OK, what am I doing wrong?

bumpuser9353653

Lately, DD's diapers have been smelling even after they are washed, and I end up washing them twice.  Even with an HE machine, I feel like this is a major waste of water/energy.  I also feel like they've been smelling extra strong lately before washing. DH doesn't notice a difference and blames my extra sensitive pregnancy senses. Maybe he's right, but I hold my breath half the time when I empty the bag into the washer to avoid gagging.

I wash her diapers EOD. Top-loading HE washer. All Free & Clear HE liquid detergent. Whites cycle (hot wash with an extra rinse). When I have to wash them a second time, I either run it with a little vinegar thrown in or with nothing at all (so just the hot water).

MIL watches DD during the week and often washes the diapers. She said she uses Tide Free & Gentle.  She does not have an HE machine so not sure what her exact cycle is.  Though, she is notorious for screwing up special-care laundry items (as an example: she's been putting our gDiaper plastic liners in the dryer and they're pretty damaged b/c of it).

So am I doing something wrong or could MIL be using too much detergent?  Or is there something else I'm missing?

TIA!

ETA: forgot to mention - we use gDiapers primarily, so most of the diapers are cloth/hemp. There are a couple BG microfiber inserts in the mix as well.

km_md

I'm not a pro at this yet, but I use Tide free and clear for my regular laundry, so I had looked it up when I was researching CDing, and I read (multiple times) that something about the free & gentle detergents isn't good for cloth diapers. 

I'm not sure what kind of diapers you use, or what other things could be causing the issues or help make them better, but I just wanted to let you know that piece of information that I came across. 

I hope that you get it figured out!

TJ1979

Both of those detergents could be causing issues.

bumpuser9353653

@bookitup - no, not usually. I think we have a "rinse and spin" or "rinse and drain" cycle, but I've never used it.  Think that would make a difference?

bumpuser9353653

Because I'm lazy and don't want to sift through google results (sorry), can someone give me the quick & dirty answer on why liquid detergents are bad? Or is it just the Free & Clear detergents? Either way - I'm not clear on what the issue is.  I've honestly never seen HE detergent in powder form and we have to use HE detergent in the washer.

TJ1979

Oh goodness yes, you are washing in pee and poo water if you don't do an initial rinse and spin.

nanabanana06

Yes, you should always be doing a pre wash before washing diapers. If you don't your just washing them in pee and poop water. So, they aren't really getting clean. I'd do an express wash on warm before doing your Whites cycle. Also, toss the damn All. It doesn't work and isn't CD safe.

Into+the+Kitty

Isn't nellies HE

nanabanana06

Liquid detergent isn't good because the substance they use to keep it suspended isn't good for CD's. Long periods of use will cause stink issue and repelling. All Free and Clear specifically seems to be a common detergent for stink (just like Rockin Green seems to be). I have an HE machine as well and use powdered. I alternate between Tide Ultra and homemade.

nanabanana06

Yes, Nellie's, Charlie's, Country Save, and Tiny Bubbles are all HE. I don't think there is many detergents these days that aren't.

bumpuser9353653

Thanks ladies. much appreciated! If we end up switching detergents, do I just wash them a couple times in hot water to try and clear up any residual left on the diapers?

I'll look next time we're at the store for some HE powder.

Another silly question - does the powder still go in the detergent cup in the washer or just sprinkled in the washer drum with the diapers?

Aurora_Borealis

RugbyMamma said:

Thanks ladies. much appreciated! If we end up switching detergents, do I just wash them a couple times in hot water to try and clear up any residual left on the diapers?

No.  If you haven't been doing a prerinse your diapers stink from residual pee & poo, not residual detergent. A hot water strip isn't going to change that. Just wash them with the new detergent.

RugbyMamma said:

Another silly question - does the powder still go in the detergent cup in the washer or just sprinkled in the washer drum with the diapers?

It depends on your machine. Your manual (or even the detergent cup itself) should tell you.

TheEditor

While I'm not a CD expert, I'm not a newbie, either.  We've used Arm & Hammer Sensitive (fragrance and dye-free) liquid detergent with our BGs for over a year and have never had a stink issue.  I did find that I was using too much at one point (caused rashes on LO), so now I only use about 2 Tbsp (maybe a tad more) in a super-sized load and we're doing well.  I've found that it's really the hot water that cleans the diapers more than the detergent.  

bumpuser5078523

I get my original tide at Costco. I think they only carry the HE now?

Nxy

Not to post jack but, I had seen that the All free and clear that you can get on military bases was okay for CD. Is this not the case? 

nanabanana06

Nxy said:

Not to post jack but, I had seen that the All free and clear that you can get on military bases was okay for CD. Is this not the case? 

I think they changed their formulation to the small and mighty All Free and Clear military. I don't think it's truly CD safe anymore. I think the older style military grade All Free and Clear is though. I could be wrong, but I think I heard the Navy wives talking about this on my local CD group a while back.

Nxy

Nana_Osaki06 said:

Nxy said:

Not to post jack but, I had seen that the All free and clear that you can get on military bases was okay for CD. Is this not the case? 

I think they changed their formulation to the small and mighty All Free and Clear military. I don't think it's truly CD safe anymore. I think the older style military grade All Free and Clear is though. I could be wrong, but I think I heard the Navy wives talking about this on my local CD group a while back.

It is the small and mighty but it still has no brighteners or enzymes or anything like that. I prepped my entire stash with it.. I guess now I'll just have to wait and see. If it doesn't work out is there anything else very commercially available that might be better? We are stationed on Guam and using something I can run to the commissary and get is going to be easier than trying to get something shipped here/waiting for something to get here. 

nanabanana06

Nxy said:

Nana_Osaki06 said:

Nxy said:

Not to post jack but, I had seen that the All free and clear that you can get on military bases was okay for CD. Is this not the case? 

I think they changed their formulation to the small and mighty All Free and Clear military. I don't think it's truly CD safe anymore. I think the older style military grade All Free and Clear is though. I could be wrong, but I think I heard the Navy wives talking about this on my local CD group a while back.

It is the small and mighty but it still has no brighteners or enzymes or anything like that. I prepped my entire stash with it.. I guess now I'll just have to wait and see. If it doesn't work out is there anything else very commercially available that might be better? We are stationed on Guam and using something I can run to the commissary and get is going to be easier than trying to get something shipped here/waiting for something to get here. 

I think it's more to do with the concentration and the suspension agents with it. However, there are plenty or other options. Tide Ultra (powdered) is pretty good and lots of people have great success with it. There's also homemade options you could do if you can get the ingredients there. I know a few people that seem to be able to get away with anything with CDs though (mostly a few people I know who use liquid Tide or Gain on the reg, even in pod form). It's not recommended though to do so. More so if you have difficult water (like me!).

bumpuser9353653

DH just said last night "if we're going to switch to powder, we might as well make our own." Anyone have a good homemade recipe that is safe for HE machines?

YellowLily2013

Most recipes have:

Borax
Washing soda
Oxy clean


For diapers you're not supposed to use soap. Typical homemade recipes call for a grated soap like nels naptha.

nanabanana06

I do 2 parts borax and washing soda, 1 part oxy clean. There's another recipe on the eco friendly family that uses ground soap nuts.

haileyq

Does anyone else think a bleach strip is in order, to kill all the residual bacteria from being washed in pee and poop for a long time?

bumpuser9353653

I used bleach once and DD got a rash from them afterwards. I ended up doing a hot water wash or two after that to try and get rid of any excess bleach.

Would prefer not to use bleach again if I don't have to. She has really sensitive skin.

bumpuser9353653

1/4 cup seems to be a commonly recommended amount for laundry. Seems like that'd be too much for 12 cloth inserts. How much do you use for a CD strip?

Mandmeesh

1/8 C.

bumpuser9353653

Thanks @mandmeesh !