Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › Diapering › what brand of laundry detergent do you use for cloth diapers?
New Posts  All Forums:
 

what brand of laundry detergent do you use for cloth diapers?

post #1 of 45
8/26/08 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 
Is it gentle, yet tough enough to get rid of all the stains?
Sponsored Links
post #2 of 45
8/26/08 at 1:56am
I'm using Purex F&C at the moment, and it's been fine. I think I'm going to either try making my own when I run out, though, or just buy some Crunchy Clean on Etsy (it's the same formula as homemade, but you can get it scented).
post #3 of 45
8/26/08 at 4:10am
When I first started CD'ing I used 7th Gen. Then I switched to Charlie's b/c I found out that 7th Gen had citrus oils in it that would cause CD's to repel.

So I used Charlie's for a long time but I have hard water so ended up getting bad build up.

Now I've switched to Soap nuts in the last couple of weeks. I like them.

None of the detergents/soaps I've ever used have gotten rid of all the stains. Using RLR laundry treatment occasionally has helped brighten the diapers and lighten stains. I'm not too worried about the stains though b/c the kids are just going to keep pooping on them.
post #4 of 45
8/26/08 at 4:14am
nak

Country Save. One box lasts about two months at our house. It's great stuff!
post #5 of 45
8/26/08 at 5:02am
Charlies. i cant use anything else on any of our landry. it cleans well, rinses clean and smells fresh, cause its unscented.
i am probably Charlies biggest fan
post #6 of 45
8/26/08 at 11:19am
Purex free and clear. I've had no issues with my dipes and as for stains, I do have occasional stains, but they don't stress me out.
post #7 of 45
8/26/08 at 12:54pm
We have a newborn and have only washed our diapers twice so far. We are using Trader Joe's ...Next to Godliness detergent, which was recommended by the person who led the cloth diaper workshop we attended. I don't think every stain has come out, but we don't have a clothesline yet, so can't take advantage of the sun's natural bleaching power.
post #8 of 45
8/26/08 at 1:21pm
Nature Clean All Natural Laundry Powder...seems to work OK...as for stains, we get them but just sun them out.
post #9 of 45
8/26/08 at 2:48pm
For now we use Purex F&C. It works well enough. I'd like to switch to something more natural,but this is all our budget allows right now.

For stains, I try to sun them on the weekends. Seems to work fine.
post #10 of 45
8/26/08 at 3:59pm
I use the homemade laundry soap. fels-naptha, washing soda, borax, and a little bit of sun oxygen cleaner. And a dash of vinegar in the fabric softener cup.
Works great on cotton diapers like prefolds and flats. It is a very hard working soap, right now I only have 1 diaper with a stain and that was from ds eating to many blue berries. I'm thinking the next wash and the stain will be gone.
It leaves the diapers soft, and smelling so fresh and clean.
post #11 of 45
8/26/08 at 4:45pm
Charlies. It cleans great. I use it on everything.
post #12 of 45
8/26/08 at 4:53pm
I use this recipe:
1 55 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Mule Team Borax
2 Cups Oxygen Cleaner-She recommends Sun ($5 @ Dollar General)
1/2 cup Simple Green
1/2 cup Calgon Water Softening Powder

It comes from this website:
http://diaperdivas.proboards57.com/i...y&thread=48888
I hope its okay to link to another forum, because I didn't want to quote without giving the link. Copyright and all that jazz.

Anyhow, I have a frontloader and used to use Purex F&C on dipes (We use it on everything as we have sensitive skin here) and I was getting horrible stink issues. I tried EVERYTHING. Everything. to combat it. I mixed up this detergent and I have had nothing but sweet smelling laundry. (No scent, just smells clean.) I had a bunch of AIO BumGenius that I had quit using and was only using pockets because of the stink and now because of this detergent I am back to using some AIOs. The OPs chemist friend suggested doing a run of RLR on Hot, but I never got around to that, yet, and it still works. Love it.
post #13 of 45
8/26/08 at 5:24pm
Regular purex. Have seen too many articles on avoiding the F&Cs. No issues yet.
post #14 of 45
8/27/08 at 12:25am
Bac-out, salt and soapnuts!!!

NOTHING will remove all stains (short of using bleach or the sun's bleaching power). As long as your dipes come out of the dryer smelling clean, they are!!
post #15 of 45
8/27/08 at 2:20am
Country Save is my personal favorite. I agree with the pp that nothing gets all stains except sun or bleach, but in terms of getting diapers clean without buildup, Country Save is amazing! It also works VERY well on my husband's work clothes which are quite disgusting as he manages a catfish farm and comes home reeking of dead fish! lol!

Sultana
post #16 of 45
8/27/08 at 3:56am
We just switched to Country Save as Charlie's was not working for us, and the CS has been a really good choice for us. My dh gets into some nasty messes at work, too, (though no competition with catfish) and his clothes and ds's diapers both come out in great shape.
post #17 of 45
8/27/08 at 9:49am
Melapower for diapers and everything. And we wash only with cold water for everything as well. It works great!
post #18 of 45
8/27/08 at 10:15am

Also new at cloth diapering

I have heard good things about almost all of the detergents listed by members.

From my extensive reading (so much info out there!)....
I hear the best reviews on :

Charlies - although I hear it can react badly with hard water and some babies have had severe reactions from it

Allens Naturally - This one I heard the most positive comments on...this is the one I decided upon.

Bac Out for stains - Great for stains...HOWEVER, important to use only for pre treat/soak, then you MUST wash with HOT water and do a rinse...otherwise the enzymes can cause a nasty rash.

And of course....vinegar and baking soda always rock for everything.

The biggest piece of advice I have gotten is to avoid regular detergents as they will cause repelling on dipes...then you will have to strip them. But some moms use them and do ok.

Good luck! Let me know what works for you! I will do the same!
post #19 of 45
8/28/08 at 1:45am
Nellie's All Natural Laundry Soda works great especially with my front loader
post #20 of 45
8/28/08 at 11:45am
not trying to hijack the thread or anything, but I'm getting back into CDing and can't remember what detergent I used to use with DC#1s CDs. Our family is quite sensitive to perfumes and dyes, so I'm trying to find something without that to wash teh CDs in that will, obviuosly, be effective. Only problem is I'm getting terrified at the prices I'm seeing on some of the recommended detergents for washing CDs! With those prices I'll have a hard time justifying that CDs are cost effective...a big reason for us using them!

So what detergents are fragrance free, work well, and are inexpensive??

THANKS!
New Posts  All Forums:
 
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Diapering
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › Diapering › what brand of laundry detergent do you use for cloth diapers?