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Cloth Diapering
theultimatesak
member
Detergent--Don't fix what isn't broken?
theultimatesak
member
I've only been cloth diapering for about a month. I have a two year old and wash every day-every other day, so around 10-12 diapers at a time.
I use homemade detergent on our clothes, and so far I've been using homemade detergent (Borax, washing soda, oxyclean free) for the diapers as well. They appear to be getting clean (no staining or anything) and I don't notice a smell on them once they're done drying. Sometimes I can still smell that pee-smell a little when I open the washer to put the inserts in the dryer and hang the covers after the last rinse, though. I'm paranoid that in a month or so I'm going to find out I haven't really been getting the diapers as clean as I thought, and I'm going to have issues.
Do you think I should try some real cloth diaper detergent now and see if I notice any difference in the washing, or as long as everything seems to be clean and smell-free after drying just keep doing what I'm doing until I actually have a repelling/leak issue?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Detergent--Don't fix what isn't broken?
Do you do a pre wash (regular cycle with no detergent) to get the urine out of the diapers?
Do you use hotish water?
Maybe adding a little bit more detergent, I had to.
Do you do a final rinse after the washing?
If your diapers smell at the end of the wash cycle, they are not getting clean.
Before switching detergents though, I would change your detergent free pre-rinse/pre-wash to a warm or hot one and see if that helps with the smell at the end of the wash cycle. (Assuming you do a cold prerinse before washing your diapers on hot with detergent).
This! Your dipes aren't clean if they still smell! I also do a light duty cold wash with detergent before my hot wash. I know most people on the board just do a rinse before the hot wash, but I get great results with doing 2 washes. I would experiment with your wash routine a little to see if you get better results. GL!