I'm STILL rinsing over and over! Someone PLEASE help me!!

[aliyahsmommy]

Ok mamas... I LOVE CDing but the laundry is getting on my nerves!! I just started CDing in May and it's great but I have tryed everything and I'm contantly striping and rinsing dipes!! I use probably 1 TBSP of SUN detergent at the most sometimes two. I've tried hand washing with dawn-which works well but is very annoying to do weekly. I have bought and tried Oxyclean, and Calgon-we have well water and I had NO idea how much of either to use or how often to use it. The problem is I still have to rinse my dipes 5 times or more to get the smells out. Most of the time I just give up and let her wear smelly dipes...pittiful huh! I still haven't got this figured out yet and I have a newborn coming in September to CD. I fear that BF poo will throw another curve ball at me.

Forget what I've said I've tried and tell me exactly what you do. What do you use, how much, and how often? I am SICK of rinsing! I am totally convienced that I'm draining our well dry on diaper day!!! What do I need to do to make CD laundry ALOT more simple. What do I need to know about CD laundry for NB BF poo? How do I prevent stains from NB poo? Is it the inserts that smell SO bad? If I stopped using my BELOVED pocket dipes and just went to PF's and covers would that rid me of this problem? Should I wash my inserts seperate from my dipes?

In my Laundry room I have:
SUN
Calgon
Oxy Clean
TTO
Lavendar Oil
Dawn
Vinager
Baking Soda
.... how much of what do I use when?

OH LORD ...please tell me I'll have this figured out one day!!

[Cristina]

Are you washing on hot? Is your hot water heater set hot enough to wash your diapers?
I spray the poopy diapers and put them with the wet ones in a canvas dry bag hung on the door. I wash the bag and all the wet/dirty diapers every other day. On a medium hot cycle, maximum agitation, with minimal detergent. I switch detergent whenever I run out of a brand to minimize buildup. I use tide, kirklands, All f&c, sun... whatever is on sale. Double rinse. Every so often I do a whole extra hot cycle without soap, instead of the second rinse. I never have stinkies. DS gets a rash if I don't double rinse/ use too much detergent.
HTH! I hope you figure out a system that works better for ya soon!

ETA: I never use additives. Ever. More trouble than they are worth, IMO.

[aliyahsmommy]

Yep! I use HOT! Sometimes I've even added some boiling water to it. I don't switch brands of detergent though...hhmmmm. Does that help prevent build up?

[jamiectw]

I've had problems in the past with stink and also with buildup without stink. Here's what I do now and I don't have stink or buildup issues anymore. First I do a cold wash cycle then turn it to high spin to get all the poo and most of the pee out (breastfed infant). Then I wash on hot & rinse cold on the largest water setting and use about 1/2-3/4 cup of baking soda. If washing just inserts I also add a cup of white vinegar (not good for PUL so a no-no for pockets and covers). I don't do an extra rinse because I don't need to. That's it. I do also have a laundry ball so that may be why I can use BS instead of detergent. I also do try to wash my inserts and pockets separately too. Also, I notice that I get less stains if I don't pack the load too much, give it plenty of room for everything to move around in there. You should NOT have to be stripping so much. Oh, and I have city water.

Also, breastfed poo can stain but it will sun out and I find that it usually comes out after a few washes.

Good luck!

[Righteous Recycles]

Seems like the vast majority of stink posts here involve pockets. Anyway, I know some people have had problems with oxyclean. I just use a few drops of TTO in the first rinse.

[Hayley]

you have recieved great advice so far I have a simple washing routine I do one cold rinse to get poo off then I wash on hot with SUN and a cup of baking soda...........I add 10 drops of TTO to the fabric ball with hot water and that is it!

I don't have any issues with stinkies.

Good Luck momma.

BTW I just moved from az where the water is hard and now I feel like the water here is softer so we will see what happens in the next few weeks.

[rlharp5375]

Stop using vinegar. Well water and vinegar usually don't mix well. Here is part of an article from the diaper hyena that explain what I mean. I love her articles!

Vinegar in your cloth diaper wash. Two sides of the coin:

''Heads-Up"': The reasons to use vinegar:

• Vinegar will help neutralize the urine in cloth diapers.
• Vinegar equalizes pH balance.
• Vinegar helps eliminate soap residue/film build-up.
• Vinegar deters the setting-in of stains.
• Vinegar can help keep colors from bleeding.
• Vinegar can cut down on lint.
• Vinegar is a natural fabric softener and static cling reducer.

"Tails": The reasons to NOT use vinegar:

• In some areas with 'hard water,' there is a chance that vinegar can mix with trace minerals in your water supply, causing your diapers to smell acrid once urinated upon. In which case, you would want to cease using vinegar in your diaper pail/wash.
• If you notice a build-up of residue on your diapers or your diapers are not as absorbent AND YOU HAVE NOT been using fabric softener sheets in the dryer or any detergent with fabric softeners built-in, temporarily cease your use of vinegar. In this situation, vinegar might not be the culprit, but once there is a build-up on your diapers, they will need to be 'stripped' before you should continue regular usage of vinegar.
• If you notice that your diaper covers are getting stinky, vinegar may be the culprit. Many of today's diaper covers have some polyester in them and polyester easily holds in smells. Vinegar's acidity can react to baby's acidic urine and together, they can release a very acrid smell.

[Julesmom23girls]

I agree w/ pp about the vinegar.

I would also say have you tried using the dawn in the washing machine. I have stripped my diapers in the washer w/ a small squirt of Dawn. Check your rinse cycle for bubbles but hopefully it won't take 5 rinses to get it out. If that is what has worked the best maybe you should just use it in the machine. I don't know if regular use would be bad for your machine though, but probably not as long as you don't get crazy with it.

Good luck. I am sure that your problems are caused by your Hard well water, not your techniques, I have never heard of well water that wasn't hard.

[Mommyk8]

I've use SUN, SUN free, and Charlies Soap. I actually had a problem with the regular sun after several weeks it has some sort of brighteners or something in it. Anyway try to see if you can find the SUN free. I have my hot water turned up really high and I use 1/2 cup to a cup of baking soda with a little bit of SUN FREE or Charlies soap. I don't usually have stink problems. I kow that some mama's have said that you can put a little bleach in with the inserts and wash them to see if that help the stinks. There is also a thread a around here about stripping your washing machine I'll see if I can find it for you.

[Mommyk8]

Here is the link for stripping your washing machine.

http://www.thediaperhyena.com/washingmachinecare.htm