feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out wash routine!

[pittnurse08]

I'm a CD newbie as my baby isn't even born yet, but I've been researching different washing methods and feel overwhelmed by all the different opinions. I was planning to use homemade laundry soap (BS, borax, and olive oil soap) but worry that it will cause build up on the synthetics, right? A few things to take into consideration:
1. I have very sensitive skin and eczema
2. The current stash consists mostly of cotton prefolds and flats, SposoEasy AIOs, and Fuzzi Bunz.
3. We have a large top loading washer
I was looking at Charlie's but then I run into reviews about chemical burn type rashes... eek.
So, tell me. What does your CD wash routine look like? Any special suggestions for me? Thanks for your help!

[EmmalinesMom]

My advice would be to start with a simple wash routine and then make it more elaborate if needed. I'm not washing diapers anymore, but most recently (in my top loading washer), I'd do a cold rinse, then use a little of the Trader Joe's Next to Godliness detergent in a hot wash with an extra rinse.

If you decide to go with a purchased detergent, rather than make your own, you might check out this link:

http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

Good luck!

[Michigan Mama]

I agree with PP. I'm not an expert of the ins and outs of homemade detergents, but the link she gave you is great.

My routine is very similar. Cold rinse, hot wash with 1/2 scoop of Country Save, extra rinse (hot). Periodically I need to do some extra hot rinses or I start to get a little ammonia smell.

[mrs*kewpie*pie]

for a newborn i wash in cold first then do a second wash on hot. i just use the same detergent i use on everything else. eta : i just use generic detergent, sometimes free and clear if its on sale

later on when the baby is older and the poo more solid i dump the clumps in the potty before the dipe goes into the diaper pail and if i end up w only a few poo dipes in the load i might skip the cold wash.

fuzzi buns seem to require stripping more often to avoid stink issues. to strip you wash repeatedly on hot. i would usually wash maybe 4-6 times to strip.

i don't have any experience w/ the bg though, nor w/ eczema so take my advice with that in mind

[mamadelbosque]

My old routine (when we had limitless water), consisted of one wash on HOT with detergent and then another wash on warm or cold without, then drying. But, now with very limited water (shallow well), I just wash once on my longest setting HOT/COLD with an extra rinse, and then dry. I use allens naturally & spray the poopy ones with bac out beforehand (which really seems to have helped with stains immensly!!). My stash is pure BG 2.0s atm, with 3.0s to be added soon

[Galatea]

1. Cold prewash with 1/2 cup white vinegar.
2. Hot wash with 1 tablespoon Vaska or Mountain Green or Allens plus 1 scoop Giant Eagle's generic Oxy Blast.
3. Cold rinse.
4. Hot wash with nothing.
5. Cold rinse.

Once a month, instead of the GE Oxy Blast, I use 1 Tablespoon bleach, well-diluted.

Definitely don't use the homemade soap. Our hard water here is very bad for homemade soap. We all have super-sensitive skin and eczema and have no problems with any of these detergents.

[pittnurse08]

Thanks for all of your replies! I hadn't heard of Vaska before but since doing a little research I'm definitely intrigued!

[Adsullata]

I agree with the pp who said to start simple. When I first started out, I was trying too many things and think I only made it harder on myself. I felt like a scientist conducting experiments trying to get the perfect wash routine. Although after all that, I do feel I have a great thing going now.

I have contact dermatitus or eczema when it comes to detergents, bleach, etc., and can't use a lot of products, even "natural" stuff sometimes. I started out using Biokleen free & clear detergent, but have switched to Country Save and like it better as it does seem to do what they claim, which is rinse out better than other detergents. IMO it's definitely better than the biokleen. I use it for all my wash, not just dipes.

For my dipe wash routine, I do a cold heavy (long) wash with 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1-2 teaspoons of biokleen oxygen bleach, and 1 tablespoon of country save detergent. (I like putting everything in the first wash or rinse, because I've found it not only gets wash cleaner, but more importantly for our sensitive family, it rinses out better, so no residue.) Then a hot prewash, then hot/cold heavy wash with approx. 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar. The bs and ob are for poopies so now that dd is 14 mo. and has more solid and less frequent poos, sometimes I skip that and just use detergent alone. But I have a front loader, so the amounts would differ slightly, and that's also why the extra washes/rinses. I also wash about every 2-3 days, so about 24 to 30 dipes per load, plus my cloth wipes and changing pads, so a full load.

When I've washed in a toploader, I still put everything but the vinegar in the first cycle and either do a cold prewash or a simple cold wash cycle, then a hot/cold wash cycle w/ vinegar. (hint: I put the vinegar in the wash part, like most people would w/ bleach, because when I put it in the rinse, I could sometimes smell it faintly.) When dd was EBF, I used biokleen's bac-out on the poopies and threw them in. The bac-out has not caused any skin sensitivities for us. I also have mostly prefolds and some knickernappies pockets, plus fleece and microfiber wipes and doublers. I've yet to have a case of stinkies or buildup.

Oh, geez, that's a lot of info I really hope I didn't just add to any of the overwhelmed feeling you've had. I sincerely hope this helps, not hurts

[pittnurse08]

Thanks, Adsullata! I love Bac-out, so I'm glad to hear that it works well on bf poo dipes.

[Slabobbin]

We use pre-folds. We have a dry pail. When the pail is full we dump it in the washing machine and add some vinegar, baking soda and a few swipes on a cheese grater of Ivory soap. We wash on hot. We do a pre-soak, a vigerous wash and then an extra rinse. We have never had any problems. HTH.

[blumom2boyz]

We use prefolds here too. I do a cold water rinse, hot wash with Bio-Pac detergent, then an extra rinse. No issues here and super simple!