Washing PUL covers - baking soda & vinegar OK?

[zazenist]

Hi mamas... I'm due very soon and trying to work out a plan of attack for our dirty dipes. I've read some contradictory info on PUL covers - that you can just toss them in with your regular dipe load even if you are using baking soda and/or vinegar in a pre-soak or rinse, and also that you shouldn't use them, as they can damage the dipes' repellent properties. So which is it? I have mainly Thirsties, and a couple Happy Heinys and FuzziBuns.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[NorthernPixie]

I ended up using vinegar in every wash with my diapers (mostly prefolds and covers) due to hard water -- that was what eventually worked to keep the smells away. I wouldn't start with vinegar though, wait until you (hopefully don't) find you need to do something else. Start simple -- rinse, wash, rinse, dry -- and only mess with that if necessary. I have never used baking soda in a wash for diapers but I imagine it would depend on your particular water situation. And doing baking soda AND vinegar at the same time is just a waste of money - you mix them and they make water and salt. If you're doing that, pick one or the other, or one after the other, not both at the same time.

[Gabes Mommy]

I've heard that you should avoid vinegar for PUL dipes or dipes with elastic, as it can wear them down. I'm not sure about baking soda though.