The Smell! The Odor! The Horror!
Oh My!!
Getting the CORRECT wash routine is just about the most important thing
when it comes down to cloth diapering in my opinion. You can have all the pretty diapers you want
but if they just plain STINK.... there is no point! I thought that I had my wash routine down
perfect. I followed all the popular
generalized directions for the "best"
ways to wash and strip your diapers.
How could I have been more wrong!
I had never used cloth until having my 3rd son! (yes 3 boys!) My cousin introduced me to cloth and after
much research I found SoftBums! So
having found THE diaper was just about the best thing ever! I decided to start clothing him from the
beginning. A few weeks ago I decided to
embark on the quest to diaper my middle boy.
It was scary going from EBF (exclusively breast fed) poop to regular
poop! I noticed however that my son's
pee was super strong, and I mean STRONG!
I'd open the door to his bedroom in the morning and get smacked in the
face by a urine soaked skunk smell!
YUCK! I just about lost all hope
in cloth diapering him, I just figured hey... he pees a lot and must have super
strong pee! I guess cloth for him won't
work. After discussing it over with a
friend, we went over my wash routine.
Turns out..... it was wrong! I
never thought to look at my wash routine because I thought I had fixed it early
on by following the directions of a popular site!
Here is What My Wash Routine WAS...
1/4 cup borax (because of hard water)
1/4 cap detergent
wash on cold on small load
1/4 cap detergent
wash on cold on small load
1/4 cup borax (because of hard water)
3/4 cap detergent
wash on hot on heavy load
3/4 cap detergent
wash on hot on heavy load
NOW my NEW and Fixed Wash Routine is.....
1st WASH
- 1 TBS Washing Soda
- 1/4-1/3 the recommended amount detergent (so if the cap has a #1 line, you need to use 1/4 up to the #1 line)
- Wash on COLD with options: Permenant Press, heavy, low spin, extra rinse, pre-wash
2nd WASH
- 1 TBS Washing Soda
- NO Detergent
- Wash on HOT with options: Permenant Press, heavy, high spin, extra rinse, pre-wash
Sigh of relief, yes I can continue to cloth diaper my middle son, and
youngest. The thought of having to go to
disposables again stressed me out. With
things being so tight cloth was the obvious answer, and the very thought of
having to go to disposables makes me cringe.
The leaks, the waste, the money, the chemicals, the REAL horror! I am so glad that after a good stripping of
my diapers, I'm ready to go again! And
this time with no stink!
Written by Kate mom of 3 boys, user of SoftBums Diapers
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ReplyDeleteThis might be a stupid question, but what is washing soda? I'm trying to decide upon a detergent and washing routine. Thanks!
ReplyDeletewashing soda comes in a box in the laundry detergent section. It looks kind of like a GIANT box of baking soda, but its made for your wash. :)
DeleteThank you! I'll be looking for it tomorrow!
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ReplyDeleteNot trying to sound rude, but if you're using NO detergent in your main wash, how are your diapers being cleaned of human fecal matter? Genuinely curious, I figure that since diapers are extra dirty laundry, they'd probably need more detergent than average clothes, not less...
ReplyDeleteThe detergent is used in the first wash to clean the diapers. The second wash is mainly to remove any residue from the detergent that can prevent absorption causing leaks. Most of us use way too much detergent on our regular clothes too. Try washing some clothes without detergent and I bet there would still be suds in your wash :)
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