Dawn?

[Buela]

Everyone recommends Dawn for "striping" cloth diapers -- I was wondering if it had to be the fragrance free kind? I have a bottle of lavender scented stuff I was wondering if I could use.

My diapers smell of ammonia. It used to be just the diapers in the pail waiting to be washed, but now dd2 smells too :( Do I use dawn for this or something else? BTW, my diapes at this point are all cotton prefolds. I had terrible ammonia smells with my fb with dd1 and I assumed it was because of the synthetic fabrics.

Do they need more rinsing? More soap/detergent (I use Crunchy Clean, a very small amount) I've been reading that if all else fails, bleach works. :doh

I was thinking of just moving up to the next size and never mind about fixing the problem, but I'll just have to deal with it in a few months anyways :O when the new size start to stink.

Also, I saw mentioned in another thread (in home keeping I think) about striping your regular clothes. Who all does this? I'm thinking it might be a good idea -- some of dh and my shirts are a little stinky as well as our sheets. I wondered if it was maybe just "our smell" :giggle and only I noticed it but I would love it to go away :yes

[mystweaver]

:popcorn

[JustMandy]

I read it has to be the origonal blue Dawn, so I bought that, I haven't tried another kind.

CAn you add oxyclean (or similar) to your loads?

What's your routine? What kind of water do you have? (Hard, soft, well, city etc.)

[Starfox]

yep, it's blue dawn:yes a squirt and then rinse til the bubbles are gone. I've also soaked in Rockin Green overnight and that worked too.

[Buela]

Hmm I see. My dawn is purple so I'll look for the blue next time I'm shopping.

I have city water, not hard or well. I do have oxy clean but was worried that might build up too.

So is ammonia a build up issue or something else? Could it be that I need MORE cleaning not less? :think

[JustMandy]

My guess is more cleaning. I would wash them with more soap and some oxyclean and then rinse rinse rinse.

I use oxyclean in every wash and have no build up. (it did take a while to get a good routine though) I have hard city water so I have to rinse with vinegar.

You could also try a wash with washing soda too.

[Happygrl]

Have you tried lots & lots of hot water? If its just prefolds, you can boil them. That is the only way I've been able to get mine REALLY stripped well. I boiled several pans of water and dumped it in the dishwasher. But with just prefolds, boiling on the stove would be easier.

[Kiera]

Not to take away the thread but also is it normal to have them less absorbent for a while after stripping??

[SweetCaroline]

i was JUST coming to post the same exact question. my diapers are smelling SOOO bad like ammonia- and so is the boy. but, i bleach mine every wash! (oh well..thats poop:shrug3) i dont bleach my newborn diapers though..
so. just so you know- bleach wont help.
how do you use the dawn? not in the washing machne?? right :shifty ?

[JustMandy]

For pf's I'd try boiling them first.

I found mine to be MORE absorbant after stripping. :think

[GlobalMama]

I've stripped prefolds by boiling them in a large stock pot with water an a small squirt of regular dawn. I could usually do about 3 or 4 at a time. After I'd boiled them for about 15 minutes, I'd use tongs to lift them and put them directly into the washing machine where I'd do two cold rinses and then dry.

If I didn't use dawn and I was just using lots of hot water, I would put the hot water in the machine with the diapers afterwards because it was easier just to dump everything in at once. DO NOT put Dawn in the washing machine. You'll have a sudsy mess.