Stains - why do they occur sometimes, sometimes not?

[etwahl]

I'm curious about stains. All DS's poops seem the same. Yet some of the diapers come out of the machine stained and some don't. Why?

Do they tend to stain more if I wait two days between wash cycles? What about if there are more diapers in that one wash cycle?

The first couple weeks I was washing every day and no stains. Then I started washing every two days (and had a lot more diapers obviously) and stains started showing up. It's irritating me! I'm worried about getting stains out before I sell them. They're all pretty pricey diapers, so I would like to eventually sell them.

Also, since you all have said sun and maybe lemon juice will take the stains out. Will that still work if I've washed and dried them a bunch before doing that?

I also noticed a couple Triple Paste stains on some of the diapers. Should I not be using this diaper rash cream?

Tammy,
mom to Lauren (March 2003)

[Joolsplus2]

An hour or two in the sun really does do wonders, I've found. And yeah, definitely don't use any rash creams...aside from staining, they reduce absorbancy.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[kitmama]

I have wondered the same thing, sometimes. I definitely think waiting longer before washing a poopy dipe will encourage stains- I see a difference if a particular poopy dipe gets washed the same day or sits a day or two before laundry day. And I think some foods stain more, even if the poop doesn't look any different.

Sunning is awesome. As far as I know it doesn't matter if the diaper has been washed and dried several times beforehand. I have also heard mamas have good success by pretreating stains with Bac-out or Zout.

We use Triple Paste, and I have not noticed stains. It will reduce absorbancy with excessive use, though. A fleece or flushable liner can be excellent protection against this and stains of all sorts.

[mommyoftwo]

I often wonder the same thing. I've done nothing to change my wash cycle or frequency and went several months without stains. Then suddenly I started getting stains like crazy and now not so much anymore. For me it seems pretty random. Even more strange in my opinion is that I get far worse stains with breastmilk poo than I do with toddler poo. You would think it would be the other way around.

I don't use triple paste, but I've heard that it can leave nasty stains that don't sun out. I would use a liner for the times that you need to use a rash cream.