Cloth diaper detergent

[Mrs.Shawn]

I will be having my third child next month, but will be cloth diapering for the first time. I have ordered some prefolds and covers but have not prepped them. I'd like to know what detergent you use(d) to launder your cloth diapers. I'd especially like to hear if you had success with a detergent that you did not have to order online.

[Julie in CA]

I cloth diapered all of mine, except for a couple of months when I had 3 in diapers at once.

I'm old-fashioned.

I used regular Tide with bleach, and hung the diapers on the line to dry.

They were always white, fresh smelling, and they lasted through all of my dc.

[Lily_Grace]

I used Charlies. It was a two-fold reason: we lived on an island for part of his life and I wanted to make sure the soap was biodegradable. It was also scent/dye free and gentle on his skin but cleaned well. It's only been recently that we've been able to switch to All Free & Clear and not have that give him rashes, but that's another good diaper detergent, too.

[RanchGirl]

I used Charlie's (ordered online) or homemade. Sorry I can't suggest anything easily available locally! (I was able to buy the ingredients for homemade locally though).

[Forget-Me-Not]

I used Tide when I CDed. I just used very little of it. I think I used to add vinegar to the load as well.

[MHowell]

All the talk of Tide is making me cringe! The enzymes/optical brighteners are SO NOT GOOD for your diapers!!

 

 

We really like Planet here, top rated for cloth diapers and cheap in comparison to most natural soaps.

[abacus2]

I really liked Country Save.

[webbeccjo]

I used the same homemade detergent I always use for regular laundry

 

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 bar grated fels naptha soap (you could use ivory or zote)

1/2 c oxiclean (optional)

 

this is safe for front loading machines too. all you have to use is 2 Tbs

[besroma]

Charlie's Soap

[indigomama]

Tide for 5 years, diapers are still going.

[Gailmegan]

Another Charlie's here. I loved it so much that I use it for all our clothes. My towels are cleaner than they have ever been.

[Lab1]

I use a tiny amount of Tide. Like 1/2 tsp to prevent buildup. I use vinegar when I remember, which isn't often. I need to strip them or replace the inserts. I made them so they could be replaced easily, but they otherwise work like AIOs.

[raceNzanesmom]

I used All or Purex Free and Clear with my youngest for the 3 years he was in cloth. I still use that for my day care boy's diapers. I use about 1/4-1/3 of the recommended amount, with white vinegar in the softner dispenser, and an extra rinse. No problems with it and I use a variety of diapers (prefolds, fitteds, pockets, hemp, micro, etc).

 

To prep your prefolds you might want to boil them, or add boiling water to the washer, to speed the process. I've heard of some using the dishwasher too, just use caution they don't touch your heating element.

[raceNzanesmom]

I used the same homemade detergent I always use for regular laundry

 

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 bar grated fels naptha soap (you could use ivory or zote)

1/2 c oxiclean (optional)

 

this is safe for front loading machines too. all you have to use is 2 Tbs

 

This is what I use for clothes. I wouldn't feel comfortable using the soap on diapers tho- at least not my pockets.

[Soror]

I used All Free and Clear for #1 and #2 but since #3 and soon to be #4 I've been using homemade. I use flats and prefolds (CPFs) and covers like bummis.

Edited May 4, 2012 by soror

[LaxMom]

I used my plain old Seventh Generation detergent, vinegar in the rinse, hung them to dry in summer, tumbled them in winter.

 

What I would definitely advise against is oxy-anything. Oxyclean, even after multiple rinses, left a residue on the diapers that turned fluorescent yellow (like safety vest yellow) in the presence of urine. It still gives me the creeps 10 years later.

[laundrycrisis]

Regular Tide was great for our diapers. They went through two kids and didn't wear out. I would use just a tiny amount with hot water. I used vinegar in the rinse cycle. I would also do an extra hot prewash cycle with no soap at the end as an extra hot rinse. I did not have any build up, stink, irritation or wearing out problems.

[Robyn]

All the talk of Tide is making me cringe! The enzymes/optical brighteners are SO NOT GOOD for your diapers!!

 

 

 

I used quite a few of the recommended detergents and had stink issues with all of them. Charlies made me quit altogether with my middle son. It gave him a horrible rash.

 

We've also tried Bumgenius, homemade detergent, Rockin' Green, and a few others my not quite coffee'd enough brain can't come up with this morning.

 

I switched to Tide as a last resort. No more rashes, no more smell. It works well for us.

[pfamilygal]

We got horrible blisters from Charlie's.

 

We adore Dropps Baby detergent. It comes in little clear packets that you just throw in the wash.

[edeemarie]

I use homemade soap, the liquid type, made from ivory, borax, and washing soda. I use a splash of vinegar in the rinse cycle and try to dry in the sun when possible. I have the pocket diapers (fuzzibunz) but I think this would work for prefolds too.

[ktgrok]

Regular Tide works best. Particularly on prefolds. Method works pretty well too if you want something more natural. I've even gotten by pretty well with the natural one from Costco.

[ktgrok]

All the talk of Tide is making me cringe! The enzymes/optical brighteners are SO NOT GOOD for your diapers!!

 

 

We really like Planet here, top rated for cloth diapers and cheap in comparison to most natural soaps.

 

I'd love to see something scientific that says those are bad for diapers. Especially prefolds, which are just the same darned cotton that the rest of my clothes are made of. I've been cloth diapering for almost 13 years, and it is only recently that the issue of "safe" detergent has some up.

[ktgrok]

I use a tiny amount of Tide. Like 1/2 tsp to prevent buildup. I use vinegar when I remember, which isn't often. I need to strip them or replace the inserts. I made them so they could be replaced easily, but they otherwise work like AIOs.

 

Just a warning, for many people, especially with hard water, that is NOT enough detergent. Might work in a front loader, or really soft water, but in hard water that wouldn't get things clean.

 

I always tell people to use the amount they would use on a really dirty t-shirt. If your dog took a dump on your favorite shirt would you put it in a load with only 1/2 tsp detergent, or would you use at least the full amount, maybe more? Poop is poop, and diapers are just cloth, nothing more, nothing less.

[Jpoy85]

I made my own detergent (Borax, Washing Soda and Fels Naptha soap). Use Lemon Juice on the stains and sun them out on the line. Ive heard Tide is good.

 

I cloth diapered 1 from 6mo to potty trained and then our last child from birth to potty trained. I used all different kinds of cloth diapers. I miss cloth butts :(

[AngelaNYC]

I used the same homemade detergent I always use for regular laundry

 

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 bar grated fels naptha soap (you could use ivory or zote)

1/2 c oxiclean (optional)

 

This is what we used for 2 years, but put all these ingredients in boiling water until all melted, then added more water, and let it gel up overnight. It made about 3 gallons. It looked like snot, but the dipes always smelled wonderful, came out stain-free and beautiful, and ds never had a rash. It's inexpensive, easy to make, and lasts a long time. Then I used vinegar after the second rinse - it works like fabric softener.

 

I want to suggest buying a cheap yard of fleece, cutting it up into rectangles, and using it as a diaper liner. Poop shakes right off them and your prefolds don't get stained.

 

I loved using cloth diapers!

[Jpoy85]

This is what we used for 2 years, but put all these ingredients in boiling water until all melted, then added more water, and let it gel up overnight. It made about 3 gallons. It looked like snot, but the dipes always smelled wonderful, came out stain-free and beautiful, and ds never had a rash. It's inexpensive, easy to make, and lasts a long time. Then I used vinegar after the second rinse - it works like fabric softener.

 

I want to suggest buying a cheap yard of fleece, cutting it up into rectangles, and using it as a diaper liner. Poop shakes right off them and your prefolds don't get stained.

 

I loved using cloth diapers!

 

you dont have to turn it into liquid soap, you can use those ingredients as powder too. :) I agree with the rest, vinegar and fleece.

[Stratford]

Tide. After trying nearly every "diaper safe" detergent out there, I switched to Tide and finally got rid of ammonia-stink and stains. No rashes or issues with Tide, and I've always used a full scoop (with an extra rinse cycle.) Diapers lasted through 3 kids and were passed on and are being used for a fourth.

[itsheresomewhere]

My friend uses rockin green soap. Charlies makes her DD break out. The rockin green works well for her. I even bought some to use on DS's gym clothes and it works great.

[Mrs.Shawn]

I'd love to see something scientific that says those are bad for diapers. Especially prefolds, which are just the same darned cotton that the rest of my clothes are made of. I've been cloth diapering for almost 13 years, and it is only recently that the issue of "safe" detergent has some up.

 

This is what my my mom and MIL say. Then there are websites like

 

http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html and

 

http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm which make it seem

 

like one would practically need a degree to find a suitable detergent.

[TexasRachel]

Just a warning, for many people, especially with hard water, that is NOT enough detergent. Might work in a front loader, or really soft water, but in hard water that wouldn't get things clean.

 

I always tell people to use the amount they would use on a really dirty t-shirt. If your dog took a dump on your favorite shirt would you put it in a load with only 1/2 tsp detergent, or would you use at least the full amount, maybe more? Poop is poop, and diapers are just cloth, nothing more, nothing less.

 

:iagree: This is my experience as well. We have hard water and my boys have sensitive skin so I have to be careful what we can use. I've tried lots of stuff, but what works is no microfiber and tide, although we use free and clear.

[pbb119]

I use Arm & Hammer w/Oxi boxed/powder. Works great, no stink. I used to use Tide w/Borax, but I don't think liquids work as well in a FL machine as powder for any of my laundry, esp dipes.

[Punchie]

W/my first, I used washing soda and simple green. I switched to Country Save w/#2. I use it for all laundry - it works great!

[Julie in CA]

All the talk of Tide is making me cringe! The enzymes/optical brighteners are SO NOT GOOD for your diapers!!

 

See, this confuses me. :001_huh:

My diapers made it through *5 kids*, and were still going strong. I still have a few that I use as rags that have been washed in Tide for, oh, let's see....21 years!

Are newer diapers just not really the same quality? :confused:

[KellyGirl]

I think that what will work for you depends on your washing machine, how hard your water is, and what kind of diapers you're using.

 

I was using original Tide when I first started with cloth. Some of my microfiber diapers got the stinkies BAD, and I felt like I was always stripping them and they still smelled. The Tide, microfiber and our hard water were not a good combination.

 

I agree with some of the previous posters that for prefolds it probably won't matter so much what you wash them in. I use Rockin' Green Hard Rock now, and none of my diapers get stinky (we have prefolds and microfiber pockets). But no matter what I'm using, I have found the rinse cycle to be the most important part of my wash routine. I do a pre-wash rinse, wash and then second rinse. And about once a month I'll run the wash/second rinse again without soap. I don't think you need a ton of soap to clean your diapers, I think you need a ton of rinsing (at least with hard water).

 

If you start with a store brand detergent and find that your diapers are getting stinky or are not as absorbent as they should be you can strip them down and try a different detergent.

[jenangelcat]

I've cloth diapered 3 kids for 6 years total (same batch of diapers) and I just use whatever is on sale. I don't buy baby brands or any other high priced special stuff. Never had an issue. I use prefolds with a bummie or kushie wraps.

[Punchie]

See, this confuses me. :001_huh:

My diapers made it through *5 kids*, and were still going strong. I still have a few that I use as rags that have been washed in Tide for, oh, let's see....21 years!

Are newer diapers just not really the same quality? :confused:

 

I think that with some of the materials used for pockets/AIOs that the optical brighteners in Tide and other such detergents cause build up on the diapers, which in turn causes them to stink. For the detergents that have enzymes in them, if they don't all get rinsed off, it can cause a nasty little rash.

[Julie in CA]

I think that with some of the materials used for pockets/AIOs that the optical brighteners in Tide and other such detergents cause build up on the diapers, which in turn causes them to stink. For the detergents that have enzymes in them, if they don't all get rinsed off, it can cause a nasty little rash.

I guess I'm glad I'm not a young mom nowadays. :001_smile:

What I liked most about cloth diapering was it's simplicity. Detergent restrictions and particular washing methods would have negated the benefits for me. :001_huh:

[indigomama]

I already said earlier that we use Tide. It has not done anything to our diapers, mostly fuzzi bunz in over 5 years. Plus, Fuzzi Bunz recommends it.

 

And we use the full called for amount, as someone else said, they are dirty, they need to be cleaned!

[LittleIzumi]

I used quite a few of the recommended detergents and had stink issues with all of them.

 

I switched to Tide as a last resort. No more rashes, no more smell. It works well for us.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Tide for the win!! I fill to the 1 or 2 line for our super-hard water. Less gets stinky. This is great--no smell and no rash.

Edited May 5, 2012 by LittleIzumi

[Seeking Squirrels]

We use All free and clear or Purex free and clear. It's what we use on our clothes, too. Tide is evil! (I'm *highly* allergic so I may be slightly biased :p )

 

Or we sometimes use soap nuts, but not often. I've always intended to make my own detergent, I just never have.