I'm new to Cding and I need HELP!

[aliyahsmommy]

I just started CDing about a week ago and I LOVE it already! I don't have much yet (8 diapers and Sam's Club Microterry cloths), but I'm enjoying what I do have. I have a few problems and I need some instructions on a few things.

First, I don't have a wet bag and I'm having to put my diapers in small throw away bags until I get home to wash. I rinse in cold water, cold soak overnight in baking soda (I guess on how much I'm suppose to use-if someone knows how much I'm suppose to use let me know), hot wash with purex free and clear, and downy ball with vineger. (I got this method off a web site) My diapers still smell like peepee really bad! And my husband complains that my lil' girl smells badly too- because her diapers smell like a nursing home. What do I do? Is this because I need a wet bag? Is this normal? The smell stays on my babys skin.

Second: My baby girl has started with large bug bite looking bumps on her skin from the cloth diapers. I know it's the diapers because it is only effecting her diaper area. She does have eczema so she is very sensitive, but I'm using the same detergent on her diapers as I use on her clothes. She is allergic to all diaper rash ointment so I have to use baby powder or vaseline on her. I haven't used the vaseline since starting Cloth Diapers because I don't know if it is safe for the cloth diapers. I don't know if it would wash out good.

If anyone can give me some advice that would be great!!! I am so excited about CDing and I have no intention on quiting because of these things but I need to figure out what everyone else is doing. Thanks Everybody!!!

[Fullhouse]

Less detergent, less vinager to start. How are you using the micro? In pocket? No power most of the time, IMO. It can be too drying.

[9800Emily]

Welcome to cloth . I am still learning, but will try to help and there are lots of great mommas on here that will be able to help you out.
My dd has eczema also and I can not use any baking soda or vinegar in the wash because she will react to it. I think I have read that vinager and baking soda are bad when used together for some reason . If you are using diapers with fleece insides, the bumps could also be a reaction to the fleece.

If you are having smelly diapers, you may have build up on the diapers from your detergent. When you wash diapers you only need a 1/4 of the recommended amount of detergent. To check for build up, look in the rinse cycle and if you see bubbles, you have build up. Just continue rinsing until there are no bubbles and the build up should be gone.

I am pretty sure that Vaseline is bad for diapers. You could try using some lanolin. It is very gentle and actually helps to heal diaper rash. Hope this helps some and good luck.

[TwinKristi]

It seems like you're doing a lot more work than necessary IMO. Everyone has their own little process. My son also has eczema so I know your grief in that dept. I personally use a wetbag and that tends to smell even though I put GSE & TTO on the pad. I just do a warm wash, cold rinse, 2nd cold rinse if necessary and line or machine dry depending on weather. I have used Gain, All F&C, Dreft, Bio-Kleen... they all came out with the same results and haven't had any build up issues or rashes yet. I would recommend doing a couple cycles of hot washes with a little Dawn detergent to strip them and then start from scratch with a simple process and dry on high. The only time I notice my dipes getting stinky is on day 2 in the wetbag! I have been trying to wash every other day depending on what I have going on and sometimes every day if I'm caught up on my reg. laundry. Good luck.

[Bridget Riedell]

First of all, Congrats on being willing to CD!

I'm not sure why your dipes and little one is stinking so bad, esp. when you've only begun. Are the dipes you're using new or used? If used, they could have a buildup issue. You might need to strip them.

What kind of water do you have? That seems to effect how individuals dipes wash up and what they smell like. I read on some diaper site that vinegar can either make your diapers smell or take the smell out of them. It depends on your water supply. The concensus is if you're using vinegar and your dipes smell, try stopping it. If your dipes smell and you're not using vinegar, try adding it.
I hope I'm making sense here.

I dry pail and haven't had any issues with smell so far. I've been cloth diapeing for over 2 months. I love it too.

I have a hanging diaper pail. It snaps on my door knob. I just put the wet diapers in there after I change her. If she poops, I clean it off in the toilet and rinse the diaper and add it to the pail. I put her wipes in the pail too. The wipes have baby bits solution on them which contains Tea Tree oil and Lavendar. Perhaps this helps with the smell too. After about a day or two, I dump it all in the washer. I do a rinse on cold, then a wash on hot with Sun detergent.

I've never had a problem with stink and my 4 yr olds pul pocket trainers are in there too. Her pee stinks!!!!

As for a wet bag, I went around without one for the first month, and I finally purchased one for the baby bag. Glad I did. I ended up getting a Happy Heiney one that velcros shut. It's very handy, esp. for outings.

HTH

[bfoster2000]

I don't really think not having a wet bag matters. I have a "stuff bag" from the camping section at Walmart (~$4) that works wonderfully at home and I usually just keep a couple of grocery bags in the diaper bag for when we're out. I've never had any problems with that.

What kind of diapers are you using? Hemp is very absorbent but is prone to stink issues and detergent buildup so you have to be a little more careful. You mentioned the microfiber towels which most people use to stuff pockets...some people use them as doublers in other diapers with no problems but I have heard that lots of people had irritation when putting microfiber next to baby's skin. If you've been doing that, try putting something else between the microfiber and the skin...even a washcloth or something and see if it helps. Same thing if you need to use vaseline or lanolin or diaper rash ointment on the rash...just put a washcloth or piece of an old t-shirt or something between the skin and the diaper. That way the greasy stuff won't buildup on the diaper. You may also do better by having some sort of "stay-dry" liner against baby's skin. Fabrics like suedecloth and microfleece really do keep the moisture away from the skin. In the meantime, make sure you're changing her really often so that she's not sitting in the ammonia from the urine.

I don't know about how much baking soda and vinegar to use. I had heard that you need to use to them together because one is acidic and one basic and they keep the pH balanced out. So I suppose if you were using too much or not enough, that could cause problems. The best advice I've gotten about washing routines is to keep it simple until you see a reason to change things. Most of the time, I just run all my diapers through a hot wash/cold rinse cycle (I use washing soda and Simple Green as my detergent) and then put them all in the dryer on high. If there are a lot of poopy diapers, I'll do a cold/cold cycle with no detergent first, then do the hot/cold. My washer isn't fancy and doesn't have the option for pre-rinse or anything like that so if I want them to soak, I just turn it on and leave the lid open. After a couple of hours, I'll close the lid and let it finish doing its thing and then run the regular hot/cold wash. Definitely peek in the washer during the rinse cycle and see if there are any bubbles. Bubbles indicate that there is still detergent on the diapers and the detergent causes nasty stink issues when peed on. If it looks like that's the case, run a hot wash (as hot as it will go...I've even heard of people dumping boiling water in there to get it hotter) with a low water level so that the diapers are really getting tossed around with no detergent and check again. Keep washing in hot until there are no bubbles. You can add a squirt of dish soap (not much) to help break up the residue but basically you just keep rinsing.

Once your rinse water is clear, the buildup should be off the diapers and you can make a fresh start. If you're using Purex Free and Clear, use about 1/4 of what you normally would and try skipping the baking soda and vinegar to see if it helps. Definitely watch the rinse water for bubbles and add extra rinses as necessary. Free and Clear detergents are notorious for causing buildup on diapers because even though they say they don't contain dyes, they do contain brighteners and other things that are designed to stay on the clothes to fool your eyes into thinking they're cleaner than they are. If you search this forum for threads about detergents, you'll find lots of wonderful information. Ironically, cheap detergents are usually better because they are less likely to have all those additives!

Good luck and let us know what happens...

[myajdw]

pinstripesandpolkadots.com has a good and bad detergent list and i think purex (all forms of it) are actually on the bad list for buildup. so you might want to try switching detergents. i've also heard other mama's use simple green instead of detergent. another thing, is it the dipes that stink or the liners? are you using pocket dipes? if you're not using pockets or if it's the liners (mf towels) try putting them in boiling water, this will better tell if you have build-up, sometimes the bubbles won't show even in the rinse cycle but will show up in a pot of boiling water (so i've heard). but i don't think you'd want to put a pocket or aio into boiling water lol.
i haven't cd'ed yet (still waiting on the babe!) so this is all based off what i've read on websites and other threads. i do have one in cloth trainers though and i know when worst comes to worse i just add a LITTLE bit of bleach and that does the trick. i know there's other mama's here that have done the same as well. and by a little i mean like anywhere from 3 tbs to 1/4 cup depending. start small though!

[aliyahsmommy]

WOW! Thanks everybody! I wish I had time to respond to each one of you but my lil' baby girl is VERY clingy tonight! I can't hardly type with a 30+ pound 22 month old in my way.

I'll try to answer some of your questions for me all in this one post.

I am using USED HH and FB Pocket Diapers with Sam's Club Microfiber terry inserts- and I have well water. I think I'm using too much detergent by what it sounds like and I think I am going to quit using the Baking soda and vinager and see if that helps. I don't have Dawn detergent to strip them with- can I use any dish detergent? I also think I'm going to read that list of bad and good detergents and try another brand.

Thanks Everybody you HELPED me alot! I need all the advice I can get!

[Fullhouse]

I have tried a couple other dish soaps, but dawn works better for me.

[dessismama]

With a sensitive skinned child, there is always the possibility that they might react to the fleece... I think you need to strip your dipes first and then see what happens with your baby's rash.

Hope this helps!