Posted by dawn renee on January 15, 2004 at 11:03:25:
In Reply to: STRIPPING DIAPERS- please outline steps posted by avamom on January 10, 2004 at 12:58:30:
Hello!
It's been forever and a day since I've checked in on this board. I've been adding more and more hemp to my stash and found that other boards offered a new perspective on how to take care of them.
So.. same thing happened to me. Actually, I bought some used diapers that were like that.. when Liam peed the amonia smell was SO strong it made my eyes and nose burn. Yuk.
After trying a million different things (couldn't boil either because of the snaps) I've found this worked for me (and I have a front loader just like you do). First suggestion: if its safe for you to do this.. turn up the temp on your hot water heater. Second suggestion: try using a 'scentless' detergent like Sensi-Clean or SportWash (found in the hunting section of Wal-Mart). Third suggestion: if you have hard water you might try adding some Calgon (the water softening powder or liquid) to a load by itself and let it wash the complete cycle. This will help to break up the detergent buildup. Do this as many times as it takes.. you want to be sure that you don't see any suds. Fourth suggestion: use 1/2 cup baking soda in the detergent dispenser during the initial 'rince' cycle. Fifth suggestion: A tablespoon of white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.
After trying all/some of this you should see marked improvement. For me it happened gradually. Now the trick is to prevent it from happening again.
This is what I do.. it sounds like alot of water (and I guess it is.. but much less because the washer is HE)..
1-Full cycle (cold/cold) with 1/2 cup baking soda in the detergent dispenser and extra rince (to get the poo out and to neutralize the urine)
2-Full cycle (Hot/cold) with 1/2 recommended Allen's Naturally detergent (or use a cheaper one thats more widely available.. I've been told that Sears HE is fantastic but haven't tried it myself.. use only 1/3 of the recommended)
3-Full cycle (Hot/cold) with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.
Whew! Thats alot of washing.. but thank goodness the washer is doing the washing and that it's a HE washer. This means that even with all this washing I'm still using the same amount of water in ONE load of a top washer.
If you do have hard water.. use the Calgon trick once a week or at the first sign of buildup.
Hemp is more difficult to keep clean, but the enviro/absorbancy advantages are well worth it to me.
Hope this helps.. if you need to.. email me direct at sabrosina@aol.com
Dawn.