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NCDR Detergent Build Up

theultimatesaktheultimatesak member
in Cloth Diapering
Ok, so long story short, M had a wicked allergic reaction to something Thursday night that  3 days, a trip to the ER, calls to the allergist and ped,, and round the clock massive doses of steroids and antihistamines later he was getting no better.  We had thought maybe a reaction to a detergent or soap, but we didn't have anything new that would cause this kind of reaction.  I've just been biding my time until we can get in to a doc again on Monday.  Finally this morning we realized that I had just swapped out summer clothes for winter clothes on Thursday and a lot of the clothes he's been wearing are hand me downs from a friend, and maybe it could be those clothes bothering him.
We tested our theory by observing the state of placement of the hives on his body and then had him put on one of the shirts.  Within 15 minutes he was scratching like crazy and had more hives forming and the ones that had been there were angry and enlarging.
The clothes always smell very strongly of some scented laundry detergent when she gives them to me, so I always wash them and then I pack them away until we need them.  When I unpacked them this week I noticed they still smelled strongly of detergent, so I washed them again.  His drawer still smells intensely of  detergent fragrance when I open it.  I'm thinking I need to strip the clothes (and not in the good way ;) )

So....

Would I wash them on hot?  I'd hate to fade and shrink an entire wardrobe though.  Should I start by just doing it on warm and checking for suds?  After all of your detergent build up research, what say you, CD board?

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Re: NCDR Detergent Build Up

  • Into+the+KittyInto+the+Kitty member
    I would try on cold or warm first. At least now you know where his weird rash came from!
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  • TJ1979TJ1979 member
    Yeah I would just do warm and see what happens. Poor kid. I'm lad you figured it out though. And that it isn't pumpkin!!
    TTC with PCOS since November 2009
    IUI#1 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 3-7) = BFP, m/c
    IUI#2 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 5-9) = BFN
    IUI#3 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 3-7) = BFP!
    beta #1 11/23 = 270, P4 = 75
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  • Brandiewine11Brandiewine11 member
    Yikes! Poor kid. I hope he's better soon!

    I would think that warm would be fine. The "rinse & spin" cycle on my washer only allows you to do warm. I did this to check for detergent when first figuring out my CD routine, and it still got suds so even if hot is more efficient or something, warm worked fine for me.

    Could you use RLR??
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  • RrrrrachelRrrrrachel member
    Some detergents don't suds that much. I always wash diapers on hot and then with a double dose of Charlie's. What about using something like grovia mighty bubbles? I always have a hard time getting fragrances out of second hand clothes too.
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  • RrrrrachelRrrrrachel member
    That's minerals. Rlr probably isn't a bad idea.
    Mama to a little girl born July 2011 and a little boy born April 2014! Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    edited September 2014
    I can't remember if you have hard water or not. What about a bit of vinegar in a warm wash? If you don't have issues using vinegar, it might help neutralize that detergent a bit.

    ETA: vinegar might not be an issue for non-diaper laundry anyway.
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    edited September 2014
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  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    Wow! Looks like your plain ol' water is doing a heckuva job, without any vinegar.

    Maybe hold off from that for now, and use it if you are feeling pretty good about the clothes but want to get any last traces of fragrance & stuff out?
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  • TJ1979TJ1979 member
    Not gray water like recycled water.
    TTC with PCOS since November 2009
    IUI#1 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 3-7) = BFP, m/c
    IUI#2 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 5-9) = BFN
    IUI#3 Femara/Ovidrel (cd 3-7) = BFP!
    beta #1 11/23 = 270, P4 = 75
    beta #2 11/28 = 2055
    Our daughter E was born 7/29/2012!
    Surprise, our 2nd daughter P was born 5/22/14!
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  • RrrrrachelRrrrrachel member
    Wow! I would keep doing plain water until it's clear. Yikes! And yes rlr on amazon.
    Mama to a little girl born July 2011 and a little boy born April 2014! Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • countrycottoncountrycotton member
    Amazon. You can get 10 packages for 17.38 free shipping without prime. I would keep washing untill the water is clear, then do a wash with your regular detergent. I hope getting his clothes clean clears the rash, poor baby.
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  • unaveragejaneunaveragejane member
    Could it be fabric softener rather than detergent buildup? Google says use vinegar to strip, then Epsom salts if there is still a problem.
                 

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  • NvywifeNvywife member
    When I am stripping fabric softener out of our towels. I wash once with hot water and a cup of vinegar, then a second wash hot with half cup baking soda. Then a final regular wash. DS has sensitive skin so if I buy from a second hand store I do this as well.
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  • RrrrrachelRrrrrachel member
    How interesting that you didn't get suds at first and you are now.
    Mama to a little girl born July 2011 and a little boy born April 2014! Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • PipSqueak0313PipSqueak0313 member
    Gee, all the fun that happens when I have to go to work. I do remember mentioning a time or two about build-up causes the water to be cloudy/grey instead of clear. For the first few washes to not suds and then the last one to suds makes me curious if it was more than just a simple detergent build-up.....like fabric softener coated the detergent coated fibers so the first few washes removed the fabric softener then the last one is working in detergent.....idk, but that theory sounds good.

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