Diaper Rash Help Needed!

PinkSands15

I've been cloth diapering my 6 week daughter for the past month and love it! We mainly use GMD prefolds and workhorses. About a week and a half ago she developed a pretty nasty diaper rash. Her pedi said it looked kind of yeasty (although I wasn't entirely convinced), so we started on Lotramin, switched to disposables, and I washed all of the cloth diapers and added a 1/4 cup of bleach per some instructions I found online. Now her diaper rash is gone and I am nervous about putting her back in the cloth diapers. As I was taking them out of the dryer and putting them away I realize that they smell great, like Tide. Now at first I thought that was awesome, but now I am thinking that maybe it is a residue problem? If I am smelling Tide, does it automatically mean I have residue issues? Could this be the cause of the rash? We are washing every 3rd day, using Tide powder, cold short wash with no detergent, hot wash with tide to the first line, extra rinse. What can I do?!!? Please help a cloth diaper newbie out!

TJ1979

Well, tide does smell, so maybe yes maybe no.  You could try running a rinse cycle and seeing if there are any suds.  But I do smell my tide on my diapers, especially when I first started using it and was not used to the smell of scented laundry.

TJ1979

Although detergent sensitivity is a possibility too.  Was the rash all over the diaper-covered area?  Or just in a specific spot?

PinkSands15

The rash started as one little spot, and then gradually spread all over. If I do put it in for a rinse and notice suds, what should I do to ensure all of the detergent residue is removed? Or would you suggest switching detergent?

TJ1979

Keep rinsing till the suds are gone.  But it doesn't particularly sound like build up.  I would be comfortable recommending a wait and see approach.  Also if it does end up being build up, I would mess with your wash routine before you changed detergent.  Your routine sounds fine though. 

Really, I would either do a rinse cycle just to make myself feel better, or just try them out and see what happens. 

Mandmeesh

Also remember that she's only six weeks old and could still have that newborn-ish skin. Maybe sensitive to wetness?

Trek3

Tide gave my first a wicked rash (even after LOTS of rinsing). You could try unscented, or a more natural (enzyme-free detergent) if the rash comes back with cloth.

If wetness is an issue, you can add a fleece layer against her skin.