detergent question from a ftm

coleman7

What is the benefits of using the rockin green or charlies soap rather than your basic free and clear detergent? Is it a matter of getting a more thorough clean? Or preserving the diaper? Obv I would like to get away with the free and clear detergent if possible rather than ordering the specialty soap online. thanks ladies - any advice is appreciated!

Dr.Loretta

Some sites will say F&C detergents are fine, and others make it seem like they'll ruin your diapers. Not wanting to figure out what would happen in my case, and a strong recommendation from a friend, made me switch to RnG.

That being said, a ton of people on here use Tide.

norman25

We use regular Tide. All those natural detergents did nothing for us and made our diapers smell terrible.

butterflisophie

I haven't used RNG or Charlies...I use All Small & Mighty Free & Clear on all of my daughter's cloth diapers. It is working fine for me and I have not had any absorbency problems or odor problems, even if the wet diapers sit in a pail for 24 hours. If I have soiled diapers, I don't let them sit like that though...I soak them (a couple hours each, using only cold water) in a baking soda/water solution, rinse, then soak in a vinegar/water solution, rinse then throw them in the washer -using the hot water wash, cold rinse (doing all of that removes almost all stains too, if any remain after the soaks, I set them outside in the sun for a few hours). I line dry everything once it is cleaned and it is working wonderfully so far

bethandjoe09

As I understand it, it's a matter of certain additives that can potentially cause buildup/repelling.  I've found this website helpful for comparing detergents:

https://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

I should note that we use Arm & Hammer sensitive, which isn't a top rated detergent (it has optical brighteners), but which works for us.

coleman7

This helps a lot. Thanks all! As always you are all awesome.