Sorting and detergent and front loaders, oh my!

376 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by flower01, Dec 11, 2008

asoulunbound

Discussion Starter · Dec 7, 2008

soooo. There's so much information on mdc, and this forum is no exception. I'm new to cd'ing, and only partial as of now. We have a little stash- 2 wraps, dozenish aios. I have some home made prefolds, thanks gramma, but I haven't used them yet- LO is generally ultra squirmy at changing time.

Sorting- Since we only have 2 wraps and about a dozen homemade AIOs (yay gramma!), even when they all need to be washed there's not a full load. Not even close. So, please don't yell, but is it ok that I washed with clothes? I handwash dirties in cold water.

Detergent- Can anyone tell me their experience with seventh generation powder? Do i really need BacOut? Does baking soda help or harm?

Front loaders- I live with my in laws and they just got a front loader with compartments for detergent n the like. What issues do front loaders bring?

I think that's all for now. TIA.

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asoulunbound

Discussion Starter · #2 · Dec 9, 2008

Anybody?

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kirstenb

· #3 · Dec 10, 2008

I have a front loader and the main problem that I have is that it uses a lot less water. Great for most laundry, not so great for diapers. It can be harder to get them clean and I need to run several rinses to get all the soap out. When I was visiting my parents it was a lot easier to wash with their top loader. I find it better to wash fewer diapers at a time, so instead of waiting until I have used up most of the diapers, I will wash every other day.

I wouldn't want to wash them with other clothes with a FL, just because I would be worried that they weren't getting completely clean or that soap wasn't washing all out. I would put in them in a load by themselves so you can make sure that all the soap is coming out.

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lily7

· #4 · Dec 10, 2008

FL are not great for CD, mostly because they do not use enough water hence do not rinse very well. The detergent choice is the most important, we use 7th Generation Delicate Care and trying to figure out what is the right amount. My washing routine is: Rinse (once or twice), longest wash on the highest temperature, and 2 additional rinses. Really more you can rinse, better. But it takes me like 2 hrs with this cycle.
I still have to boil my diapers/inserts every 4-6 weeks to strip them.
Bac-out and baking soda in my opinion is waste of money and time.

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flower01

· #5 · Dec 11, 2008

I pretty much agree with with both PPs. I've lived in 4 houses while CDing and the ONLY time i've had problems is when I was using a FL. I don't think that means it can't work, but I personally don't ever plan on getting a FL as long as I'm CDing. I've also found that simple is better. Avoid all the extras like Bac-out and baking soda until you absolutely can't get them clean. Then you can start experimenting. Also, I learned DO NOT use the sanitary cycle. My previously soft prefolds and fitteds were suddenly hard - even when I machine dried them they never got as soft as they used to be. I found out that the sanitary cycle used water that is TOO hot - it actually destroys cotton fibers.

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