Removing diaper cream?

[sylviamama]

I searched this forum for some info on stripping diapers - the search feature was disabled so I did it the old fashioned way by scanning each page til I found a few useful ones. I soaked my machine overnight in cold water and vinegar, drained it, filled it with hot and agitated it to shake the residue off the tub and rinse away the vinegar, and drained it again. I bought some Calgon this morning, and added it to the load of dipes with hot water. I only got a few suds, hardly anything worth noticing. So I washed the diapers in hot water with the Calgon and the detergent - twice, second rinse both times. Put them in the dryer, and they're still "oily" (just in front on the inside - they're homemade fitteds stitched from cotton flannel with a few layers of cotton terry towel in the middle. I think it's the diaper cream and not detergent that's built up cause the dipes are oily. I mostly use Weleda calendula diaper cream, but occasionally Burt's Bees with zinc oxide.

I need some help figuring out how to get the diapers clean so I don't have to throw out my stash and start anew. Dd has had a bad rash for a little over a month now, and I can't get rid of it. I don't know if it's the diapers or the detergent or the cream or what! I'm using BioKleen detergent, no bleach, and second rinse so I didn't think it was her diapers. I started using a diaper area wash in addition to the water and cloth wipes cause I thought I wasn't getting her clean enough. I switched to a zinc oxide cream cause I thought my diaper cream wasn't working. I filled a prescription for Nystatin cause I thought she had a yeast infection.

Any advice on what to try next?

[Rollermommy]

I use Aquaphor (made by Eucerin-get it at walmart) for rashes and that works great for us. I have also had success with getting out zinc oxide with dish soap

[Trishy]

Dish soap works well, I like Dawn. Put it on straight and scrub it with a brush and let it sit for a bit. Make sure to wash it well. Don't soak with vinegar anymore though, it will eat up your dipes. You can soak with baking soda though.

[Jachut]

Do you guys have Curash powder over there? If not, there has to be something similar - I just find a powder SO much easier to use than messy creams. I think there's also one called Desitin - but anyhow, Curash always cleared my kids bottoms up within a day and it doesnt leave gunk all over your diapers. Its just zinc oxide in powder form but the powder seems to dry everything up with seems to aid healing, unlike creams which keep it all wet and weepy.