fine for our diapers.

[MrsA08]

This is all such good advice! I wish I had found this forum 6 months ago. I used All F&C for my regular laundry because both my husband and I have sensitive skin (thus so does our daughter.) I am thinking of trying the bleach and vinegar routine, but how much bleach and vinegar should I be using? Can someone who does this gie me their exact wash routine? Also, what is your water heater set at? WE have an on demand water heater. I don't know if we have hard or soft water either. We will only be living where we are now for another 6 weeks and then going back to our permanent address. I know we have hard water there. Do I need to use more detergent with hot hard water?

[Kenner82]

You want the water in your washing machine to be somewhere around 130 (it needs to be above 120 to kill bacteria, and more than 150 is where you might damage your PUL or other waterproof fabrics). Hard water definitely needs more detergent than soft water (so if you think your wash routine isn't working, DO NOT USE LESS DETERGENT, like everyone will tell you to!) because the detergent is going to be trying to remove the minerals as well as all the yucky stuff on the diapers.

Try looking through this thread for examples of wash routines for people with hard water and ammonia: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/....php?t=1040786 (It's where I got all my info from! And it's a LONG thread, but the original post should help, at the very least!)

[MrsA08]

Okay so I was lookin through the posts on Alioop's laundry thread and I saw some people adding Borax to their loads. Before I run down to Walmart (I hate Walmart, but it seems like the only place that sells it) and pick some up would it be worth it?

[Kenner82]

She recommends skipping the borax (it's mostly used to disinfect). Her recommendation (and actually, Charlie's Soap has the same advice on their website) is to use detergent, a scoop of an oxygen cleaner (as a disinfectant) and a scoop of washing soda (as a water softener).

[MrsA08]

Thank you SO MUCH Kenner. I have spent the last 3 hours reading her thread and still have some questions, but I posted it on her thread. You can answer it there if you like. Going to the store now to get some "supplies"