5 rinse cycles and still suds!!??

[wildnewmamma]

Okay so my 7 week old daughter started getting a rash. I'm new to all of this so I started researching. Through some of my research I determined one possibility is that I probably wasn't doing my laundry right so I decided to strip my diapers with dawn. Normally I use Country Save, but I was adding Oxyclean and using oxyclean spray to try to keep the staining down (now realize that was bad!). SO I did a prewash with Country Save on my diapers and then ran a normal hot wash of dawn. I have never done a rinse cycle on my clothes, let alone opened it to see what kind of suds were there. I am also pretty sure we have hard water, so I am shocked to even see suds. I am now on my 5th rinse cycle and there are still suds. Is this just how much residue I had created already?

[inky leeuhhh]

i havent had many issues with build up, but maybe running a couple full cycles on hot followed by rinses in cold would help? hopefully someone else will read this and offer more help!

[wildnewmamma]

The only time I ran the washer on hot was with the Dawn, and then I did all the rinses on cold, should I have ran it on hot without soap, would that help rinse the soap out? I ended up running a rinse 8 times and there was still some suds, but not near what I started with, but I just couldn't bring myself to run it anymore.

[HeatherB]

The hot water should help get the buildup out. On my washer, if I'm stripping diapers, I'll do a hot wash, and catch it before it goes to rinse. I just move the dial over to rinse and let it finish without draining the hot water and loading in cold. Then, repeat.

Also, since you've not checked a regular load before, you may be like me and be unsure of what normal bubbles look like versus suds. Of course PILES of suds are pretty obvious! But when I was first stripping dipes, it was hard to tell when it was "done." A tip I've read is to pick up some of the water in your hand. If it's just agitation bubbles, they'll disappear. If it's suds, they'll stick around.

A water softener like baking soda or Calgon can help get the suds out - but if you're already seeing a lot, you may not need them.

Hope it's all finished soon!

[Galatea]

Dawn makes lots of bubbles and is unnecessary to strip your diapers. To strip them, simply wash them on hot with no detergent or soap, and keep washing them on hot til the water is clear. It may take all day.

I use the FREE version of oxiclean (generic at my store) and it is fine for diapers. As long as it is just oxygen bleach and no enzymes, it won't hurt the baby.