CD question

sarahseita · September 2011

I finally got my CD and so far I love them (super soft, snaps, and only 6$ a diaper from torontoclothdiapers.com).

My question is about washing them and keeping them stain free.

DS had a BM in one and I rinsed it out right away in the sink and then did a load . When I went to hang them the insert was still stained so I'm running it through again. Hoping it comes out.

How can I avoid double laundry or the stains in the future? Not that they are the worst thing but I wouldn't mind keeping them snowy white.

Also how often do ya'll do CD laundry? I have 25 pocket diapers and inserts and handful of pre folds. I use disposables when we got out since.

TIA

Athena0809 · September 2011

The only thing that will get stains out is the sun! I live in an apartment and no way to sun them but at least once a month I go to my mom's to hang them out to dry in her back yard. I make a mix of water and fresh lemon juice I spray them, as they start to get dry but the stain is there I spray them again. Once dry no matter how long you keep them in the sun the stains won't come out. I don't rinse them out, they go from baby's bottom straight onto the pail, along with the cloth wipes, until wash day. If it's a massive poo I spray a little bit of Bac-out (but it's not really necessary since LO is EBF, and EBF poop is water soluble) I have enough CDs to wash every forth day (so If wash today, next wash is Monday, most wash every other day). HTH.

ETA: I sun them once a month not just to whiten them but the suns kills all bacteria as well.

alliejoe · September 2011

We use disposables at night and I have 30ish and do laundry every 2ish days, give or take.

I don't rinse diapers at this point. LO is BF and it's all water soluble. If you hang the inserts or the diaper out in the sun the stains will vanish and you don't have to double wash.

I don't know about sunning FF or solids poo though?

sarahseita · September 2011

Thanks ladies!

I EBF so I'm happy to hear it's that easy to get rid of the stains

tokenhoser · September 2011

Unless you're feeding solids, you don't need to prerinse. When you go to wash, do a rinse then (rinse and spin on my machine), then a hot wash with an extra rinse. Never use fabric softener.

The sun takes out stains like magic.

I wash every 2 days. I've got about 20 pockets, which is enough to wash that often + line dry (so it has to last 2.5 days). I change every 2-3 hours in the daytime and let him go overnight (10-12 hours) in 1 diaper.

McAllie5 · September 2011

The sun is your best friend when it comes to getting stains out. Wet the diaper and lay it out with the stain up in direct sunlight. Come back in several hours. With breast milk BMs, stains are totally gone. Not sure about formula BMs or solids.

For laundry I do a cold rinse with no soap, then a hot cycle with 1/4 of the normal amount of soap that you would use, then another cold rinse with no soap. Then dry. If they start to get stinky (after washing they smell like ammonia) then you can strip them. I do a squirt of original blue dawn in the wash once they're already clean, and then rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse until no more suds.

Depending on what kind you have, the stripping process can be different. Also, certain diapers require certain kinds of soap. I use Tide Free and Clear, and we have natural prefolds with Thirsties covers.

Also - make sure you are not using dryer sheets. The fabric softener can build up on the diapers and cause repelling/leaking. I use dryer balls and they work great. I do kind of miss the "new laundry smell", but they're cheaper per load and no chemicals. Also, if you do make the switch from dryer sheets to dryer balls you'll want to wipe out the inside of your dryer with vinegar to get rid of the rest of the softener coated on the insides.

If you like, you can get a miniature "wet bag" and cloth diapering on the go is relatively simple. We only use disposables when we're on road trips.

We've been using cloth diapers for a while and I'm so so glad we did it. The cost alone makes it worth it, but DS has yet to get more than a teensy bit of diaper rash in the cloth diapers. I'm kind of a CDing newb, though, so you may get better advice from someone else on here or the CD board.

HTH!

alliejoe · September 2011

Steph&Harry08:
The only thing that will get stains out is the sun! I live in an apartment and no way to sun them but at least once a month I go to my mom's to hang them out to dry in her back yard. I make a mix of water and fresh lemon juice I spray them, as they start to get dry but the stain is there I spray them again. Once dry no matter how long you keep them in the sun the stains won't come out. I don't rinse them out, they go from baby's bottom straight onto the pail, along with the cloth wipes, until wash day. If it's a massive poo I spray a little bit of Bac-out (but it's not really necessary since LO is EBF, and EBF poop is water soluble) I have enough CDs to wash every forth day (so If wash today, next wash is Monday, most wash every other day). HTH.

ETA: I sun them once a month not just to whiten them but the suns kills all bacteria as well.

Have you tired sunning them in a window? I did a load at my mom and left a few stained ones on a drying rack in the window and it worked. I don't know if you want to chase the sun around the windows all day though. lol.

Also- I haven't had problems with the sun getting old stains out or stains out once they're already dry. I wonder if it just has to do with the type of diaper? I use mostly prefolds.

kacelle · September 2011

I don't rinse mine before tossing them in the wetbag. I do a cold wash and rinse without detergent followed by a hot wash with cold rinse with a scoop of Charlie's Soap. The only time I ever have had stains is with diapers made of natural fibers, which I doubt is what you're using.

I do CD laundry every 3 days or so. I have about 60 changes of diapers altogether though, so I don't run out before washing.

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