We have had some fun things happen in my absence...
Our apartment was 'remodeled' by OC and they added a second bedroom!
Adley turned one (and of course we threw a party that was wonderful, because almost all of our friends and family joined us)
Adley had her first nights away from Mommy and Daddy when we went on an anniversary trip to our honeymoon cottage near Branson. (She did stellar and I didn't check up on her more than 4 or 12 times a day. ;))
And we all had several rounds of sickness!
Things are starting to settle down...and one of my friends is researching and trying to get everything together before her little one arrives.
Washing your diapers. First...Pick Your Soap
I bought mine before Adley was born, so I had plenty of time to get them ready.
You first get to pick out your soap...I've done my own research and borrowed from others. My local CD store reccommends:
- Charlie's Soap
- Country Save
- Tiny Bubbles
- Rockin Green
- Thirsties Super Wash
I loved the Charlie's soap, it was reasonably priced at $.12 a load and I could really tell that Adley's diapers were coming clean. All of my friends use Charlie's and they love it. Charlie's Soap Link
I only tried a sample packet of Rockin' Green so I can't tell you what it did to my diapers over time. I bought a scented packet and it was super strong. I wouldn't reccommend the scented one for washing your sweet little ones diapers, it could irritate skin or potentially exacerbate respiratory issues. I hear lots of wonderful things about the unscented Rockin' Green. I do love that they have three different levels of 'rockin', for super sensitive babies, this may be the best way to go. Rockin' Green Soap tops out at about $.14 per load. (To give you an example of price difference, Tide is $.19 a load)
I've found that pretty much all baby friendly, cloth diaper friendly green soaps are cheaper than buying name brand, and they work better!
When choosing a detergent we looked at two main things.
1. How well they cleaned the diapers.
2. How cheap we could get them.
We decided to make our own detergent (even after trying multiple CD soaps).
Here is my CD friendly homemade laundry soap recipe. (It works for HE machines.)
1cup Borax
1cup Washing Soda
1bar of Fels Naptha Soap (grated up)
(I also add in 1cup of Oxi Clean, it really helps brighten up my diapers and eliminate odors.)
Mix together and use 1tablespoon per load. I have found that with my cloth diapers they actually need less. I use 1/2 tablespoon per load.
The cost per load at 1/2 tablespoon is $.04 and the cost at 1 tablespoon is $.08. (Adding the Oxi-Clean makes the load larger and cost a bit more, I haven't calculated the new total, but I add a whole cup and I haven't paid more $2.50 for Oxi Clean for 4 batches of soap.)
Buying 1 box of Borax, 1 box of washing soda and 4 bars of soap lets you almost finish off both boxes and yields approx 4 'batches' of laundry soap.
This stuff (in my opinion) works as great as Charlie's Soap and Rockin' Green and it is cheaper.
Whatever you buy, you will probably need to start washing your own clothing in it as well, because (as I said above) most detergents leave behind residue in your washing machine.
Rockin' Green, Charlie's and most other brands offer sample sizes, or a smaller 30-60 load container. My reccommendation would be to try some different brands out and see how they work for you and your baby. If your goal is to save money, you can always use homemade soap as a known back-up.
*Note:* When you travel, if you forget your diapers, you can go out and buy disposables, (we haven't forgotten our cloth, mostly because we don't want to pay full price for disposable diapers!) but what do you do about laundry soap. I try to bring a little container of my homemade soap with me, but if I forget, my backup is ALL free and clear. It seems to do pretty well, but I wouldn't reccommend it for long term use because even though it is supposed to be additive free, I noticed with long term use my diapers needed to be stripped.
Washing your Diapers. Second...Wash Your Machine
If you have been using name brand detergent (i.e. Tide and basically not one mentioned below), you will need to wash out your washing machine with your new soap.
Fancy name brand detergents (and those with yummy scents) leave behind residue in your washing machine and on cloth diapers.
Charlie's Soap reccommends running an empty load twice on HOT/HOT with your CD friendly soap.
I thought this was silly, but I noticed a huge difference in my clothes when I 'washed' my machine first.
Washing your Diapers. Third...Wash Your New Diapers Several Times
Unless you have wool diaper, you need to wash brand new diaper (or even used ones could use a 'stripping') 4-5 times with a small amount of detergent (1/2-1Tablespoon). After times 2 and 3 you need to stick them in the dryer with a dry towel for 20-30 minutes. This ensures that before you strap this piece of cotton or hemp to your little one that the diaper absorps every last drop (you are welcome to test the theory out for yourself...). This is a great 'nesting' responsibility and it even allows for naps between loads!
Washing your Diapers. Fourth...Washing your newly stained diapers twice
So you have your sweet little one in your arms and then you hear that delightful noise. If they are a healthy breastfed baby, you just throw that dirty diaper in the washing machine and let it do the work. If you are supplementing formula or are introducing solids, the majority of solid waste needs to be disposed of. Throw your diapers in the wash (I wash twice a week.) doing a quick cold rinse (my machine doesn't let me just run a rinse, so I run the Brights cycle). Then do a very hot wash (that would be your whites cycle) with your detergent of choice. (Smell them, sometimes really dirty diapers need a third wash, I've only had this happen when we have gone with a period of sickness). *If you have a fancy front loader HE machine, play with the sanitize cycle a little bit. Most CD'ers don't reccommend it, but I found it got my diapers super clean (my mom has one). The one caveat to the santize cycle is that is is two and half hours long!
Washing your Diapers. Fifth...Dry the Diapers
Dry your diapers on a gentle cycle (don't use any fabric softener), pull out and put away!
Sometimes...You Need to Strip your Diapers...
No matter what you do you will find that you need to strip your diapers, once every 4-6 months. I think this is because we use fabric softener on our clothing, and sometimes we use other detergents on our clothing (when they are cheaper). Stripping is easy (you just have to make sure you don't throw all of your diapers in overnight with only one left!).
The Green Bambino is my favorite go to store and online forum for questions...below is their quick and easy way to strip your diapers...
If your diapers are suddenly leaking, but don't seem saturated, or you are battling stinkies, it may be time to strip your diapers. Stripping your diapers will remove any built-up detergent residue that is holding on to odors and preventing absorbency.
Many websites suggest using original blue Dawn and LOTS of hot water to strip diapers, but after doing this several times ourselves, we've found an easier way.
If you currently use Charlie's Soap to wash your laundry/diapers and can soak things in your washing machine, the process is easy. Wash your diapers as normal, then use twice the normal amount of Charlie's in a hot wash. Allow the diapers to agitate a bit, then stop the washing machine and let the diapers soak for 2-4 hours. Let the cycle finish, then run a hot wash with no detergent to make sure the Charlie's Soap is rinsed out.
If you don't currently use Charlie's Soap, you'll need to use it to strip any residue out of your washing machine before stripping your diapers. A 5-load sample pack will provide just enough Charlie's to strip your machine and strip your diapers. First-time user instructions are included in all Charlie's Soap packaging.
If you have a front-loading high efficiency washing machine, you may not be able to do a soak. In this case, you'll need to soak your diapers as directed in a large bucket or your bathtub.
It seems like a lot, reading all of this, but it becomes routine. The only chore about cloth diapering I begrudge in the super sticky poopy diapers that take a bit of effort remove. Laundry is easy, I just stick it in, start it up and move on, start it up again with soap, and move on, then move it to the dryer and done!
Many websites suggest using original blue Dawn and LOTS of hot water to strip diapers, but after doing this several times ourselves, we've found an easier way.
If you currently use Charlie's Soap to wash your laundry/diapers and can soak things in your washing machine, the process is easy. Wash your diapers as normal, then use twice the normal amount of Charlie's in a hot wash. Allow the diapers to agitate a bit, then stop the washing machine and let the diapers soak for 2-4 hours. Let the cycle finish, then run a hot wash with no detergent to make sure the Charlie's Soap is rinsed out.
If you don't currently use Charlie's Soap, you'll need to use it to strip any residue out of your washing machine before stripping your diapers. A 5-load sample pack will provide just enough Charlie's to strip your machine and strip your diapers. First-time user instructions are included in all Charlie's Soap packaging.
If you have a front-loading high efficiency washing machine, you may not be able to do a soak. In this case, you'll need to soak your diapers as directed in a large bucket or your bathtub.
It seems like a lot, reading all of this, but it becomes routine. The only chore about cloth diapering I begrudge in the super sticky poopy diapers that take a bit of effort remove. Laundry is easy, I just stick it in, start it up and move on, start it up again with soap, and move on, then move it to the dryer and done!
