Laundry Question

[jenjenfirenjen]

I'm just starting to try CD. I got a sample pack from Natural Babies. So far, so good. I've read the Cloth Diapering 101 on here but I'm still a little confused on the laundry issue. How do you get out poop stains? DS has majorly wet, explosive BMs so I've been doing poopy laundry for 3 months already (the reason I decided to try CD.) The only way I've been able to get the poop stains out of his clothes is with OxyClean Baby but I read NOT to use that on cloth dipes. I saw a mention of using Zout but that would involve dousing the entire diaper in it. Is there something I'm missing or do I just live with poop stains?

Thanks for any input you can offer. I have already learned so much from these boards and I'm so excited to try CD (even though my mom thinks I'm nuts!)

[alaible]

We have been cloth diapering since DD was about 2 months old. I haven't really had much problems with poop stains. And it wasn't until recently that her BM's became more solid. You could always dunk or rinse off the poopy diapers so there is less chance of staining but I never bothered with that either. I just put the entire poopy diaper into the diaper laundry bag and left it there until I was ready to wash the diapers. I do a pre-wash with 1/4 cup of detergent in warm water, then a hot wash without adding more detergent and a double rinse with a downy ball 1/2 filled with vinegar. You don't want to use too much soap because the residue can make the diapers less absorbant the vinegar helps to rinse the diapers clean. If you do the wash and still have a BM stain sun works wonders on most diapers - it bleaches the stain right out. When I did get a stain I would just lay a beach towel on our deck and lay the diapers on the towel and the sun takes the stain out in no time.

[pritchettzoo]

I don't usually have a poop stain problem either. In the early poop days, I did a cold rinse first--that way it gets stuff out without "setting" the poop into the diaper with hot water. Once the crazy poop slows down, use fleece liners. Grab a yard or so of anti-pill fleece from JoAnn's or whatever fabric store, cut out some liners (I am anal and traced a Sugarpeas insert so that they were all nice and neat ;)) and throw them in the diapers. Fleece has a magical poop-repelling ability and it is much easier to get the poop off fleece than the diaper itself. I add my liners even to diapers that already have a microfleece-topped insert.

If your diapers do get stains, hang them in the sun to dry. Also, even if there are stains, the diapers are clean. So poop stains inside a diaper aren't really that big of a deal. Zout does work on poop stains. I sprayed the diapers with it for a few times, but it got really expensive and then I was like, "Why do I even care?"

Also, how frequently are you washing?

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and One More (coming July '05)