[SarahO]

we definitely have soap buildup on our prefolds and i cant get rid of it! last night we did dawn and many hot washes with no soap, and after drying them, i can feel a film on the diapers. when i moisten my fingers with this film, i see suds, so it has to be soap buildup. is there ever a point where you just cant get rid of the buildup? do i need to buy new diapers instead? Help!!!!!
thanks for any advice,
sarah

 

[earthgirl]

How hot does your water get? Have you tried the dishwasher method or boiling them? Can you clean your washing machine out w/ vinegar and see if that helps?

 

[SarahO]

havent tried the dishwasher and am reluctant to do so--ours is a bit old and fritzy. but the hot water, hm--how hot should it be? ours isnt super hot, i can wash dishes with bare hands at its hottest.....

 

[earthgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahO havent tried the dishwasher and am reluctant to do so--ours is a bit old and fritzy. but the hot water, hm--how hot should it be? ours isnt super hot, i can wash dishes with bare hands at its hottest.....

I think for the sake of safety your water should be no higher than 120 F. But for stripping, it needs to be closer to 130 F. You can add boiling water to wash, too. Or, if you have the time, just boil the diapers in a big stock pot. I think when it comes to stripping, temperature is key. HTH.

 

[FillingMyQuiver]

I suggest you do washes w/ nothing in it but water. Keep resetting the wash cycle to hot so that it doesn't go to a cold rinse (the hot water really pulls out the detergent) and when you don't see suds anymore, then you're good.

 

[Squirt]

Using Dawn didn't work for us either. In fact, it made the build-up worse. So, I got out my big stock-pot and boiled the diapers, and it worked. Now when I wash them, I use less detergent. Also, I sometimes add baking soda to the wash and vinegar to the rinse, and this helps when I notice a small amount of build-up. Good luck.

 

[mamamoo]

I would rewash them in super hot water(turn you hw heater up for this and then turn it back down), in every wash I would add vinegar or calgon, and I would keep doing hot washes with something(like vinegar that helps get the detergent out, do you have hard water?)until there are no more suds(open it and check while it agitates)at all. This can take a LOT of washes, but then after that you can mess with your wash routine and find something that works for you. I *finally* have found a routine that works all the time for my family, and works with all my dipes. Oh! FOrgot to say I have hard water, and this is what works for us.

cold prewash
hot wash with 1/4-1/2 cap det, and 1c vinegar
hot wash with 1 cup vinegar

I have to do a load every day because we have 3 older kids in cloth pull ups, and VI wears a nighttime dipe, but we also do family bathroom wipes, and with 5 people that piles up quick. LOL