I know I still have a few months to worry about this, and I CD'd my last two children. But after reading GMD's guide that came with the dipes I am totally freaking out. We had super stink issues with my last dd's diapers that caused me to quit cloth diapers for her (though she was potty training so it wasn't really an issue). We usually use Gain because I'm sensitive to Tide and a lot of kinds and I like the smell. Plus I always read not to use free & clear kinds.
Now the guide says not to use any with enzymes or brighteners or any of these things which I agree with. But every time one thing was mentioned as a plus (like Charlie's being awesome) there were negatives in with that and talk about how a lot of people say not to use Borax so Charlie's shouldn't be used and if you use __ kind you have to use __ in the same load to disinfect and all of this complicated stuff I never thought about or knew about before. Like soaking, then prewashing, then washing, then at least one extra rinse or extra cycle with just water-seems like a huge waste of water to me (though we don't have water shortages so it's not a huge issue more just ecological worries).
Like to wash covers seperately and use stuff to disinfect it or something special to strip them every month and how you should use oxygen bleach which I never did with dipes before thinking it was a no-no... And how you need to use this same detergent for all your laundry so that your machine doesn't get buildup and you don't have to strip them-seems expensive for the prices on a lot of those detergents! OMG is it really this complicated? Have I been doing it wrong all these years?
How do you wash your dipes? I have prefolds, a couple fitteds, and a few AIOs. What detergent is best for city water that's not soft but not super hard in an old top loading machine without a lot of cycle/temp choices?
And which non-chlorine bleach? Oxi-clean seems to be a no-no but all the others are SO expensive.
I am in hardcore information overload. Please, somebody talk me down from hyperventilating about detergent choices.
Now the guide says not to use any with enzymes or brighteners or any of these things which I agree with. But every time one thing was mentioned as a plus (like Charlie's being awesome) there were negatives in with that and talk about how a lot of people say not to use Borax so Charlie's shouldn't be used and if you use __ kind you have to use __ in the same load to disinfect and all of this complicated stuff I never thought about or knew about before. Like soaking, then prewashing, then washing, then at least one extra rinse or extra cycle with just water-seems like a huge waste of water to me (though we don't have water shortages so it's not a huge issue more just ecological worries).
Like to wash covers seperately and use stuff to disinfect it or something special to strip them every month and how you should use oxygen bleach which I never did with dipes before thinking it was a no-no... And how you need to use this same detergent for all your laundry so that your machine doesn't get buildup and you don't have to strip them-seems expensive for the prices on a lot of those detergents! OMG is it really this complicated? Have I been doing it wrong all these years?
How do you wash your dipes? I have prefolds, a couple fitteds, and a few AIOs. What detergent is best for city water that's not soft but not super hard in an old top loading machine without a lot of cycle/temp choices?
And which non-chlorine bleach? Oxi-clean seems to be a no-no but all the others are SO expensive.
I am in hardcore information overload. Please, somebody talk me down from hyperventilating about detergent choices.