FAQ

I washed my diapers but they still smell.

1. Put diapers thru a prewash cycle with 1/4 the recommended amount of detergent.  If you do not have a pre-wash cycle on your washer, then consider running your diapers through an initial short cycle followed by a heavy cycle.

2. Collect soiled or wet diapers in a lined DRY plastic pail.  Wet pails hold odor.

3.  You can optionally add a sprinkle of baking soda to your diapers and pail to help neutralize odors.  Once mixed with water in your washer, the baking soda will help to lift stains.

4. For optimum cleanliness, limit the size of your load to no more than 24 diapers.  As a general rule, the fewer diapers per load, the cleaner they will be.

5. Then, use HOT wash on a heavy cycle.   Use a mild detergent with no phosphates, and minimal additives. Add only 1/2 the recommended amount of detergent for top-loaders and 1/3 the recommended dose for high efficiency and front-loaders. 

Avoid all soaps and all "Free & Clear" and/or popular baby detergents. These detergents will leave a residue on your diapers that will affect the absorbency and may cause 'stinky' diapers and/or diaper rash. 

I like to add 1 Tbs lime juice to the final rinse.  This neutralizes the diapers and also kills bacteria.  Be sure to use pure lime juice that is in the same shelf as lemon juice in the grocery store...not frozen lime juice concentrate that has sugar in it.  Do not rinse with vinegar!

6. Whenever possible, dry your diapers outside in the sunlight.  Hang drying helps to preserve our enviroment and also preserves the textiles of your diapers and is great at getting rid of stains and odors.  Hang drying will leave your cotton diapers somewhat stiff. So to soften sun-dried dipes, you may choose to use the dryer for the last 15 minutes.

7. Even if you follow all the rules above, you still might end up with occasional stinky diapers and less absorbent diapers due to pre-wash, detergent, diaper rash ointment, and/or mineral residue. Simply replace your regular detergent with 1/4 cup Calgon water softener (found at your local grocers) or 1-2 Tbs Dawn dishsoap. This process is often referred to as diaper stripping. Use Calgon or Dawn as often as needed, but not at every wash.

8.  Finally, if your diapers are in need of a thorough deep cleaning, you can use a bit of Oxyclean Baby in place of your regular detergent. Do this only when needed.
 

I have a stubborn stain on my diaper.  What is a safe way to lift it out?

Cotton and other natural fibers tend to hang onto stains a bit more than polyester. Here are a few tips for lifting stains...1. Do a prewash with COLD water.  HOT water tends to set staining.  Prewash in COLD and then do a full cycle in HOT.2. Always hang to dry in the sun.  A stain may still be visible after once wash and dry in the sun, but over time, it will continue to fade.3. A spritzing of lemon juice on the stain and then sunning will also help.4. You can try commercial stain lifters, but you will need to wash with 1 Tbs of Dawn after to strip away the residue left behind. 5. Also, hydrogen peroxide may help...but do a small test spot first to be sure that it doesn't yellow the fabric.6. Never use a wet pail.  Soaking for too long soaks the stains and stink right in.