Best way to strip diaper (detergent built up solution)

[Mamaluu]

My diapers are smelling bad again and I know it's detergent built up. What's the best way to strip the diapers and get rid of built up detergent so they don't smell so bad?  (These are pocket diapers with PUL on the outside and fleece inside)

Nothing (stripping methods) that I've tried in the past felt like it made a big difference.  I'm very reluctant to apply heat (such as hot water) because I it seems to do a lot of damage to the elastic on these pocket diaper covers (not just the elastics along the legs but also the elasticity of the overall fabric). And running rinse cycles in plain water has literally taken me 20 cycles before i saw decreased soap on top of the water.  What methods do you recommend?  What has worked for you in the past?

[Marissamom]

have you tried Dawn? or rinsing with vinegar? 

[Mamaluu]

Originally Posted by Marissamom 

have you tried Dawn? or rinsing with vinegar? 

How and when?  I've tried adding a little bit of vinegar to the rinse cycles during my regular washes for a short period of time, but I still ended up with built up detergent.  And I just realized that some of the diapers says "no vinegar" on the tag.

By the way, the other problem I'm having at the same time is rashes at every wet diaper (which is something new now) - this is also likely caused by detergent built up (and built up from the wrong kind of detergent), isn't it?
 

[Mamaluu]

Another question:  can someone recommend a detergent and a regular washing procedure for hard water areas please?  After I fix this detergent built up, smell, and rash problem I want to get on the right track with my regular washes so it doesn't happen again.

[mysweetfiona]

wow, what an old post. But I want to answer! My diapers are clogged with detergent because of machine not rinsing/ draining well. Solution: clear out hose and trap, be sure pump is in good working order, too. How to strip diapers? IDK, still working that out.

[LeighPF]

1. Try the soak. overnight for the inserts, two hours for the pockets. Double the amount of cloth safe detergent and hot water (think hot bath, not anywhere close to boiling) Then wash with no detergent.

2. Boil the inserts. This gets everything out. 10 minutes at a boil and only as many as can easily move in the pot.

3. Sanitize cycle if you have it also does a good job on inserts, but will kill pockets.

4. Original blue dawn, I prefer hand washing the pockets with this and scrubbing the fleece a bit with a nail brush. It suds to much for a front loader, but you can add 2 teaspoons to a top loader and do a hot wash.

5. Try a soak with Funk rock or better Mighty Bubbles (both made for cloth diapers). Instructions on the package.

Hard water detergent.

I like Country Save, possibly with Calgone. Baking Soda also softens water.

Rockin' Green also makes a hard water formula.

Avoid vinegar with hard water. They just play together and do mean things to your diapers.

[LeighPF]

I also like EcoSprout for hard water (and any water).

[Courtney Moser]

I wouldn't recommend letting your PUL/elastic come in contact with vinegar. Plus, vinegar can make problems worse in a hard water environment.

You probably need to do a monthly "extra" wash with RLR and/or wash regularly using a bit of Calgon.