Repeat for sure, but need help

384 Views 6 Replies 7 Participants Last post by wannabe, Apr 12, 2006

eirual

Discussion Starter · Apr 11, 2006

Okay, so my son's 4 mos. he's been in cloth from week 1, but we've been using a service. We're moving to an area that isn't serviced, so i figure i better be learning to wash CDs before we go and i start school and life gets hectic.

So....Where we are now (and likely where we'll be moving too) we pay for laundry (coin-op), which means no running one rinse cycle or aything- it's a full wash or nothing!

I'm clueless as to how to wash CDs properly. I've been reading that you're supposed to use commercial-strength detergent like tide or cheer or whatever....really?!?! this scares me! But if i must go this route, is there any lesser of two evils, like arm&hammer maybe??

So, what I need help with: How to wash CDs (I'm using unbleached prefolds) without fussing with machine settings (full cycles, can't just put through 'rinse' first). And any tips for making it to the machine to catch the rince cycle....for adding vinegar or b.s.- i ALWAYS miss it and forget to set a timer by the time i get upstairs (when we get a house we are for sure putting the washer/dryer in the bedroom where they belong (or at least on the same level as the bedroom)....laundry in a basement is like keeping a fridge in the attic-ugh!)

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Llyra

· #2 · Apr 11, 2006

Here's what I do, and it has worked well for us with no stink or build-up or anything. I run a pre-wash cycle on cold, and then a hot wash with a double cold rinse. I use whatever detergent is on sale, usually the store brand, but I use a very small amount (less than half the usual recommended amount.) If you can't run a rinse cycle, maybe you could soak at home first, or just rinse poopy diapers first? I find that without a rinse they sometimes smell a bit. Then again, if your son is still exclusively breastfed, even that might not be necessary-- that poop doesn't smell like solid-food poop does!!!

I don't bother with vinegar or baking soda or anything like that. If the dipes start to get a bit stinky, I just do an extra hot wash. One time I boiled them, after DD had a virus and we had bad stink, but that was a special circumstance.

I guess I'm saying I don't think complicated washing routines are really all that necessary, unless you begin have issues with stink or buildup.

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justmama

· #3 · Apr 11, 2006

Most people have the best luck with the cheaper detergents. Most cloth retailers tell you to use the generic stuff instead of Tide because it's so harsh and Arm and Hammer has enzymes that will mess up baby's bottom pretty well. I have excellent luck with both Sun and Gain and did like Purex until they changed their formula and now it has optical brighteners that cause build-up. But Sun and Gain are great for our normal water. Our diaper care routine is this:
all diapers are drypailed(that is, they are just thrown in the diaper pail until wash day with no soaking and no water in the pail). Anything that's solid is plopped into the toilet. Most of Sara's poops are still very mushy and gross because she nurses almost as much as she eats solids so not much dumps into the toilet.
we wash diapers every other day or every day because letting them sit longer makes washing them harder. you do more rinses and more washes and battle stink problems and stains. Plus it really can't be good for something acidic like urine to be left sitting on cotton for more than a day and a half.
wash routine is as follows: cold wash(with 1/2the recommended amt of detergent) and washer automatically does a hot rinse. I set the controls for an extra rinse at the end(and sometimes I add a few drops of tea tree oil to the really nasty washes if I remember. my washer does a loud annoying buzzing noise on the last rinse so i know it's ready) but I don't really think this makes a HUGE difference in cleanliness of the diapers so if your washer doesn't do this, it might not matter. After that they are hung outside to dry on the clothesline and fluffed in the dryer for 10 minutes after. If it's a really yucky rainy day out I will usually put the quick-drying stuff on a drying rack inside and just dry the prefolds and thick fitteds in the dryer to cut our utility costs. Some people do a full cold wash and full hot wash but I've found that it only raises our water and electric bill, doesn't make our diapers any cleaner. I've NEVER had stink problems(okay once with fuzzi bunz but that was a build-up issue and was solved with a good stripping) and my diapers are stain-free for the most part and smell great and don't wear out unnaturally fast. We've been cloth diapering for 15months now too. I truly believe that this routine is the way to go.

Meg

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amysuen

· #4 · Apr 11, 2006

The other posters pretty much covered it, but I wanted to say good luck and hang in there! We used CDs for many, many years before I got my own washer and dryer. It was a pain lugging the dipes to the laundromat or to the basement from the 3rd floor (no elevator) but it was worth it! Hopefully you'll get your own place soon!

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MistyMM

· #5 · Apr 11, 2006

I wanted to add - get a downey ball for the vinegar to add to the rinse cycle. we don' tuse ANY Detergent on our diapers, just a cold rinse, hot wash/cold rinse. the only thing we add to the diapers is pail powder while in the pail, and occasionally vinegar in the second rinse. As far as no prerinse, I would do a rinse by hand with a minishower on all poop diapers before putting them in your pail, to assure the most amount of stool is off the diaper.

hth
Misty

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EnviroBecca

· #6 · Apr 12, 2006

I have used ONLY the environmentally friendly detergents, with good results. Ecover left the diapers feeling very slightly sudsy when damp, but it didn't seem to affect the absorbency. No trouble at all with these:
Bi-O-Kleen powder
Bi-O-Kleen liquid
Seventh Generation liquid
Ecos liquid.
I do a hot presoak, hot wash, cold rinse.

If you can't do a presoak or extra rinse cycle, I'd rinse each dirty diaper before you put it in the pail. Get a mini-shower, or rinse it under the tub faucet and then clean the tub before bathing.

Adding vinegar to the wash cycle (at the same time as the detergent) works pretty well.

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wannabe

· #7 · Apr 12, 2006

We can't do prerinses or any of that fancy stuff, so I go with cold wash with detergent, then hot wash (sometimes with vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser). If I can catch it, I'll skip a rinse on one of the cycles, but that doesn't always happen. If you washed less often this'd work economically.

Since we use a dry bucket, often I'll do a cold soak by letting the machine fill and agitate a bit in the first cycle, and lifting the lid to pause it. Your other option would be to soak in your bucket - then dump that water in the toilet before you go to the laundromat. HTH

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