For the momas with buildup/stink/ammonia/new 2 CD momas/or washing trouble.

[sarahannecloud9]

"
Grapefruit Seed Extract: synthesized from the seeds and pulp of the grapefruit, it’s a very broad spectrum microbicide, bactericide, fungicide, antiparasitic, and anti-viral. Grapefruit Seed Extract is the only natural way to kill yeast spores. It also kills staph, strep, salmonella, and e.coli. It also kills herpes and influenza!
GSE has been tested and found to be anywhere from 10 to 100 times more effective against these offending microorganisms than chlorine bleach, tea tree oil, colloidal silver, and iodine.
It is becoming the disinfectant of choice in hospitals, too!
It is expensive, so the other options on here are far more economical for other disinfecting, but when it comes to yeast – this is the single most effective way to stop it in its tracks on your clothing and cloth diapers. You can buy it at your local health food store.
GSE can also be diluted and used as a swab on affected areas, for cleaning, or even internally for parasites, but I am a laundry queen, not a doctor, and not an expert on treating any kind of human infection – though there’s plenty of other books and websites that can tell you all about it.
For light laundry disinfecting: use 10-15 drops per load.
For heavy disinfecting (when dealing with something nasty or resistant): ½ to 1 teaspoon of GSE to each load of laundry. Wash and dry normally."


"
Hydrogen Peroxide: This is a liquid oxygen bleach and breaks down into water and oxygen.
Use a 3% solution (what is normally available at most drugstores)
Be aware that hydrogen peroxide can damage clothes the same way bleach can, so test for colorfastness and never pour directly on your clothes.
Use ½ cup in the bleach cup of your laundry machine. If you don’t have a bleach cup, start the machine without putting clothes in. wait until your machine is filled with water, then add the peroxide and let the water agitate with the peroxide in it before adding clothes.
Do not mix Vinegar and Hydrogen peroxide! They combine together to make peracetic acid which has different properties than vinegar or peroxide and is very corrosive, and can have dangerous effects and can bleach fabrics."

"Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is great on perspiration stains and is a great disinfectant. It will also help whiten fabrics as a bleach alternative. You can use ½ cup in the laundry. The disinfecting property of lemons comes from its high acidity. It changes the pH levels in bacteria so the microbes can’t survive. Lemon juice is best utilized in a separate wash cycle or in the rinse cycle from using other additives like borax or baking soda because borax and baking soda are both very alkaline, and will kill a different range of microbes. Adding lemon juice at the same time as other alkaline additives can alter the pH and not kill anything or create a reaction."

"
Vinegar: Another acidic disinfectant. You should use it on a separate wash cycle from Borax as you will lose the benefits of the pH changes each does that contributes to killing germs (Borax is basic and Vinegar is acidic). Lots of people add it to the rinse but I recommend another plain water rinse after using to bring the pH back to neutral. Contrary to popular belief, vinegar is not a strong disinfectant for laundry but should serve for gentle disinfecting. It does have disinfectant properties, but it is not as acidic as lemon juice. It is better utilized in the rinse cycle to help get rid of soap residue.
To use, add ¼ to ½ cup in the rinse cycle or regular wash load. Vinegar can be used safely at any water temperature. Also, Vinegar can be used with Baking Soda as the two together will also kill food germs and bacteria (and fight stains!) without creating any toxic byproducts."

"Borax: Borax is a pH buffer and raises the pH of your water to make it slightly basic. Borax is used best as a laundry booster. It works by converting some water molecules to Hydrogen Peroxide and works best in hotter water. The pH buffer it create in the water make a stable environment for chemical reactions to occur between the soap and your clothes, thus its “laundry booster” qualities. The reactions that borax undergoes in hot water does the disinfecting.
To disinfect with borax, wash on hot and add ½ cup per load. Use in the wash cycle and not the rinse cycle. Borax can also be toxic if consumed, so keep away from little ones and pets.
As stated above, don’t use borax with vinegar or lemon juice."

"Baking Soda: This isn’t a disinfectant but a lot of people think it is. It works with vinegar to disinfect but is not effective on its own.
There you have it! What methods do you use to disinfect your laundry?"

Here is an awsome link!!!!!:

http://everythingbirth.wordpress.com...cloth-diapers/

[luvof3boyz]

Do you add extra water to your FL?

[kyanly]

Do you recommend stripping diapers if you change detergents? I've never really strip and I need help..i smell like a funny smell when my son pees in it and i recently changed from Tide powder HE to Tiny Bubbles...so i think that's what is causing it..and how would you strip diapers in a FL with hard water?

[sarahannecloud9]

Originally Posted by luvof3boyz Do you add extra water to your FL?

I don't. I try to keep my routine simple.
Oh, my repairman told me to not add water because the weight is measured when the cycle starts and I would have trouble with causing it to be unbalanced. If you feel you need more water, you could add a wet towel. Some momas ever add a wet towel then do a rinse to get everything soaked and no spin. It'll read a heavier load.

Originally Posted by kyanly Do you recommend stripping diapers if you change detergents? I've never really strip and I need help..i smell like a funny smell when my son pees in it and i recently changed from Tide powder HE to Tiny Bubbles...so i think that's what is causing it..and how would you strip diapers in a FL with hard water?

I only recomend stripping when you have problems. Did you smell it before you switched? If not, I would switch back. If yes, the detergent could either be makeing the problem worse or pushing the buildup out. I don't really like the idea of stripping in a fl becaus eit can cause so many problems. I put a teney bit of dawn in my fl'er once and over suds the thing. It can also burn up the pump and void a warrenty. I know of some momas on here that do though. I suppose it just depends on the machine.
I'd just try the tub method then toss them in the machine for the bleach and rinsing. It sounds like you have more of a bacteria issue though, not so much buildup. Have you disinfected them yet? You may just need a cpl washes with bleach and to tweak the wash routine some. Are you using plenty of detergent? I would think the tide would do a stronger job at cleaning than a gentler detergent. If you have hard water, I highly recomend using a softner with the detergent. The monerals in the hard water mess with the surface tension and don't allow the detergents to do an optimal job. Think of a softner as a booster and a lubricant for the detergent. It'll help the minerals not redeposit on the fibers. It won't remove the buildup that is already there though. just prevents it from getting worse. If you have iron hard water, be weary of the bleach. Some momas will get rust stains from the heavy iron in the water reacting with the bleach. Do you get that problem with your whites? Hard water typically needs more detergent too, unless it's not so hard that a softner added gives you a good lather and good results. I didn't have the money for calgon the whole time we had hard water, so we use borax with excelent results.

[NSquared]

I have a couple of questions:

1. I normally wash every other day, but in the diaper pail (I just use a plastic trash can that is always open) I still get ammonia smell. Is this normal to get the ammonia smell in your diaper pail? I never any ammonia issues while on my DD.

2. How long is your wash cycle only? I have on old top loader that has just the very basics options on it and the "heavy" wash is only 18 minutes. I have been resetting it before it spins and drains back to the 18 minute mark so it is washing for about 36 minutes before it spins and then rinses. Is that long enough?

3. Part of my wash cycle is to let the diapers soak in warm water with some vineagar and some Tide free and gentle (after my cold rinse). I do have hard water and have read that vinegar and hard water don't mix. Is this true and why?

Thanks for the thread! This is all great information.

[sarahannecloud9]

Originally Posted by NSquared I have a couple of questions: 1. I normally wash every other day, but in the diaper pail (I just use a plastic trash can that is always open) I still get ammonia smell. Is this normal to get the ammonia smell in your diaper pail? I never any ammonia issues while on my DD. That's one that's always debated. I have never had it happen. I just don't know a good answer for you. I suppose as long as they come clean and never smell when she wets in them it should be fine. 2. How long is your wash cycle only? I have on old top loader that has just the very basics options on it and the "heavy" wash is only 18 minutes. I have been resetting it before it spins and drains back to the 18 minute mark so it is washing for about 36 minutes before it spins and then rinses. Is that long enough? My sanitise cycle is something like 1:47 depending on weight. I wonder if something is wrong? Even our old tl'er took around 45-1 hr. Are you talking about the part of the wash that has the detergent and washes? Or the whole wash, not including prewash? I'm not sure about that cycle? My machine has several cycles it does for heavyduity and sanitise. It does a rinse, then long wash with detergent, then rinse, then bleach, then rinse, then softner. I believe that's correct. If your diapers are staying good and clean, you should be fine. If you smell an unpleasant odor when lo soils the diaper, you may want to look into the wash routine. 3. Part of my wash cycle is to let the diapers soak in warm water with some vineagar and some Tide free and gentle (after my cold rinse). I do have hard water and have read that vinegar and hard water don't mix. Is this true and why? I don't know the scientific answer to this one, but it can be true. Not all hard water is the same. Some is hard because of high calcium levels, or iron, or other minerals. Sometimes a combo depending on your location and well dept, ect. The vinegar can react with some minerals leaving the diapers smelling kinda funkey. it's not that it's not good for them, it's the smell some momas with hard water will get. If you are using the vinegar and have no odor issue, keep useing it if you like it. Thanks for the thread! This is all great information.

Sorry I wasn't more helpfull.

[jesslfar]

Sorry to add more questions. Very helpful thread. I was ammonia free for the first year of DD's life but struggled with it after that and spent way too much time trying to kill it, your suggestions seem much easier.

We have very soft water, as in some of the cleanest in the nation, no flouride.

1. What about bleach if you use colored diapers? I've always been too afraid to try it. I am mostly a pocket user and my diapers are always colors. Should I just bleach the inserts and doublers?

[jesslfar]

Sorry to add more questions. Very helpful thread. I was ammonia free for the first year of DD's life but struggled with it after that and spent way too much time trying to kill it, your suggestions seem much easier.

We have very soft water, as in some of the cleanest in the nation, no flouride.

1. What about bleach if you use colored diapers? I've always been too afraid to try it. I am mostly a pocket user and my diapers are always colors. Should I just bleach the inserts and doublers?

[luvof3boyz]

I can't imagine not adding more water. It uses SO LITTLE!!! I have a hose that feeds into my dispenser and I add a ton. I hope I break the awful machine. I still have to do 4 extra rinses. My diapers still smell funky when my ds pees. I use bleach every load also.

[luvof3boyz]

Thank you so much for all the info BTY. Taking the time to answer so many ??'s.