Cleaning Cloth Diapers

I use the same ones and ran into the same thing. Gross as it sounds, the thing that got that residue out of mine was taking the previously poopy ones out of the washer after the first wash and pulling open the laundry tabs and going over them with my finger nail under the tap. Same thing for the leg elastic. Just stretch it out and run over it by hand under the tap. Otherwise, I'd find stuff STILL in the nooks and crannies after 3 trips through the washing machine! Happy cding!

I absolutely second the diaper sprayer, or at least rinsing the poo off immediately after changing your son. Be sure to use cold water. I have been using my BG for 18 mnths now and out of 18 diapers- only 1 has a stain because we were at a a theme park and I was unable to rinse it right away. We also do a cold wash then a hot and never a problem.

I rinse poo diapers in the toilet before laundering. It's worth the extra step. If all the apparent loose stool is rinsed out - I've never had a problem with stains and our BG's are nearly 20 months old now. Also, I fill my washer with Hot water on a full load, let it agitate for awhile, then turn it off and let is sit until the water cools, or I want to get the laundry done already....then I drain that poo/pee water and run a load on normal with detergent.

I keep a pair of rubber gloves in the bathroom and a toothbrush that's completely dedicated to cleaning diapers. When I rinse the poop in the toilet I scrub the diapers a bit in the toilet and it seems to help a lot.

Good luck!
J.
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I used cloth w/all 3 of my kids. To get the mess out of the elastic folds and velcro I used a gentle brush (old toothbrush or soft nail brush) to gently scrub out the mess from those areas before tossing the diaper into the pail. It worked every time!

The moment my son poops, I put his diaper in a bucket, go into the bathroom, dump whatever solids I can into the toilet, and then fill the bucket with water and soak for at least an hour. Then I run the diaper in hot water with unscented Arm & Hammer detergent. I've never had a problem with staining, and I think the major key is the immediate soak. Good luck.

My friend said she used Sol U Mel from Melaleuca to get stains/smell out of her cloth diapers

I don't know, but a friend of mine just launched her new cloth diaper line at Costco. She's been working with 40 moms on her diapers so she might be able to connect you with them. Here is her web site: http://www.cuteybaby.com You should be able to contact her through there, but if not, let me know and I will hook you up with her.

Hi S.,

I have the bumgenius diaper sprayer. It attaches to the toilet and I use it to clean messy poop off of my diapers (bumgenius 3.0 and prefolds) before putting them in the pail. I know they sell one at Be By Baby (Roscoe and Lincoln -- www.bebybaby.com), or you can order on online.

We used a diaper service for the 1st 6 mos., but I've read that breastmilk poop should be able to go straight into the wash. Be sure to wash your diapers either every other or every third day. I do a cold rinse (I add in a few drops of tea tree oil, which is a natural antimicrobial) first, and then wash the diapers using the hottest, heaviest, longest wash with another cold rinse at the end. I use regular free-and-clear detergent (I use Seventh Generation), but 1/2 as much as I would for a regular load. Occasionally, I throw in some natural chlorine-free bleach, but really the sun is the best way to bleach your diapers (it won't degrade the material). Then I do another cold rinse before putting them in the dryer.

Keep it up, cloth diapering is the best!
R.

Do you have hard water? We do and have had great luck adding 1-2TBS Calgon Water softener. This can be found in the detergent section in most grocery stores. Hope this helps.

Do you have a diaper sprayer? I loved mine! It connects to the water inlet hose behind your toilet and looks like the sprayer on a kitchen sink. It's a DIY install so don't worry about calling in a plumber. If your DH is handy you could even buy the parts yourself for cheaper than the sets packaged and marketed to cloth diaperers or bidet folksies :) My Mom says she dunked the diapers into the toilet water and gave it a squeeze but I couldn't wrap my head around ever doing that - ick.

I do a 30 minute cold soak with detergent (I actually use BG detergent), then I let it run the cycle following. Then I wash with a hot cycle. I haven't had any problems, yet. *Fingers crossed* You might also try sunning. I know that it is cold right now, but that will probably get it out.