Need help with my wash cycle

emandjp

HI Ladies!! I'm having some major problems with my new washer. We recently moved, leaving my top loader behind and now this front loader is NOT getting my diapers clean. All of my Cloth-eez prefolds and workhorses are o.k., but my Freetimes do not smell clean. We have really hard water in the county where I live so before (with my top loader), I washed with Lulus in the Fluff Extra Hard Water, Calgon and sometimes washing soda too and I had no problems-but now that's not working! Do you have any suggestions to help get rid of the funk? The diapers smell dirty and there is ammonia build up! Thank you so much in advance!

Rrrrrachel

What kind of cycles are you doing right now? Most people seem to do some kind of express wash (warm is better than cold) with no detergent, then hot wash with an extra rinse. If they come out smelling then they aren't getting clean, so that always makes me think not enough detergent or wrong detergent.

emandjp

I'm doing a hot pre-wash, then a hot/cold cycle with an extra rinse at the end. I'm using the suggested amount of Lulus in the Fluff, 2 tablespoons. Lulus is the Fluff is the it detergent that worked with our water, but could a front loader need a different detergent? Also, the edges of the Freetimes are kind of curling up and the underside of the inserts feel a little hard...

TJ1979

That sounds like buildup maybe? But you wouldn't want to do a hot water strip in super hard water. Maybe an RLR soak? Anyone else?

freezorburn

I agree it sounds like buildup. It could have something to do with the different machine, or it could just be coincidence that this is happening shortly after the switch.

As far as detergent goes, often (but not always) the difference between TL and FL is whether or not it is also an HE machine. Most, but not all, FLs are HE. Many TLs are conventional but HE TLs are becoming more common. At any rate, I'm not familiar with your detergent, so it may or may not be optimized for your machine.

I have found that buildup happens more frequently with my synthetic fiber diapers, and so they need to be stripped periodically. RLR is supposed to be very good for that. If you don't have access to RLR, I would just do a hot water strip with Calgon. Get your diapers as clean as possible, then run them through the longest cycle you have in hot water with Calgon only. And rinse really well. You may need to do this on a regular basis with your synthetics.

emandjp

I feel like it's buildup, too!! I've used RLR before but never to soak. Do I just do it in the sink?? Thank you for your help!

Rrrrrachel

I wonder if with the fl you need less detergent. Also if it's a powder detergent maybe try predissolving it?

emandjp

Thank you all!! I'll give it a try!!

Sgriff1

I'd try the RLR strip and go from there. The hot water strips did not work for me with my really hard water, so bathtub was the way to go. Mainly just my inserts and synthetics (left out my covers just incase) in the bathtub with super hot water and RLR for a few hours. I periodically added a kettle of hot water and agitated the water too. Eventually the water became dirty looking too. Then I squeezed them out and threw them in the wash and started over. Of course make sure to rinse until bubbles are gone!