4 years ago, when I first started researching, there were a few popular suggestions in the cloth diapering world. Somehow, the companies that make cloth diapers convinced us all that we needed special detergent because fabric that get pooped on is "delicate". Their detergents were (are) expensive and when you take a look at them from a scientific stance, they are nothing but fancy water softeners and boosters. Detergent is pretty controversial in the cloth diapering world because some companies (like Cotton Babies) voids their warranty if you use the wrong detergent. They're pretty militant about it and claim that using a mainstream detergent that's too harsh will damage your diapers.
There was another recommendation going around that if you MUST use a regular detergent, you only need to use a teeny tiny bit. This is the myth that I fell for. If you remember, I had a lot of issues with my girls' diapers. We'd have great luck for a few months and then they would start leaking and stinking and I'd have to bleach and start at square one with them. And then I fell for the stupid, stupid, STUPID homemade detergent trend. I say that it's stupid because for us, it was. It didn't get any of our clothes clean, let alone our diapers. I thought it was working really well at first, but then after a few months, our clothes were dingy and our diapers started stinking. At this point, we got the dreaded ammonia and I literally almost threw my diapers away in the trash.
I stumbled across a post on a cloth diaper forum that explained what detergent actually was. I learned that surfactants were needed to get things clean. Lots and lots of strong surfactants. People always argue that our grandmothers didn't have Tide, but they don't realize that what they were physically pounding their stains out with rocks and lots of friction. Now we have machines and while they do a good job, they do a great job with the right detergent. Truth is, you can use any detergent on cloth diapers as long as the detergent doesn't have fabric softener in it (like Tide with Downy) because fabric softeners coats the fibers, making diapers less able to absorb liquid.
Another myth I fell for was rinsing a bajillion times. We have hard water at our house which means our water is full of minerals. Too many minerals in your diapers leads to problems. It makes detergent not work as well which means that bacteria stays in the fibers. So, after about 2 years of trouble shooting with leaky, stinky diapers, we finally had a solid routine down. It was SO simple and I'm kicking myself for giving out such bad advice to so many people and not figuring it out sooner.
So, this is what we do. When the diaper is dirty, I take it to the toilet and spray it off. I toss it in my open wet bag and leave the diapers in the unzipped bag. Letting them get air is actually what you want. Oxygen cuts down on bacterial growth and cuts down on the stink. Have you ever smelled a diaper genie? Those things smell terrible and one of the reason (besides the fact that they hold poop and chemicals) is that the diapers aren't getting a good air flow. We wash every other day, which right now with Grant is about 15-20 diapers. My machine has a rinse only option, so I do that with a small scoop of detergent. I mix regular Tide with Foca (P&G's Mexican formula) to make the Tide go a little further. Foca is great, but it doesn't work very well in HE machines, I hear, because it suds a lot. We have a regular old top loader (which I love) so we don't have to worry about that. Once my rinse cycle is over, I use a full scoop (yes, up to line 3) of detergent and run a regular wash. That's it. No extra rinses, no vinegar, bleach, rain dances to the diaper gods, etc. Since Grant has been born, we haven't had a single leak and our diapers smell clean because they're getting clean! We have had a few poop explosion due to me trying out diapers that have been too big, but that was user error, not anything to do with washing.
I really love cloth diapering. I love that it's healthier for my kids, the environment, my wallet AND that it's much cuter than disposables. In Grant's entire life, we've only spent $30 on diapers. I think we've got about 5 disposables right now and I'm not panicking at all because I know those will literally last us another week or two. I've been selling a lot of the girls' diapers off because I have more than enough for one baby and I've made over $100 back on what I spent on them. We have a mix of so many kinds of diapers, pockets, refolds, all-in-ones and my new favorites--flats. It's funny how far diaper technology has come, but I'm finding myself drawn to the most basic, longest standing diaper in history. A single layer square of fabric. I love that I can control how many layers there are by what kind of fold I do and I love that they're basically as trim as disposables. Grant can wear pants in the appropriate size because his diaper isn't the typical "fluffy butt" that a lot of cloth diapers give.
I'm happy that we've finally found what worked for us. I do realize that there are people who have success with weaker detergents, but for the most part, people seem to run into problems over time. Once you get a solid routine down, cloth diapering isn't any more complicated than disposables and it actually stinks less. I never have poopy diapers laying around. Why? Because poop gets sprayed off in the toilet. I was nursing Grant in the mother's lounge at church when someone came in and changed a disposable diaper. I literally had to stop myself from gagging. When the mom opened the pail, it was the most rancid smell. Disposable diapers stink and I firmly believe poop belongs in the toilet. It doesn't go in my washer and it doesn't stay on my diapers (although breastmilk poop technically can go in the washer because it's water soluble. I don't do that though because it weirds me out...) I've gotten to the point where Grant wears cloth when we're out and about and over night. Both of these situations I would have used disposables with the girls. Now, I don't even think twice about bring along cloth. I love it so much.
Love that the wisdom of the older generations is trickling down. It also amazes me there are still young moms who have found the Zen of cloth disappearing.
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