EBF poo not washing out!?

usernewname

Hey ladies.

I EBF my son and the poo is not washing out in the cloth diapers. What am I doing wrong? I thought it just washed out?

My wash routine is cold rinse, cold regular wash (with mainstream powder detergent) and hang outside in sun to dry. I have no smells when soiled and they appear or smell clean otherwise.

Should I rinse or spray them off? Or try liners? Any advice you have I would appreciate it.

sunshineinmay09

I know that when I only use the rinse/drain/spin cycle on my washer it doesn't get the poo out. I have to actually use the rapid wash option.
Do you have a quick wash you can use? Also, have you tried using warm water instead of cold? Warn water tends to get pee and poo out of diapers better. And is the washer rinsing AND draining/spinning before you wash? If not, you're just washing in poopy water.

mrshudson618

Your main wash should be hot, or at least warm, and the rinse should have some agitation. If it doesn't, you should use a short wash instead.

usernewname

Washer spins and drains in rinse cycle. Maybe a quick wash would be better then do a full wash.

I'm trying to stick to cold since that was the compromise with DH to cloth diaper to keep the cost minimal. And I don't think my washer has a warm option

km_md

Because there is no smell, you might just have stains, which is normal. What kind of inserts are they?

I sometimes have EBF stains on DDs diapers, especially on the microfiber inserts. Sunning them works well to bleach out the stains. 

Standard wash routines recommended here are cold/warm initial rinse, hot wash, cold rinse. Maybe give that a try and see if you notice a difference. Make sure your initial dirty rinse water drains out before the wash cycle. 

And what do you mean by mainstream detergent?

ElleBeeDub

I agree that doing a quick wash rather than a simple pre rinse will help. Right now, I'd say don't worry too much about using a hot wash (I know quite a few people around here who only use cold and they're fine), but also add in a second rinse after your main wash.

mrshudson618

Reading again, I am not sure the issue- is it just stains? like PP said, that is normal. 

If it is not sunning out right away, it will fade over time with more washes and sunning. 

But I would still use a hot wash, because hot water will dissolve the detergent better, and therefore clean the diapers better, and rinse better. Using only cold you have a pretty high likelihood that you are going to end up with buildup and stink issues later on. 

We have washed EOD on hot for almost a year and there is really not a noticeable difference in water or energy bills.  

usernewname

Not stains. Like actual poo! I don't care about stains if they are clean. Can always sun them out.

I'm using cheer detergent at the moment as it was on sale. It cleans well, scent could be toned down a notch but it's almost gone.

I'll try a quick wash first and then a heavy wash and hope that does the trick. If that doesn't I'll try changing the water temp.

ElleBeeDub

Once your Cheer is gone, you should also really consider switching to a cloth-safe detergent (a lot of people do well with original powdered tide if you're looking for something easy to find). Like Mrs. H said, you will be more prone to buildup with a cold wash, so you don't want to use a detergent that is also likely to cause buildup.

usernewname

True. Trying to keep it simple and avoid problems.

Maybe I'll try a hot quick wash. I don't think I have a warm option but I don't remember as I never use it.

Thank you for your help! I don't want LO to get an infection or raw bum from a crap wash.

RockiesNugget

I had this issue when I first started. My routine was a cold quick wash (no detergent)/hot wash (detergent) with extra rinse. It seemed that my quick was didn't get enough water/agitation to get all the poo off, so I now use a full wash cycle on warm then the same on hot with extra rinse.

I wish my first wash was shorter, but since I found a combination that works I don't want to mess with it.

Keep trying different combinations until you find the one that works!

Rrrrrachel

So your husband would rather use disposables than wash cloth on hot? He knows disposables cost a lot more than hot water, right? Seriously you will probably not even notice the difference in cost between washing in hot and cold.

usernewname

DH would rather cloth ... we never wanted to use spoises after the first couple of weeks (which we did). I guess when you've never done it you'd think the difference in doing laundry every other week to every other day would have an impact on your utility bill, and a noticeable one.

Probably won't notice a difference, but I won't know til I make the switch. Which I plan on doing.

Rrrrrachel

So e doesn't prefer sposies to hot water, just diapers that still have poop on them? Sorry, I'm not trying to be snarky, I just don't see how this is really a decision. Your diapers have to get clean.

usernewname

Exactly - diapers have to get clean! Hot or cold water it needs to happen. 

But if everyone says the extra utility cost is minimal then I'm not too worried about it, and I'd doubt he'd notice Its our first year paying utilities (always included in rent) so we have had to learn how much usage equals so much cost.

KLXVI

Here's a good explanation of the importance of heat in cleaning clothes. Heat removes the need for extra chemicals and more time and mechanical action.

mrshudson618

florassecret said:

Exactly - diapers have to get clean! Hot or cold water it needs to happen. 

But if everyone says the extra utility cost is minimal then I'm not too worried about it, and I'd doubt he'd notice Its our first year paying utilities (always included in rent) so we have had to learn how much usage equals so much cost.

When I first started paying bills I was shocked at how little usage affects the cost really. It is mostly fees. 

I wanted to take my first water bill home and yell at my dad for all the years he yelled at my sisters and I for taking long showers. You would have to shower all day to really make a difference in the bill.

usernewname

mrshudson618 said:

florassecret said:

Exactly - diapers have to get clean! Hot or cold water it needs to happen. 

But if everyone says the extra utility cost is minimal then I'm not too worried about it, and I'd doubt he'd notice Its our first year paying utilities (always included in rent) so we have had to learn how much usage equals so much cost.

When I first started paying bills I was shocked at how little usage affects the cost really. It is mostly fees. 

I wanted to take my first water bill home and yell at my dad for all the years he yelled at my sisters and I for taking long showers. You would have to shower all day to really make a difference in the bill.

The fees are ridiculous!

Maybe it's a manly thing!

Rrrrrachel

Especially hot water. If you have a traditional water heater that thing is using up energy keeping your water got all day anyway. Sure it's using a little more by having to heat water from cold vs just maintain, but at least you get clean diapers out of it!