Laundry problems

I had an issue with stinky diapers. I was washing them every 2-3 days, but for some reason they'd come out of the washer and still smell bad. When I was POSITIVE little man had pooped because he was so stinky, I'd change him and find nothing but a wet diaper!  I was blown away. 

I wasn't sure what to do... I found a group on Facebook (seriously, there's a Facebook group for EVERYTHING!) specifically for cloth diaper laundry questions. 

From this group I learned that most smells are due to soap residue build-up. What I was advised to do was to "strip" my diapers by rinsing them in plain HOT water as many times as it took before I could look in the washer and see NO soap bubbles during the cycle. After that, I was to wash once with a Tbs of Tide original powder (yet another laundry detergent added to my collection) and 1/4 cup bleach, followed by two cold rinses and one more hot rinse (just for good measure and to be sure they didn't smell like bleach). 

Ta da! It totally worked. It took a lot of water, which to me kind of defeats the whole "green" aspect of cloth diapering, but stripping should only be done when diapers are smellin' funky anyway. Hopefully that's not too often. 

Cloth diaper laundry is different for everyone. Some people have the hardest time with this part of cloth diapering because there is no textbook answer. Some factors that change your washing experience are: hard or soft water? top or front loading washer? agitator or not? high efficiency or old school? What kind of diapers? How many diapers/inserts? Is baby breast fed, formula, solids etc? What kind if detergent are you using? Have you used a diaper cream on baby?

Each persons laundry routine will be unique based on the list above. I was lucky to find my "balance" fairly quickly! Just because that routine worked for me, doesn't necessarily mean it'll work for you too (hate to break it to ya... However if you're curious, I have an old school top loader [best kind for cloth diapers!] and soft-ish water)

I've got a good idea now of what people should do based on what I've read.. So if anyone out there in cloth diaper world is dying to get the stink out, I can try to help you out :)

Under Cover

Got my first mail order of diapers! I got some really cute prints, but I ordered a few of the wrong styles... Whoops!

I have two thirsties all-in-ones that I'll keep for sure, then I got two thirsties duo wraps, which come to find out is JUST the waterproof exterior.. No absorbency whatsoever inside. I guess some people use the old school cloth diapers (pre folds, flats, etc) then use a wrap or cover to put over and make it waterproof. Hmm.. Seems like a lot of extra work to me. I was also sent a cover from another brand for free, so I'll try that one out first to see if I want to keep the others.

The plus side is that you use the same cover (or two and switch back and forth) all day, and only trade out the insert when it gets soiled. Saves money, but I think I still like the pocket idea best. The all in ones seem nice, but they're expensive!

*UPDATE*

Just before his nap, I had put little man in the cover with just an insert inside (a new one that I got from Apple Cheeks that's microfiber on one side and something else on the other. All I know is you can't put microfiber directly against baby's bottom because it so good at absorbing moisture, that it'll take all of the good moisture from your baby's skin too!).

I just got him out and changed him and I would highly recommend NOT using diapers that way. Poop all over the insert that didn't just plop off into the toilet like with the Sun Baby pocket diapers, and poop all over the cover! A big stinky mess to say the least.. Thank goodness it all stayed IN the diaper though :)

Looks like I'll be returning the other two covers that I purchased. I'm sure they would work better with a prefold or fitted diaper underneath, but I already know they would be too much work for me. I'm a convenience kind of girl..

Here are the AIOs I'm keeping. One with snaps and one hook and loop (aka velcro).

Cute huh??

Delayed shipment

Ugh, my package of diapers STILL hasn't come. I called the company and they said it should be here by now... They'd check on it and call me back.

I never got a call back, but all of a sudden the tracking info is updating! Looks like they must have found it lost in the store or something. I'm so excited to try out another brand, it's killin me to wait!