cloth diapering check-in

QOTR

How is it going for you guys?   What have been your challenges & solutions?

I have to say that I'm disenchanted.  I love the functionality of the diapers.   They work great.   However, due to a laundry process error on my part early on, my diapers got a funk smell to them.  We've been using them a little over 6 weeks and I've stripped them twice, in two different ways, and that solves it for a bit but then the smell comes back.  There is so much conflicting information on the internet on how to strip.   And when trying to troubleshoot the problem, sites say that it could be due to too much or too little detergent (well that's helpful!). 

I think I have a better laundry process now and I'm on my 3rd different detergent.   I don't know if I'm still doing something wrong, still using the wrong detergent (or wrong amount) or maybe if the smell is just baked in from the the dryer.   He's about to move into the next size up of pristine prefolds, so that will answer my question I guess.   If these get funky right away, I might throw in the towel.  I don't want my kid to be smelly.

I really wish there was someone that made house calls for cloth diapering questions.

usernewname

What's your wash routine @QOTR‌ ?

jesstellina

DD is finally outgrowing her newborn dipes! I'm so glad we got a newborn stash instead of going straight to one-size diapers and infant-sized prefolds like we did with DD1. We especially loved the NB workhorses and are thinking of getting some small or medium ones (we only had size lg for DD1). Wash routine hasn't been an issue so far, knock on wood. We use Gain powder and usually a few drops of tea tree oil.

usernewname

Lissiehoya said:

We love cloth diapering, though DH probably wouldn't feel the same about it if he was the one doing the laundry.

I also have a stripping problem. I stripped the diapers a few weeks ago using Dawn because we've been using not-cloth-diaper-friendly diaper rash ointments. Well, even after rinsing 4 times (cold) after stripping them, DS got a huge rash after I did it. Even though I've washed the diapers since, the rash isn't going away (but I'm also treating it as if it is yeast just in case). Any suggestions?

Dawn only works for diaper cream. Won't take care of yeast. Only bleach can kill yeast bacteria.

frasey

@QOTR - what detergent? I tried several 'cloth safe' detergents but they all left my dipes smelling gross, aka not clean. ew. left over poop, no thanks! The only thing thats kept the stink away is powder Tide to the 3 line, or a full scoop if its a big load. 

We're rocking it over here - ditched the nb stuff and we're now using our BG Elementals that DD was rocking before she PTed last month. Yay - only 1 in dipes! They fit DS awesome, and AIOs are amazinggggg! Just need a few more to space out my washing 1 more day  

usernewname

You can bleach pre folds but I have no idea how it affected non bleached ones. You could ask the ladies on the cd board. I don't use pre folds so I have no experience.

I use sunlight detergent. Full scoop. I think cd "safe" detergents are just hokum. But that's my opinion. Some swear by it. But I also use flats that I made from old sheets so I have little attachment to them. Which probably influences my opinion. But I also think its better to have clean dipes and a rashness baby. Knock on wood we have yet to get a rash.

pistolpackinmomma

We're doing great over here but this isn't our first rodeo! I finally finished the camo diapers I had been working on. I was a little out of practice and really should have picked material that wasn't my favorite to get back in the swing but they'll work!

@QOTR‌ what does your wash routine look like? How are you stripping? Maybe we can help!

usernewname

@pistolpackinmomma ... share photos of your work! I love DIY!

pistolpackinmomma

@florassecret‌ the camos are the only ones I have done since Easter but up next I have some Lego looking print and then I just ordered some diamond plate print too. I have some girly print that I need to do up to sell and I need to work on making more inserts. I'm thinking of trying to come up with a pattern for an AIO but I'm not quite sure how I want to do it yet.

I'm sad that they quit doing this real tree style camo print. I have more camo but it is darker and a little different. I like this one better. These are OS pockets with minky dot inners (the only way I could find the colors I wanted and it be stay dry) which has made it extra thick around the seams (only an issue when putting snaps on but I figured out that trimming the excess from the seams helps) but very soft on the tushy!

pistolpackinmomma

I have one more orange one I need to fix. I messed up the elastic on it.

usernewname

Wow! Those are awesome. You should sell them as WAHM. My MIL realized you can get cloth diaper stuff at the fabric store and I was oooooh we should make some. I was like that's okay, there's a learning curve to them! And I hear PUL is tricky to sew and get sealed.

RachelCA29

I going well, a bit of an obsession for me right now. I've bought a lot of new things since we started to try thing out, and I've sold off a few things too. There are still some wants on my wish list and a few needs (hemp inserts for over night), but I'm trying to be good with the budget and wait to sell things off or find good deals on used things to try out more brands and styles.

pistolpackinmomma

florassecret said:

Wow! Those are awesome. You should sell them as WAHM. My MIL realized you can get cloth diaper stuff at the fabric store and I was oooooh we should make some. I was like that's okay, there's a learning curve to them! And I hear PUL is tricky to sew and get sealed.

It's really not that difficult to work with. I would stay away from babyville pul though as I've heard it delaminates a lot of times. The biggest thing is to use a ball point needle and 100% polyester (not polyester covered) thread. I have heard if some using a Teflon foot but I haven't had any issues with my standard foot. I'm working towards selling on Etsy (I need a cool name though) but right now I'm trying to get enough made for us. We are ok for now because DS2 is still in the flips but DS1 quickly began wetting through them over night and then now they oy last him maybe an hour because he pees too much.

babyaotw

Cloth is going great for us! Bug is out of his NB workhorses and prefolds now, and on the verge on growing out of some of his NB covers. We are mostly in prefolds and best bottoms right now. He will use his OS pocket stash for daycare, which starts next week. Our wash routine seems to be going really well, which is such a relief. *knock on wood* I was really worried because he have super hard water. DH is on board, and does help with the dipe laundry when I ask. I love not buying diapers!

usernewname

Ds is now in his os covers he's kinda in between sizes so they look wonky on him.

Lild09

DH and I love cloth diapering and I'm lucky that DH does the laundry too! We've been using tide and it's been going well

QOTR

@florasecret & @pistolpackinmomma & @frasey.   I'm sorry for the post & run - I had a cranky babe tonight.  Thanks for the offer to help.

I have an older front-loader.  Our water is moderately hard.  I'm using prefolds & thirsties covers.   I wash every other day.

My current routine is to:

1.  prewash on delicate, cold water, with two soaked bath towels for added weight, extra rinse, normal spin, no detergent.  I'm going to start using warm water I think?    (Note:  I believe the initial cause of my funk problem was that  I wasn't spinning out the pre-rinse cycle.) 

2.  Then, I rewet the towels & wash on Heavy cycle, hot water/cold rinse (my only hot water option), with 1/2 a scoop of Country Save detergent and an extra rinse and extra spin. 

Detergent:

I initially was using ECOS.  I thought the coconut in that made things smell funny, so I switched to Tide based on all the references I'd seen, but I was a dummy and used Tide Free & Clear liquid.  So once I realized that mistake, I switched to Country Save powder, which is what I'm currently using.  I haven't tried plain old Tide powder yet.  I think I've spent more on detergents than I have diapers at this point!

Stripping:

I feel like this is where I'm really just winging it.   The first time I soaked them in RLR (my machine has a "soak" option, so it wasn't a true bath tub soak) and then washed them with a 1/4 cup bleach and did a couple of extra rinses.  I thought that had worked, but the funk came back. 

The 2nd time, after I thought a cover had leaked through, I read that a possible cause was detergent build up.  I checked with my husband and realized he had been using a FULL capload of the liquid detergent when he did the laundry, so I did multiple hot water rinses to try to remove any build-up.  Then to strip (based on recommendation from a friend here in town that also CDs and has the same water of course), I washed with baking soda and rinsed in vinegar.   This seemed to work initially, but the funk came back quicker.  It was after this "strip", that I started using Country Save.

QOTR

I'm glad that the laundry issue is going well for the rest of you & @pistolpackinmomma, you are so talented!

QOTR

Lissiehoya said:

@florassecret‌, I'm not sure the rash is yeast. I'm thinking it's irritation from the Dawn... But if it is yeast, should I be bleaching the prefolds? I'm reluctant to because we got non-bleach ones and I'm afraid of what it will do to the appearance of the fabric.

I've bleached my unbleached prefolds twice now (1/4 cup only) and it didn't change the appearance of the material.

cnbean

@Lissiehoya Try rinsing your diapers with warm or even hot water to get rid of the Dawn a bit better.

@pistolpackinmomma I love your camo diapers! They look so good!

I also agree that I've never had any trouble sewing with the PUL. I've made my whole stash for DS1 and never had any issues. I've used the Babyville PUL and not had any trouble with it either. I think a lot of the issues were with a different, earlier PUL that Joann's carried.

usernewname

@QOTR‌ maybe you need more detergent. I use a full scoop. A little more if it's a bigood load. If you rinse on hot or warm you could set up stains from poop. Some people don't care about it (I'm one) but some do. Covers also may leak if you don't have enough absorbency. Ds just started this so I've had to add an insert with my flat as he's a big wetter during the day. If you used liquid detergent then that can cause problems alone.

I do also hear front loaders are really tricky to getting a wash routine down. You could be fighting the battle for a while to figure it out. Hang in there.

Also. Do you really need the towel? I read a lot online you need stew and not soup in your dishwasher as an analogy.

@Lissiehoya‌ I lurked your thread. Yay for not ruining diapers!

pistolpackinmomma

@QOTR‌ I totally understand the cranky babe issue! Try adding a bit of borax in with the detergent to help combat the hard water. I would do a full RLR and then bleach soak in the tub and make sure all of the funk is out.

My wash is just the heavy duty (hot wash/warm or cold, not sure which, rinse) with the prewash and extra rinse options selected. I use tide powder (they say it's best for hard water) and follow the guidelines and use the recommended amount for my load size. I do sprinkle a little in the drum too for during the prewash. Unless your diapers are slimey, no need to worry about detergent buildup as commercial detergents are designed to rinse clean. Given that they are pooped in daily I add bleach to my wash 1-2 times per month (even BG says to do this as a regular maintenance on them) unless one of the boys gets sick.

springbeduk2

After a slow start due to her having a killer rash right out of the hospital and also being so tiny, I'm still only part-time CD with disposables (earth's best) for overnights and most outings partly for laziness (quicker to put on at night especially when she's screaming and kicking as she tends to be; less stuff to carry on outings especially until I get a few more wet bags) and also because I keep seeing hints of a rash starting and aquaphor seems to protect her quite well but it isn't CD safe. I'm planning to get EMAB bottom balm and grovia magic stick to try but until then I think we'll keep doing disposables with aquaphor at night. I'm using cloth wipes full time - 2 sets one with messed up absorbency from using with ointments (still seem to work OK as wipes just don'tdon't want to wash them together with CDs in case residue transfers) and a fresh set for with CDs. I might have to find disposable wipes she doesn't get a rash from for daycare when she starts though - daycare person is cool with doing CD but seemed less so about cloth wipes (her changing area is not near a sink) though she didn't outright say no yet. I'm using GMD unbleached (and I think organic ... trying to remember if I sprung for that) prefolds and workhorses. Still in newborn for all of those. Covers are 4 thirsties size one, 2 rumparooz small, and 2 blueberry mini - all snaps and one imagine aplix I saw on amazon and couldn't resist because it has cute elephants. I have to use that one with workhorses - it doesn't hold an unfastened prefold on place. I like the rumparooz a lot less than the other 2 kinds which surprised me. Glad I like thirsties though as they are cheapest. Need to get a few more. Dh is complaining about the bulkiness of CD (he never changes diapers so can't complain about other aspects) and I have to say that concerns me too ... There's just so much bulk between her legs ! Is that ok for her development? Her movement does seem a bit more restricted than in disposables. I have one fuzzibuns small pocket diaper I've been wanting to try to compare but it still seems way way too big. I also have two grovia bamboo prefolds which are thinner but then I don't trust them as much especially to stay in place unfastened but they're too thin for a snappi - I tried it and the prongs poked through and seemed like they could scratch her. May try with pins when o remember where I put the pins...... My LO is a mini-peanut, btw - maybe 9 1/2 lbs now at 10.5 weeks? Maybe? She is long and thin. I'm also wondering if I'm putting them on too tight (some marks from elastic) but I think if looser they'll leak since already poop often gets onto inside edge of leg gussets (but so far stops there knock on wood!). Any thoughts on how tight is enough/too tight? Another concern is that the GMD prefolds seem to be getting rough. They still absorb and don't smell but are just a bit rough/crusty which seems not so nice for her little tushie. I'm prepping some osocozy unbleached prefolds (to expand stash) - will be curious if same happens to them. Anyone else have GMD ones (or others) get rough? Laundry routine is every 2-3 days in 9 year old HE front loader cold rinse/spin with just a sprinkle of detergent. Then hot wash cold rinse with full scoop of detergent (Charlie's powder); 2nd rinse and extended spin. then machine dry hot with wool dryer balls. Well water; don't know if hard/soft/neither. Using Charlie's for all laundry so shouldn't be residue from others. Septic system in not best condition so really want to avoid using bleach. Plus I hate chlorine. Overall I like the idea of CD and doing it isn't too bad especially compared to trash problem of disposables. But still some kinks to work out. And the number of choices out there is overwhelming !!! Like, wet bags. Need a few more but can't decide whhhich kind I like the best and which is best deal ... Dither dither dither! Edited to try to make paragraph breaks show. Not sure if successful. Apparently not. Curse mobile.

QOTR

Thanks all.  I washed them in bleach last night and so far, that helps.    I had planned on doing that once a month, but maybe it will require a bi-weekly job.   I'll also try the other recommendations of adding more detergent and trying borax.

Another dumb question - I've just been throwing the powdered detergent in on top of the diapers.   Is that right?  I was assuming I couldn't put powder in the compartment where I normally use liquid detergent?

usernewname

Another dumb question - I've just been throwing the powdered detergent in on top of the diapers.   Is that right?  I was assuming I couldn't put powder in the compartment where I normally use liquid detergent?

That's what I do. No issues yet!

spacepotatoes

We're doing pretty well. I also had a stink issue that turned out to be due to some mold starting in my prefolds. Stripping once with oxygen bleach seems to have resolved the issue. It did take a few tries to get a handle on the laundry routine but I think we're set now. We have a top loader and I think that makes it easier.

We do prefolds during the day and either pockets or AIOs at night. Occasionally prefolds with fleece liners when the others are in the wash. As LO grows out of the infant prefolds, I'm debating whether I want to keep using them in a bigger size or go with AIOs and pockets all the time. They are easier and fit much better than any of the covers I currently have. Cuter prints, too!

frasey

@springbeduk2 - there won't be any development issues bc of CDs. think of our grandparents - thats all they had, and many of them were far bulkier than ones we use now. They all developed just fine, right?

@QOTR - I just put it in the drawer thing where I put the liquid detergent! It honestly never occurred to me not to put it in there! But I guess if its working for you, go for it!  And yeah I agree - more detergent! pee and poop = heavily soiled, which is why I use Tide to the 3 line. I hear ya about all the different detergents... I live in a small city so we have limited availability, and DH can never keep them straight. So now we use Tide for everything - easier to buy, and easier to use! And cheaper

usernewname

@springbeduk2

Ds rolled from belly to back at 6 weeks in a bulky cd. They have yet to limit his mobility. The only thing it affects is his clothing size. He has to wear 6-9 months in some things.

likeabel

Cloth is going great over here! We're using contours with Thirsty covers and I love them! I have some prefolds but they're harder to use, bulkier and don't absorb as much so they just stay on he shelf. DS had some red between his butt cheeks so I figured it was either a reaction to the wipe solution or the Tide. I switched to just water for the wipes which almost cleared it up. And then powdered All Free and Clear a few days later... HUGE rash! Who has a reaction to All but not Tide? At any rate, after a day in sposies all has returned to normal and DH declared that he couldn't wait to get him back in cloth because it's so much better!

pistolpackinmomma

@springbeduk2‌ as for the development issues, we have had none. DS1 met all of his marks and was on time or ahead of schedule on rolling/crawling/standing/walking.

As for the rash you are dealing with, have you considered trying a different detergent? I've heard of a lot of people having problems with Charley's causing a rash. Maybe try tide?

cnbean

@springbeduk2 DS1 was a CD baby from the get go and we haven't had any issues with his development. The only thing I noticed was it was harder for him to sit on his own in a Cd. But for all that he hit all the other physical milestones early. I've heard other people express the same concern, but I doubt that it will have any effects. 

springbeduk2

Thank you all for the reassurance about development not being impaired by the bulkiness. Of course it makes sense it's not since CDs in various forms have been used pretty much since ... Well who knows but must be thousands of years. But still ... Any little thing gets the FTM anxiety going especially with dh questioning too so reassurance is nice ! I don't think the rash is from the detergent because its really just around her anus on the in-sloping part that would have least diaper contact. And a little bit of redness sometimes in another "valley" outside her labia. So I think it's most likely a reaction to poop/moisture. She's drooling like crazy too so maybe that is making her poop more caustic than it was a couple weeks ago when there were no signs of rash (so then I got more lax with aquaphor and did CD at least one night). Wouldn't I see rash other places if detergent problem since her clothes are washed in it too? I have read the stuff about rash from Charlie's but I have had trouble with "regular" detergents and my skin before so was/am hesitant to try tide. Was using 7th generation or sun and earth before but theyre not recommended for CD so switched. I wanted to try country save but you can't get it where I live and online I've only found it with shipping charges or supergiant quantity.

spacepotatoes

That sounds like the rash we have right now too. I'm pretty sure it's the heat because LO has heat rash on other parts of her body too. I've found that zinc oxide cream (with disposables) helps but really, we need the weather to change!

pistolpackinmomma

CJs BUTTer is a good barrier that is cd safe.

usernewname

I mix sudocream with coconut oil and it washes fine. But I use flats. No idea if it'd work with pre folds and aio. Burts bee's is junk imo.

spacepotatoes

florassecret said:

I mix sudocream with coconut oil and it washes fine. But I use flats. No idea if it'd work with pre folds and aio. Burts bee's is junk imo.

Aren't flats and prefolds the same thing? Or am I talking crazy?

usernewname

@spacepotatoes‌ flats are a large sheet of fabric to fold multiple times vs pre folds are layers of fabric to be folded (they are pre folded to make the layers).

I just have to fold a little bit more kinda a pain when there's like 40 to do but that's my only complaint about cding.

spacepotatoes

@florassecret Thanks! I didn't realize there was a difference between them, that makes sense.

likeabel

@springbeduk2 your LO might be having a reaction to your wipes. That's where DS was having a reaction and when we switched to just water with our flannel wipes it cleared up instantly. Good luck!

springbeduk2

likeabel said:

@springbeduk2 your LO might be having a reaction to your wipes. That's where DS was having a reaction and when we switched to just water with our flannel wipes it cleared up instantly. Good luck!

She definitely had a reaction to disposable wipes - so I am using cloth with just water. Have for several weeks. Terry or fleece ones to wipe then pat dry with flannel. It's good to know she's not the only one though also I'm sorry yours is sensitive to wipes too since sometimes they are more convenient.

chknma

We (I) am loving CDing. Mostly using flats/prefolds at home with some AIO when we're out and about. I'm sad that the NB simplex won't last too much longer and the OS still seem bulky even though she's probably about 13 lbs with chunky thighs. The P&N are working great for daycare even though I found that I hate stuffing pockets. Looking forward to her growing into our OS stash. I need to get a few more ON fitteds but otherwise our stash is looking good. Of course I'm sure I'll buy more, but I need to sell off some things that I don't want.

RE: harder water.
I also add some Calgon or washing soda to my prerinse cycles and that seems I have helped (or it hasn't hurt so I am afraid to change!)