washing--what am I doing wrong? I thought prefolds were easy! - Page 3

[sexysisam]

Also, about your hot water. Do you turn it down when you are done washing the diapers. That would save you some money. Just turn your water heater way up about 30 minutes before you need to wash your diapers and then when you are done, turn it back down to where you like to have it.

[hipmummy]

Originally Posted by sexysisam

Also, about your hot water. Do you turn it down when you are done washing the diapers. That would save you some money. Just turn your water heater way up about 30 minutes before you need to wash your diapers and then when you are done, turn it back down to where you like to have it.

:YEAH: also havethought about making your own soap. It is super cheap and costsabout 1-2 cents per load. There are many websites with similar recipes.

[dis]

Originally Posted by ShareBear

Well, if I didn't have soft water, then surely I wouldn't be getting suds of this magnitude with so little detergent, right? I thought that soft water produced more suds, hard water less.

Yes, because hard water traps the detergent in the fibres. Still, it might be worth a shot if you can get ahold of some Calgon - your water might be soft enough to produce suds and for the buildup to take awhile, but there could still be enough hardness to cause some buildup.

This is an excellent point:

there are a ton of store brand diaper safe detergents that are better than the free and clear and in the long run it will cost you less than having to do a million rinses.
xtra perfume and due free (different from free and clear) is great and cheap at walmart

Free and clears are bad news for diapers, IME. You don't have to use an expensive detergent, but clearly the one you have isn't working.

[ShareBear]

Well, I'm confused by this suggestion that there are a "ton" of store brand detergents that work--according to all the "diaper-friendly detergents" lists I've read, the only cheap detergent that works on cloth is the Purex Free and Clear.

I'll look for the Xtra Perfume and Dye Free next time I'm at Walmart. Is that a liquid or powder?

Last time I washed I used a tablespoon of the Purex in a full-sized load, and 1/2 cup of vinegar in the first rinse cycle. That first rinse did look less sudsy, but I still had to do four rinses. And I still do have ammonia smell with the overnight diapers, but the daytime diapers aren't too bad.

I do turn off the hot water heater at night when it won't be needed, just by flipping the breaker, but turning it down involves unscrewing a panel, adjusting the temp with a screwdriver, finding the tiny little screws again which of course I have dropped, and then rescrewing the panel. Major pain. I would rather not have to turn it up at all.

I haven't tried making my own soap because I thought soap wasn't good for diapers. I suppose I could try making my own detergent (which is possible, right?). I'll add that to my really looonnnnnnggg to-do list of things that I never have the time to get to.

Someone please tell me if it's really possible to do cloth diapers with a cheap detergent??? I keep hearing "well, the expensive detergent would be cheaper than so many rinses" but I still can't afford that--I need both a cheap detergent AND fewer rinses.

I'm sorry if I sound bitter with all this, but I kind of am. Oh and I'm also bugged by this whole "ploppable poop" thing which I have only seen maybe once or twice since I've started doing cloth. My son's poops don't plop. I have to spend five minutes bending over the toilet shaking and dunking and swishing and usually, flushing at least twice (five gallons a flush).

[ShareBear]

Originally Posted by sexysisam

Here is what it do (just in case anyone cares):
Top loader
1. Start a cold wash and add 2 Tbsp Country Save and 3 squirts of BacOut. I let it fill up all the way and agitate and then I leave it to soak for a few hours or overnight (I just leave the lid up and it stops automatically). When the soak is done I close the lid and it spins out and finishes the cycle.
2. Hot wash with 2 Tbsp Country Save.
3. Hot wash with nothing (or a "glug" of vinegar or a 1/2 cup of water softener, but most often nothing).

When you say "cold wash" and "hot wash" do you mean full wash cycles including a rinse? Because if you do, then that's 120 gallons of water!
Assuming 40 gallons per wash cycle, which is typical according to a google search.

Assuming the 40 gallons per wash cycle means filling the washer twice, once to wash and once to rinse, then the above routine would use just as much water as my current routine which involves filling the washer six times (cold rinse, hot wash no rinse, then four warm rinse cycles).

[MoOnFiReGlOw]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Oz

First, try boiling them all to get them back to square one. Next, try adding vinegar to your cold soak (vinegar is acidic and will neutralize the ammonia which is basic). Do you have hard water? If so, try adding a water softener to your hot wash along with your detergent (and I think you need more detergent...1/2 teaspoon doesn't seem like near enough to actually clean). Put vinegar in your fabric softener dispenser as well...it helps to break up bubbles and allows your detergent to rinse out better.

I use both flats and prefolds...I don't really notice much difference in washing them, but flats dry a heck of a lot faster.

I completely agree...Add vinegar. If you can, do a vinegar soak overnight so that it has plenty of time to saturate the diapers. I'd say if the ammonia is bad put in a cup or two. Don't worry about putting too much to a degree because what doesn't get used will wash out b/c it has nothing to bond to chemically. hth

[confustication]

My fitteds get build up as well- my prefolds not so much, but they haven't been used in a couple months...

I totally get the 'I NEED CHEAP!' thing- but I have to admit defeat with Purex F&C- it caused major buildup/ammonia/chemical burn on baby issues.

I have a friend who swears by only oxygen cleaner in with her dipes, I haven't tried it, but she says it's great. Personally though, I find that it was worth it to save for a bit and order some Charlies or Planet. In conjunction with what I save on my electric bill by switching to a HE washer, I can validate the expense many times over.

[VOBetz]

I used to use Purex as well, and I found it to be harsh for my son's bum.

I switched to Country Save, and now i use less rinses - so it all works in my opinion.

[JTA Mom]

I've had this problem before & I have hard water, so it was a fight to figure out.

Do you have a high efficiency top loader?

First things first--the stripping. The fact that you have ammonia smells & your lo is reacting to it means you have bad levels of bacteria in your prefolds. So, just this one time, you need to pull out the big guns: bleach. For the record, I HATE bleach, but I think that there are some circumstances where it is the most economical, environmentally ok choice.
Please do a bleach & vinegar soak in the washer. Add a half cup of vinegar and a couple capfulls of bleach in warm water. Add prefolds & let sit overnight, or at least a couple hours. Next morning, run a wash to clear out the bleach water. This will KILL the bacteria. The vinegar gives it a boost too, and gets rid of the left over ammonia crystals. Please do this in the machine. This way any bleach smells are kept to a minimum. Then add in about a quarter cup of homemade soap (I'll give you the recipe), a cup of baking soda and wash on the hottest & longest setting again. To make sure the bleach is all gone, I like to run an additional wash, just water.

All the above is to strip them & get rid of bacteria.

I've found that all detergents leave a residue, especially purex. I can feel it on the prefolds--ick. Someone gave me a homemade soap recipe that's pretty cheap. It will last you a while. More so with a fl, but it's not bad with a top loader.

Homemade Diaper Soap
Equal parts:
Washing Soda (aka Sodium Carbonate--if you can't find it in the laundry aisle, check the pool aisle, there's a ph booster product that's 100% sodium carbonate)
Borax
Oxiclean(or any knockoff brand. I use the regular oxiclean).

That's it. Just mix it all together. Use 1-2tbs for a FL, about a 1/4c for a top loader.

The above soap is awesome. It has NOTHING that will build up in a diaper. It washes out easy--even in hard water. It's helped me a lot.:

As for washing, I toss in my prefolds with a couple tablespoons of the above soap, run a hot, long cycle, then run another cold cycle to get any residues out. If I want to really get them clean, I put in about a cup of vinegar in the first wash, to get rid of the pee easier. I then add in about a cup of baking soda in the second wash. If you use VINEGAR or BAKING SODA in ANY of your washes, you need to use the other as well. Using both balances the ph on your diapers. Not a big deal when the diapers are dry, but when wet, you really don't want something really alkaline or really acidic against your baby's skin. Just separate them from each other. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll put vinegar in the rinse cycle (I use a downy ball for the top loader) and baking soda in the drum.

hth!

Ami