Getting BF poop stains out

cocobean2011 · August 2013

Hi, I am new to CD-ing and i am having a hard time getting poop stains to wash out of diapers.my daughter is EBF so i am not doing any rinsing of diapers, i just throw them in the wet bag. i do laundry every 36-48 hours. I have a samsung FL washing machine (although i just washed them in a regular top load and i had the same problem). I am using country save powder detergent. in my front load i will do a quick wash and spin with cold water because i don't have a soaking option. then i wash them with hot water and detergent and do an extra rinse. i line dry them. I did the same in the top load machine, but i was actually able to let them soak in cold water for about 15 minutes before i did the hot wash. same problem. there are large, yellow poop stains on the diapers. i did dry them in the sun one time and most of the stains disappeared. but i can't dry them outside all the time. i'll be line drying them inside the house on a regular basis.

can anyone tell me what i'm doing wrong? should i wash them differently or use another type of detergent? i want to CD but having stained diapers all the time is kinda of a deal breaker (especially for my husband, who's already not 100% on board with the whole idea, but is willing to give it a try).

Thanks in advance

bookworm982 · August 2013

Honestly, the stains aren't hurting anything, so I just ignore them. Today I pulled out my small prefolds from DD so I could wash them in preparation for DS's arrival. That was the first time I remembered that several were stained, but I don't have the option to sun diapers so I chose not to care.

For what it's worth, now that DD is eating mostly solids and has ploppable poop a majority of the time, our BG 4.0s aren't stained. Give it a couple months, sun your diapers once when her poop changes, and call it good.

kjsmith9 · August 2013

Yup, nothing wrong with stains. As long as they don't smell funky, they're fine.

We didn't sun our newborn prefolds, but eventually they were washed so many times that most of the stains just disappeared.

Tell your husband to stop being such a baby - it's just a little color on a diaper :P

ShadyKull · August 2013

Even if you line dry them inside and can put them next to a sunny window, that should still help take the stain out. Otherwise, don't worry about the stains. I know it is nice to have bright white diapers, but hardly anyone will see them.

Aurora_Borealis · August 2013

EBF poo is often shocking mustard yellow. It stains. It doesn't mean your diapers aren't clean. You are not doing anything 'wrong' with your washing routine. Don't make yourself crazy.

The sun is pretty much the only thing that gets it out. It will get it out if you dry inside near a window. Or if you sun diapers that have been stained for weeks and weeks. I sunned my newborn stash 3 times I think. Two times while using it and a third time before I sold it. None of the diapers had any lingering staining.

SarahinMD · August 2013

I agree with PP that it's not hurting anything, and sunning them should get stains out. But if it's bothering you, just start spraying them. We did from day 1, and never had stain issues. Having a bit of water on the poopy diapers while they waited for the wash, I think, helped keep it from setting. But it doesn't mean the diapers aren't clean if they're stained.