- Stripping cloth diapers is the term used when your diapers have become less absorbent or very stinky. Basically, your diapers have build-up. Build-up of what can be hard to determine. It usually is build-up of detergent. Sometimes a fabric softener gets thrown into the dryer by mistake, and this can cause build-up. Diaper rash cream also causes it, as well as mineral deposits.
Reasons to strip
- Diapers smell good when coming out of the dryer, but as soon as the baby pees, there is a seriously, offensive odor that didn't used to be there.
- Your diapers have started repelling liquid. To know if this is true, pour some drops of water on the diaper. If they roll right off, you have a problem.
- You have used a diaper rash cream that wasn't made for cloth diapers and forgot to line your diapers with a liner to keep diaper pores from clogging up.
- You used fabric softener.
- You have extremely hard water or well water.
How to strip
- I recommend turning your hot water heater up for about 30 minutes before washing.
- Fill your washer all the way with super hot water.
- Wash on hot, and warm rinse.
- Continue rinsing until no bubbles or suds are found in the water.
- I recommend putting about a Tbsp of Dawn Dish soap in the water. Just make sure you completely rinse it out. Not sure why Dawn, but if you look around, Dawn is the only dish soap recommended. Dawn also gets rid of the dingy-ness of your diapers, which is nice in the winter time when you don't see the sun for months. I have gotten into the habit of squirting a little Dawn in my diaper load about once a week, once every 2 weeks.
- There are other recommended additives to put in the washer to strip, including baking soda, vinegar, and even bleach. Be very careful when adding baking soda, as it can cause diaper rash. I have never used anything else in my wash besides detergent and Dawn, and I have had no major problems.
If you have major problems, and this did not work, ask me, and I will try to determine the problem for you. Also, this website has some good tips: http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentbasics.htm#Stripping%20Diapers
2 comments:
just curiuos what do you do with a frontload?
http://couponmommyof2.blogspot.com/
So sorry I am just now getting back to answering you! I am still figuring the blogging thing out. Hee hee. Anyway, I don't have a front loader, but I do know that a lot of people do not recommend Dawn with front loaders because it creates too many suds. However, some have used a tiny bit with no problems. I think the most important thing to do is first figure out the cause of the problem and the reason to strip the diapers. Sometimes all you need is a super hot wash and rinse until there are no suds or cloudy water (you may have to get a flashlight to see since you can't open the top during the wash). I have handwashed my diapers before in extra hot water with Dawn in the kitchen sink, then rinse, rinse, rinse. There are also other products that are recommended by some, like Oxy Clean, Bac Out, even bleach. I have not used any of these. I did boil my hemp, once, because they got the stinkies REALLY bad. The boiling worked well for hemp. I personally recommend the good old kitchen sink. Hope this helps!
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