I compiled a few more tips for those of you who may be having a hard time with diaper laundry.
Don't use too much soap. If you aren't using a detergent that's meant for diapers, then use about 1/4 of the manufacturers recommended amount. They tell you to use more so that you will have to buy more! It will also cause stink. If you have stinky diapers after washing, you may be using too much detergent. Wash them again, and check during the rinse cycle. If there is suds, then you need to wash them again with no detergent.
Still stinky? I don't mess with baking soda and vinegar and all that jazz. I haven't needed to yet. Try a product like Bac-Out. You can actually buy Bac-Out at most major grocery stores now.
Repelling? If you're like me, and have to wash in communal places, you might get build up from other peoples dryer sheets. I haven't had this happen yet, but if it happens to you, heres some tips on stripping diapers.
Diaper chain? Make sure you are fastening all your laundry tabs before washing. That's why I do this step before I even throw the used diaper into the pail, then you don't have to touch it later.
Stains bothering you? Sun Dry them. Seriously, it works. I couldn't believe my own eyes! Lay them out in the sun for a couple of hours, and that's it! Most of the stains, if not all were gone! The sun is also an antibacterial agent. So you get three for the price of one when you line dry (drying, stain removal, and sanitation!)
Showing posts with label Laundry Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laundry Tips. Show all posts
Friday, October 1, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Stinkies......
So, it happened. It took almost 5 months, but it happened! What am I talking about? The dreaded stink, of course! If anyone out there uses any type of microfiber, no matter how cheap or costly, you either have, or will have dealt with stink. It seems that microfiber is just more prone to this problem for some reason. I'm not going to research the science behind why microfiber gets the stink so bad, but I'm sure it must have something to do with being synthetic.
On with the story. I use purex and the only problem I have had has been with my microfiber inserts, and with my BumGenius! AIO. Great diaper, but hard to take care of in some ways. What was happening was, my diapers were coming out of the wash smelling nice and clean. But then, as soon as C peed, it would smell like ammonia. It got pretty bad too. I was at my wits end with this problem.
Here's what I tried that DIDN'T work, in this order. (I'll get to what works in a minute!)
• Bac-Out in the wash
• Rockin Green as a detergent in the wash.
• I "rocked a soak" with Rockin Green for 12 hours.
• I Rocked another 12 hour soak, this time with Bac-Out.
• I washed with Rockin Green and rinsed about 5 times. There were no bubbles in the rinse cycles, but I rinsed extra anyways.
• I gave up on Rockin Green and tried Country Save
• I did two wash cycles with Country Save and an extra rinse cycle.
• Bac-Out with Country Save
• I tried Tiny Bubbles detergent.
• I tried Bio-Kleen Detergent
• I tried vinegar in the wash with an extra rinse.
• I finally gave up and tried clorox bleach *gasp* Even bleach didn't kill the smell!!!!!!
Want to know what worked? I bet you do! I messaged the friendly folks at Diaper Junction's Facebook page and asked them what to do. They suggested stripping with blue dawn, and trying a water softener.
Now here's the thing......I didn't do the blue dawn (dish soap) because I don't have my own washer to use. I have to pay for each load, and I imagine it would have required my entire weekly laundry budget to get all the dawn out of the diapers. I decided that that would be my LAST last LAST resort if the water softener didn't work. And if it came to that, I was seriously contemplating throwing out my microfiber and replacing them with natural fibers because it wasn't worth the effort to me.
I still have microfiber, so you can guess what happened.
What worked:
• 1/2 cup White King Water Softener (we don't have Calgon for some reason where I live, just White King. It should be the same though) in the pre wash.
• 1/2 cup WK in the wash cycle
• One extra wash cycle to get it all out.
It worked. It was like magic, almost too good to be true! I put the BG AIO on my little one, put her to bed, and hoped for no smell in the morning. When I woke up, to my surprise, there was hardly any ammonia smell at all. I am confident that after a couple more washings, the smell will be all the way gone, but I'll let you know if it's not.
Water softeners like Calgon and White King are fairly cheap. I got a giant box for 4.59 at the grocery store. My new wash routine will include White King in the wash cycle every time from now on. If you live in a hard water area (if you live in the US, you can almost count on it), then I highly recommend using a water softener of some sort to clean your diapers with. The stink I was getting was caused by detergent building up on my diapers because of the minerals in the hard water were trapping the detergent in the fibers of the inserts. I knew we had hard water, so I don't know why I didn't think of this before!
Here's another tip about water softeners. I suggest getting a powder version. You can use it for many things around the house, even for washing dishes by hand, or in the dishwasher. You will be surprised at how dingy your clothes actually were after one use! I let my glass coffee pot soak for about an hour in a sink full of water and 1 tbsp. of WK, and it came clean! All the coffee stains and spots were gone! It can be use to clean glass and counter tops and showers as well. It gets soap scum off really easily. Just mix it with some water in a spray bottle, leave it to work for a bit, come back and wipe away! I am all about such a versatile product. I really think this is mommy's little secret to a sparkly white tub, spot free dishes and stem ware, and stink free diapers! Who knew it would be that easy!
Tonight I am going to be experimenting with the sewing machine........more on that later! Until next time, Happy Diapering!
Tweet
On with the story. I use purex and the only problem I have had has been with my microfiber inserts, and with my BumGenius! AIO. Great diaper, but hard to take care of in some ways. What was happening was, my diapers were coming out of the wash smelling nice and clean. But then, as soon as C peed, it would smell like ammonia. It got pretty bad too. I was at my wits end with this problem.
Here's what I tried that DIDN'T work, in this order. (I'll get to what works in a minute!)
• Bac-Out in the wash
• Rockin Green as a detergent in the wash.
• I "rocked a soak" with Rockin Green for 12 hours.
• I Rocked another 12 hour soak, this time with Bac-Out.
• I washed with Rockin Green and rinsed about 5 times. There were no bubbles in the rinse cycles, but I rinsed extra anyways.
• I gave up on Rockin Green and tried Country Save
• I did two wash cycles with Country Save and an extra rinse cycle.
• Bac-Out with Country Save
• I tried Tiny Bubbles detergent.
• I tried Bio-Kleen Detergent
• I tried vinegar in the wash with an extra rinse.
• I finally gave up and tried clorox bleach *gasp* Even bleach didn't kill the smell!!!!!!
Want to know what worked? I bet you do! I messaged the friendly folks at Diaper Junction's Facebook page and asked them what to do. They suggested stripping with blue dawn, and trying a water softener.
Now here's the thing......I didn't do the blue dawn (dish soap) because I don't have my own washer to use. I have to pay for each load, and I imagine it would have required my entire weekly laundry budget to get all the dawn out of the diapers. I decided that that would be my LAST last LAST resort if the water softener didn't work. And if it came to that, I was seriously contemplating throwing out my microfiber and replacing them with natural fibers because it wasn't worth the effort to me.
I still have microfiber, so you can guess what happened.
What worked:
• 1/2 cup White King Water Softener (we don't have Calgon for some reason where I live, just White King. It should be the same though) in the pre wash.
• 1/2 cup WK in the wash cycle
• One extra wash cycle to get it all out.
It worked. It was like magic, almost too good to be true! I put the BG AIO on my little one, put her to bed, and hoped for no smell in the morning. When I woke up, to my surprise, there was hardly any ammonia smell at all. I am confident that after a couple more washings, the smell will be all the way gone, but I'll let you know if it's not.
Water softeners like Calgon and White King are fairly cheap. I got a giant box for 4.59 at the grocery store. My new wash routine will include White King in the wash cycle every time from now on. If you live in a hard water area (if you live in the US, you can almost count on it), then I highly recommend using a water softener of some sort to clean your diapers with. The stink I was getting was caused by detergent building up on my diapers because of the minerals in the hard water were trapping the detergent in the fibers of the inserts. I knew we had hard water, so I don't know why I didn't think of this before!
Here's another tip about water softeners. I suggest getting a powder version. You can use it for many things around the house, even for washing dishes by hand, or in the dishwasher. You will be surprised at how dingy your clothes actually were after one use! I let my glass coffee pot soak for about an hour in a sink full of water and 1 tbsp. of WK, and it came clean! All the coffee stains and spots were gone! It can be use to clean glass and counter tops and showers as well. It gets soap scum off really easily. Just mix it with some water in a spray bottle, leave it to work for a bit, come back and wipe away! I am all about such a versatile product. I really think this is mommy's little secret to a sparkly white tub, spot free dishes and stem ware, and stink free diapers! Who knew it would be that easy!
Tonight I am going to be experimenting with the sewing machine........more on that later! Until next time, Happy Diapering!
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Monday, June 28, 2010
Our Laundry Cycle
So, one thing that probably bums most people out, and makes them think they can't handle cloth diapering is the laundry. So I thought I'd share some tips, and tell you about our laundering cycle to help you readers out. It's REALLY not as bad as you think! Remember, you made an investment in your diapers. Protect that investment with proper washing care.
Here's my laundry/storage routine:
1.) Get a pail. If you aren't going to have a diaper service, I highly recommend a good quality pail like the diaper service quality pail diaper junction sells. This is one area that I say not to skimp in. The pail is made of a very thick, durable plastic, that helps keep odors in. Laundry hampers that most stores sell just aren't up to the task of stinky diapers. You can try a "diaper genie" type product, but they didn't look as high quality to me when I checked them out. And besides, the DSQ pails at diaper junction are cheaper than the diaper genies.
2.) Line that pail! For our diapers, we use a DSQ diaper pail like I mentioned above. We line it with a GroVia pail liner. They are very durable bags that you can wash with the diapers, which is what I like best.
How do I handle the yucky dipes? Like you, I don't want to be touching poop after a diaper change, or worse, three day old poop before I put it in the washer. But the poop has to go somewhere! So, if you are using a prefold, give it a quick dunk in the toilet, and flush it all away. Then toss the diaper in the pail, and forget about that yucky thing. If you are at the solid food stage, or not breast feeding, then you might be lucky enough to just give it a shake. Same thing goes for any other types of diapers you have. An AIO like bumgenius!, a Pocket diaper like FuzziBunz, whatever the case may be. If you have a cover, like Thirsties with a blow out, either wipe it out after the diaper change to get the poop off, or rinse it with a hose, or diaper sprayer if you are lucky enough to have one, or bath tub. Wherever you choose to do your hand diaper rinsing. After it's rinsed, throw it in the pail. If you have a diaper that has an insert, then take it out before you throw the whole thing in the pail. Before throwing anything in the pail, make sure all laundry tabs are secured, then you wont have to mess with it come laundry day. If you followed all of the above, then on laundry day, all you have to do is take that stinky bag to the wash machine and dump. No touching of smelly yucky diapers! Save yourself the trouble, and prepare ahead of time and you won't be miserable later! I promise, it's that easy!
3.) Get a wash routine. How often? I wash my diapers two to three times a week. I go every 3-4 days. Sometimes 5 if I'm busy. The GroVia pail liner that I use, acts as a barrier to keep the diapers from drying out. This prevents major stains from setting in. I have read about other women saying they can't go more than two days or else their diapers stink after washing. I am not sure what their systems are like, but I am telling you, we have no issues with our system. And trust me, we don't have the ideal situation for washing cloth diapers!
4.) Get the right soap. Soap is important!!! VERY important, you'll notice. The good news, you don't need much of it. First off, stay away from any soap that says "brightners, bright whites, color safe bleach, etc...." You do NOT want any type of chlorine bleaching agent on your diapers. It will eat away a the fabric, and drastically shorten the life of any type of diaper. Especially any diaper cover with PUL lining. It will eat it right off, so don't do it. No borax either ladies. No scented detergents either! That's bad for babies skin, and only covers up a problem. The best smelling diaper smells like......well......nothing!! Also, stay away from soaps that are geared towards babies, like Dreft for example. These detergents have added fabric softeners in them, and will only make your diapers start repelling, not absorbing. There's a lengthy and thorough list of good and bad detergents here. That said, I use Purex right now. It does have brighteners in it, so I am on the hunt for something better. However, I have yet to see a problem with it, and have yet to hear anyone reporting a problem with it. The reason I'm switching is because I fear that long term use of Purex will cause premature break down of my diapers because of the brightner in the detergent. I have heard rave reviews about Rockin Green, so I have some samples on the way! I'll update once I've used it several times.
5.) Now wash those diapers! So you probably heard all these long drawn out stories of washing diapers 6 different times, and then maybe washing them some more. Well, forget about that. I live in an apartment complex with a shared laundry room. I have to pay to use the machines, and I have NO control over the wash cycles. These are the options on my machine: Small/large load, Cold/Cold wash and rinse, or Hot/Cold wash and rinse. The speed is High or Low. That's it folks. That's what I have to work with. So here's what I do: I put my soap in, and start the water on the high speed, cold/cold setting. Let it fill up a bit so the soap has a minute to dissolve. Then I toss in the diapers, and let them go for one cycle. Then I run one more Hot/Cold cycle. That's it. No extended pre-soak because I can't do that. I have no problems with smell so far. It's been three months. I'll update you in 3 more months to let you know how this is working, but I bet you it's fine. You don't need to be a slave to your washing machine to cloth diaper your babes!
6.)Drying. I dry my diapers on medium heat, and let them air out to finish drying if they still need it. I line dry all of my diaper covers so the PUL lining doesn't get ruined. They dry fast anyways, so there's no need for them to go into the dryer. End of story. Don't use fabric softeners in the wash, or in the dryer. This will add an oily coating that will make your diapers and inserts less absorbent, and might actually make them start to repel if there's enough build up. The oily coating also makes a nice place for yucky odors to hang out on!
7.) Always follow manufacturers' recommended wash routines. What I mentioned above pretty much covers all types of diapers that I have seen so far, but if you come across one that instructs you to do something different, then by all means, follow the instructions.
That's pretty much it. This is just one example of what works, but this will give you a place to start. You may find you like to wash your diapers more often or less often. You might like to just throw them in the washer as you use them, instead of worrying about a diaper pail. The variations can go on forever, but the point is, it isn't that difficult to deal with. One last thing to help make your cloth diapering venture something that everyone in your house can be on board with, is to prepare all your diapers after they come out of the dryer. Get them all adjusted, snapped, all pockets stuffed, maybe even prefold your prefolds! When I am done with diaper laundry, I sit down on the couch while my little one sits in her swing, and we chat while I get the diapers all ready for use. This makes it easier for your hubbys to get on board because they won't have to mess with anything. I truly feel this simple step that takes roughly 15 minutes of your time will make your cloth diapering experience more enjoyable.
That's it! Really, it's not hard at all. It's basically just adding another load or two of laundry per week to the routine!
Tweet
Here's my laundry/storage routine:
1.) Get a pail. If you aren't going to have a diaper service, I highly recommend a good quality pail like the diaper service quality pail diaper junction sells. This is one area that I say not to skimp in. The pail is made of a very thick, durable plastic, that helps keep odors in. Laundry hampers that most stores sell just aren't up to the task of stinky diapers. You can try a "diaper genie" type product, but they didn't look as high quality to me when I checked them out. And besides, the DSQ pails at diaper junction are cheaper than the diaper genies.
2.) Line that pail! For our diapers, we use a DSQ diaper pail like I mentioned above. We line it with a GroVia pail liner. They are very durable bags that you can wash with the diapers, which is what I like best.
How do I handle the yucky dipes? Like you, I don't want to be touching poop after a diaper change, or worse, three day old poop before I put it in the washer. But the poop has to go somewhere! So, if you are using a prefold, give it a quick dunk in the toilet, and flush it all away. Then toss the diaper in the pail, and forget about that yucky thing. If you are at the solid food stage, or not breast feeding, then you might be lucky enough to just give it a shake. Same thing goes for any other types of diapers you have. An AIO like bumgenius!, a Pocket diaper like FuzziBunz, whatever the case may be. If you have a cover, like Thirsties with a blow out, either wipe it out after the diaper change to get the poop off, or rinse it with a hose, or diaper sprayer if you are lucky enough to have one, or bath tub. Wherever you choose to do your hand diaper rinsing. After it's rinsed, throw it in the pail. If you have a diaper that has an insert, then take it out before you throw the whole thing in the pail. Before throwing anything in the pail, make sure all laundry tabs are secured, then you wont have to mess with it come laundry day. If you followed all of the above, then on laundry day, all you have to do is take that stinky bag to the wash machine and dump. No touching of smelly yucky diapers! Save yourself the trouble, and prepare ahead of time and you won't be miserable later! I promise, it's that easy!
3.) Get a wash routine. How often? I wash my diapers two to three times a week. I go every 3-4 days. Sometimes 5 if I'm busy. The GroVia pail liner that I use, acts as a barrier to keep the diapers from drying out. This prevents major stains from setting in. I have read about other women saying they can't go more than two days or else their diapers stink after washing. I am not sure what their systems are like, but I am telling you, we have no issues with our system. And trust me, we don't have the ideal situation for washing cloth diapers!
4.) Get the right soap. Soap is important!!! VERY important, you'll notice. The good news, you don't need much of it. First off, stay away from any soap that says "brightners, bright whites, color safe bleach, etc...." You do NOT want any type of chlorine bleaching agent on your diapers. It will eat away a the fabric, and drastically shorten the life of any type of diaper. Especially any diaper cover with PUL lining. It will eat it right off, so don't do it. No borax either ladies. No scented detergents either! That's bad for babies skin, and only covers up a problem. The best smelling diaper smells like......well......nothing!! Also, stay away from soaps that are geared towards babies, like Dreft for example. These detergents have added fabric softeners in them, and will only make your diapers start repelling, not absorbing. There's a lengthy and thorough list of good and bad detergents here. That said, I use Purex right now. It does have brighteners in it, so I am on the hunt for something better. However, I have yet to see a problem with it, and have yet to hear anyone reporting a problem with it. The reason I'm switching is because I fear that long term use of Purex will cause premature break down of my diapers because of the brightner in the detergent. I have heard rave reviews about Rockin Green, so I have some samples on the way! I'll update once I've used it several times.
5.) Now wash those diapers! So you probably heard all these long drawn out stories of washing diapers 6 different times, and then maybe washing them some more. Well, forget about that. I live in an apartment complex with a shared laundry room. I have to pay to use the machines, and I have NO control over the wash cycles. These are the options on my machine: Small/large load, Cold/Cold wash and rinse, or Hot/Cold wash and rinse. The speed is High or Low. That's it folks. That's what I have to work with. So here's what I do: I put my soap in, and start the water on the high speed, cold/cold setting. Let it fill up a bit so the soap has a minute to dissolve. Then I toss in the diapers, and let them go for one cycle. Then I run one more Hot/Cold cycle. That's it. No extended pre-soak because I can't do that. I have no problems with smell so far. It's been three months. I'll update you in 3 more months to let you know how this is working, but I bet you it's fine. You don't need to be a slave to your washing machine to cloth diaper your babes!
6.)Drying. I dry my diapers on medium heat, and let them air out to finish drying if they still need it. I line dry all of my diaper covers so the PUL lining doesn't get ruined. They dry fast anyways, so there's no need for them to go into the dryer. End of story. Don't use fabric softeners in the wash, or in the dryer. This will add an oily coating that will make your diapers and inserts less absorbent, and might actually make them start to repel if there's enough build up. The oily coating also makes a nice place for yucky odors to hang out on!
7.) Always follow manufacturers' recommended wash routines. What I mentioned above pretty much covers all types of diapers that I have seen so far, but if you come across one that instructs you to do something different, then by all means, follow the instructions.
That's pretty much it. This is just one example of what works, but this will give you a place to start. You may find you like to wash your diapers more often or less often. You might like to just throw them in the washer as you use them, instead of worrying about a diaper pail. The variations can go on forever, but the point is, it isn't that difficult to deal with. One last thing to help make your cloth diapering venture something that everyone in your house can be on board with, is to prepare all your diapers after they come out of the dryer. Get them all adjusted, snapped, all pockets stuffed, maybe even prefold your prefolds! When I am done with diaper laundry, I sit down on the couch while my little one sits in her swing, and we chat while I get the diapers all ready for use. This makes it easier for your hubbys to get on board because they won't have to mess with anything. I truly feel this simple step that takes roughly 15 minutes of your time will make your cloth diapering experience more enjoyable.
That's it! Really, it's not hard at all. It's basically just adding another load or two of laundry per week to the routine!
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