CD and hard water -- tips??

ntnylizard

I'm fighting a losing battle, so I'm looking for new tips.  Our BG 3.0s need to be stripped more than once a month, and we still find the nasty ammonia burn diaper rash every now and then.

I'm coming to the conclusion it's our hard water causing the build up.

Anybody have tips?  A soap that works great?  An alternate washing regimen?

DH is about to throw in the towel on CDs (at 17 months in) and go with sposies from here on out.

themerlins

we have extremely hard water and use bg 3.0's. i wash with Dropps Baby packs and oxyclean. i run a rinse, a heavy duty load and an extra rinse and so far, after 5 months of cd-ing, we haven't had any problems. 

ntnylizard

have any more info on the Dropps Baby packs?

MandaGail

We've had the most trouble with the dirty smell.  When DS pees, his diapers smell like poop.  Our wash routine that seems to be doing the job:

 Cold wash/Rinse on highest water level, no detergent

Turn water level to medium (enough water to cover the diapers), hot wash with a 30 minute soak, 1/3 to 1/2 scoop Country Save, capful of Calgon, with the regular cold rinse

 To rinse them, turn water level back to highest setting, warm wash with the regular cold rinse.

 I believe ammonia stink means detergent buildup, but maybe someone with ammonia stink will post their tips.  I spoke with someone at our water treatment facility and the water runs 80-120, so it's hard to very hard water. 

themerlins

dropps baby has no phosphates, fabric softener, enzymes, dyes, scents, etc. i purchase mine online in bulk from www.dropps.com but i believe they arre now sold at target and publix. i've been using regular dropps for about 4 years now and i absolutely love the stuff. 

another thing that helps with our hard water issue is running a cleaning cycle with vinegar on our machine once a month.

oh, i also forgot about something i read the other day regarding a water softening treatment for your laundry. i don't remember the exact measurements but the article said to add borax or washing soda. maybe you can google it and find the same info. 

SWBs Wifey

I may be very well "kicked off" the board for this, but until we're in the new house and have gotten a water softening system, I'm pretty sure we're sticking to disposables.  It REALLY bums me (and DH) out, but even major stripping hasn't seemed to help and I need a break from trying to fix it or my head will likely explode.  We will move in sometimes in January and hopefully the system will come soon after.  

I'll save this post though incase I need more help!

mooeta

Soap nuts.  They work Fantastically in hard and soft water.  You'll never want to use anything else.

aspade

We use BGs too and have hard water.  We had to switch detergents--Planet did not work and neither did Nellie's.  The BG detergent does (and free shipping right now on Cotton Babies!).

Our routine is (front loader):

Cold wash, half detergent

Sanitary (extra hot) wash, with heaping full scoop and a scoop of Oxobrite

Extra rinse

I do have to strip my night diapers from time to time, but it just seems that hemp really holds both detergent and stink--often just a long soak will do it.  I also bought Calgon, but haven't tried it yet.

GL!