Cloth Diapering

A woman of my word - FL & CDS

I promised I'd review and re-post a few months later on the condition of my diapers.
It's hard to say in regards to what wear and tear has been because of the FL CDS and how much is because my diapers are 2.5 years old and I use the dryer (medium/every time).

Prior to doing the FLCDS method, my diapers had relaxed elastic.  I waited until now to repair them because I was hoping DD would potty train... (ahh the dream...)
I think after two and a half years of heavy use that relaxed elastic is par for the course.  PLUS... No matter how many times I tell him not to, DH often uses pocket covers over fitteds for night time instead of the Coveralls or DuoWraps.  I repaired the elastic on the 4.0s.  Most of them are perfectly fine now.  Almost like brand new diapers.

BG4.0 Two out of 12 - I have thrown away two that have cracked PUL and were leaking through the PUL.

BG freetime I can't check the PUL.

My Thirsties and Sweet Pea covers are looking rough.  Again... it's so hard to tell how much is wear and tear/drying vs FLCDS.  I need to replace them $$$ :(  but... new prints :)

(insert frustration over trying to upload pics here...)

My hemp inserts have zero stink.  No ammonia whatsoever.  My S'bish have no stink at all either.  After the rlr/bleach I changed my routine to normal wash with line 1 Tide and hot wash with line 3 Tide.  My diapers have not been repelling at all.   Also... DD had a terrible terrible rash yeast/ammonia burn that kept coming back.  Since we did FLCDS there hasn't even been slight redness... nada.

My Simplex seem to be not as absorbant.  There were some holes prior to FLCDS in the birdseye (kinda like a lesser version of the lady who was near the copper mine - hard water).  It doesn't seem like there are more holes, but the cotton seems thinner.  Can't see any cracks but will check later (they are in the wash now). My prefolds seem minimally thinner. Again... wear/tear vs cdfls?

Blueberry pockets- no PUL damage but the inner of the pocket is wearing thinner close to the leg.

So... Here's my FL CDS advice.....
No to covers.  (like a duo wrap) I can't see any benefit to it. Not sure why I threw them into it....

maybe a modified version to pockets.... only two of my pockets had damage. out of about 24-25.
so a shortened version may help w/out exposing to chemicals for so long.  Or maybe smaller amount of bleach....
 

Yes! to overnight diapers.  once.  Then fix your wash routine.  (Or.  use a flannel receiving blanket paired / doubler or a birdseye flat for overnights... 'cause that works too) 

The wash routine with my machine/hard water is 1000x better.










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Re: A woman of my word - FL & CDS

  • tjkdlhbtjkdlhb member
    edited November 2014
    What I did was starting with with clean diapers overnight soak in a hot bathtub with a pack of RLR.
    Then bleach soak with a bit less than 1/2 cup bleach diluted into a full bathtub.


    new wash routine HE FL
    with hard water


    normal wash line 1 tide
    Hot wash line 3 tide

    no extra rinse


    EDIT: can't edit original...

    TLDR- I'm not having any repelling/stink issues.  Some of my covers are damaged.




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  • I'm confused. Is this the fluff science group thing? What is going on?
    yes.



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  • Is this why you left us? You switched to the dark side? And now you're trying to convert us?
    No... I'm not in the FL group anymore - only 2-3 days... too much junk in my newsfeed.
    Did promise a review of what I did after time... since some ladies were curious.  I actually think my review is honest :)  some issues solved.  some covers damaged.



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  • Seriously tho, I've used to line 3 with a huge load and the clothes had visible suds in them. I can't imagine this working. How long has it been?
    since mid august.
    There are some suds... but no repelling or ammonia.



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  • Mapleme said:
    MK, you water is a lot softer than TJletter's. In the fb group we are surmising that the FL wash routine works for folks with extremely hard water (like 350ppm and above). The tide is playing the role of water softener.
    :)

    The post is to review what I did - effects 2.5 months later in terms of wear/tear on the diapers (yes some covers are damaged) and build up (no issue)... I was the only one who did it on here that I know of, so I wanted to let people know what happened re: condition of my diapers.

    Just sharing info :)



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  • tjkdlhbtjkdlhb member
    edited November 2014

    lbs2012 said:
    What causes cover damage? The multiple wash cycles or detergent?
    I think it was the RLR soak/bleach.

    The covers that didn't make it into that are all fine but have been washed the same.

    EDIT:  Thus the recommendation not to do the RLR/Bleach soak on the covers - just nighttime diapers.  Also... to try a modified version - shorter soak with less?  wash?



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  • Mapleme said:
    I don't think RLR would be of much benefit on PUL since the point of it is to remove minerals from fibers and PUL is (essentially) a layer of plastic.
    yeah... which is why I was really stupid to throw them into it (and why I posted that - so others wouldn't make the same mistake).  I should have only done inserts/overnight diapers.



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  • tjkdlhb said:
    Mapleme said:
    MK, you water is a lot softer than TJletter's. In the fb group we are surmising that the FL wash routine works for folks with extremely hard water (like 350ppm and above). The tide is playing the role of water softener.
    :)

    The post is to review what I did - effects 2.5 months later in terms of wear/tear on the diapers (yes some covers are damaged) and build up (no issue)... I was the only one who did it on here that I know of, so I wanted to let people know what happened re: condition of my diapers.

    Just sharing info :)

    I didn't do the RLR/bleach soak thing but I did try half of the detergent amounts recommended (by FLCDS - max recommended amount by detergent manufacturer) for one rotation through my diapers and by the second washing with that amount I had ammonia. I thought that washing with just soap nuts would remove the excess detergent but no, every time after that test that I used even minimal amounts of detergent I had ammonia. I resorted to boiling my flats (the water from boiling the flats turned the exact color of the detergent used to test the FLCDS way) and then I stopped having ammonia with detergent washing for a short time. Then I experimented on a load of towels. I did a hot pre-wash with no detergent and saw zero suds. Then I added 2 tablespoons of detergent and ran a hot wash cycle with built-in cold rinse then an extra warm rinse (yes I have a machine that allows for a warm rinse).Then I put it back to a hot pre-wash. I saw so many suds at that point that if I didn't know better I would have thought I had just added a full dose of detergent. I have come to the conclusion that the FLCDS method of using maximum amounts of mainstream detergent would not work at all with my water/machine since I have issues with even minimal amounts of detergent not rinsing out (have noticed same not rinsing issues with 3different mainstream detergents now and had repelling unpaper towels with one of those detergents) I have to do a lot of extra rinsing after washing with detergent or I have ammonia.....but no ammonia with the extra rinsing or when washing with soap nuts so the ammonia is definitely related to detergent sticking around in my diapers. Sadly, it is easier to handwash my diapers than it is to wash them with mainstream detergent in the machine. I don't have as hard of water as TJletters tbmk and I don't use water softeners routinely in my laundry....I have tried borax and washing soda but didn't notice any difference.

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  • I always boils my ON diapers when I notice a bad smell, they are still in good conditions from the elastic. The only fitted the a trash is one tot bots the I was using a lot and I decide to break and used it as a pattern. For the rest of my diaper,all of them are fine. I'm also very happy and satisfied with my muslin,and flannel flats the I made. And all of them will be in a good condition for a third baby. I may be get some new fluff on thanks giving, but I don't think is really necessary.
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  • By the way what cause the diapers to be damage is not how many time have been wash, is the hot water the cause the damage.
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  • By the way what cause the diapers to be damage is not how many time have been wash, is the hot water the cause the damage.

    Not the hot water.....the RLR/bleach soak would damage the PUL more than hot water. I have only washed my BB covers in hot water and they are still going strong after almost 1.5 years of constant use.

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  • Is it something about how RLR reacts with bleach? Or could it just be the bleach soak that is causing damage to PUL? There was a post in the FB group where someone had done an experiment with a bleach soak to show the effects, but the bleach wasn't diluted in that case.

    @tjkdlhb, I know you have super hard water ... did you ever figure out what your numbers were?
  • Is it something about how RLR reacts with bleach? Or could it just be the bleach soak that is causing damage to PUL? There was a post in the FB group where someone had done an experiment with a bleach soak to show the effects, but the bleach wasn't diluted in that case.

    @tjkdlhb, I know you have super hard water ... did you ever figure out what your numbers were?
    no... but I'm gonna order a few covers today, so I'll order a test strip to check again... last time I didn't really look at the number so much as the descriptor.  (between the hard and very hard colours)



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  • tjkdlhb said:
    Mapleme said:
    MK, you water is a lot softer than TJletter's. In the fb group we are surmising that the FL wash routine works for folks with extremely hard water (like 350ppm and above). The tide is playing the role of water softener.
    :)

    The post is to review what I did - effects 2.5 months later in terms of wear/tear on the diapers (yes some covers are damaged) and build up (no issue)... I was the only one who did it on here that I know of, so I wanted to let people know what happened re: condition of my diapers.

    Just sharing info :)

    I didn't do the RLR/bleach soak thing but I did try half of the detergent amounts recommended (by FLCDS - max recommended amount by detergent manufacturer) for one rotation through my diapers and by the second washing with that amount I had ammonia. I thought that washing with just soap nuts would remove the excess detergent but no, every time after that test that I used even minimal amounts of detergent I had ammonia. I resorted to boiling my flats (the water from boiling the flats turned the exact color of the detergent used to test the FLCDS way) and then I stopped having ammonia with detergent washing for a short time. Then I experimented on a load of towels. I did a hot pre-wash with no detergent and saw zero suds. Then I added 2 tablespoons of detergent and ran a hot wash cycle with built-in cold rinse then an extra warm rinse (yes I have a machine that allows for a warm rinse).Then I put it back to a hot pre-wash. I saw so many suds at that point that if I didn't know better I would have thought I had just added a full dose of detergent. I have come to the conclusion that the FLCDS method of using maximum amounts of mainstream detergent would not work at all with my water/machine since I have issues with even minimal amounts of detergent not rinsing out (have noticed same not rinsing issues with 3different mainstream detergents now and had repelling unpaper towels with one of those detergents) I have to do a lot of extra rinsing after washing with detergent or I have ammonia.....but no ammonia with the extra rinsing or when washing with soap nuts so the ammonia is definitely related to detergent sticking around in my diapers. Sadly, it is easier to handwash my diapers than it is to wash them with mainstream detergent in the machine. I don't have as hard of water as TJletters tbmk and I don't use water softeners routinely in my laundry....I have tried borax and washing soda but didn't notice any difference.

    I have to say, it was interesting to read my thoughts and experiences from 7-8 months ago as to why I'm not using mainstream detergent......still....even though I have tried a time or two since then without success. It's almost like reading an old diary.

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