diaper stains

[shellybelly]

I've been CDing my DS for quite a while, then stopped for a bit due to morning sickness preventing me from being able to be around a diaper for more than a second! ha ha! I'm back on track - well I will be. I pulled out the diapers, and they have such bad stains on them, and they're not that soft anymore! ugh! Towards the end of my using CDs I wasn't really washing quite as well, and the stains came quickly. They've been sitting there for a few months.

I've begun to attempt to strip the diapers, but am not sure how to remove the stains. I've heard sunning is the best option, but I'm not sure how that will work for me: we live in apartments and we have a balcony that could be used, but it never gets direct sunlight, so I'm not sure it would be successful. I know I shouldn't use bleach either. I could use stain remover I guess, but I'm not looking forward to the prospect of covering each diaper and insert in stain remover and letting it sit, etc. Every diaper is stained, and the prefolds are stained all over (gross, I know).

Also, they're so rough and stiff and yuck. I don't know what's going on! I'm attempting to strip them all and run vinegar through at the end of the stripping process. I'm still only on the first load of many. My experimenting load! Help me please!

Also, we just moved a few months ago and I really don't know anyone that has a yard we could borrow for sunning. Plus, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable waving nasty stained diapers around them.

Thank you for your help!

-Shelly

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[mgc]

Have you tried OxyBaby? I did a wash with it and it got some stains out of my elastics. I then did a cold wash. I don't think Oxy is great for the diapers, but it is better than bleach. as for sunning, I haven't tried it, but I read somewhere that you can put the diapers in your car window. It takes longer, but is supposed to work.

[Momof3Labs]

They don't have to sit in outdoor sun. A sunny window in your apt will work, too. Sunning works much better for me if the dipes are damp when I lay them out.

The stiffness is from having hard water; how about trying Calgon water softener?

Stain removers can just cause more buildup; I'd try the sun first.

[shellybelly]

thanks for your help! I'll try a window. I tried to find out if I have hard water. It said that the portland area has 2 sources of water, one hard and one soft. I'm not quite sure, it made it seem as though it was a combo. of the two. I'm thinking it's probably harder water than that site let on. I guess I'll have to invest in calgon too! Thanks a bunch you guys.

-Shelly

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