Monday, July 8, 2013

Stripping Cloth Diapers

You know it is time to strip your cloth diapers when they have a stink that doesn't go away despite your normal washing.  Before I stripped my diapers for the first time, the diapers still smelled of urine/ammonia immediately after washing them "clean."  They seemed to lose the smell when dry, but the stench returned as soon as any liquid - even water - came in contact with the fabric.  Being new to cloth diapering, I had no idea what to do.  I thought I was going to have to trash my entire stash!

Thank goodness for a friend telling me about diaper stripping.  Two days later, I came away feeling as though I had an entirely new set of diapers!  Ta-Da!

After hearing multiple renditions of how moms strip their diapers, I have compiled my own technique, as follows:
(Please note, my directions account for having a top-loading washing machine and no hard water.  If your situation differs, you will need to modify the directions.  Here is a great place to look for alternatives.  You may also chose to use expensive, specialized detergents, such as Rockin Green - Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer or Bac-Out; however, I have experienced great results using only standard products I already have on hand.)

1.) Manually turn up your water heater, so you can get the hottest water possible in your washer.
2.) Wash all your diapers clean (I use All Free & Clear  in this routine- and plan to keep baby in disposable diapers until your stash is fully stripped and dried (about 36-48 hours).
3.) Separate out all your diaper covers with PUL for step #4, as vinegar can damage the material.
4.) With all non-PUL diapers in the washer, run a warm or hot water, rinse-only cycle - adding 1/2 cup white vinegar as the washer is filling.  (The vinegar helps to break down the detergent built up in the fabric, so the build-up can be rinsed out in the following steps.)
5.) Add PUL fabrics back into the washer.
6.) Fill washer to the fullest setting with HOT water.  (If your water heater does not produce hot enough water, you may want to boil water on the stove to add to the washer, as hot water is crucial for breaking down bacteria and crystallized urea and ammonia.)  Add 3/4 scoop of OxiClean, and begin a normal wash cycle.
7.) Allow the washer to run long enough to thoroughly mix the OxiClean throughout, and stop the washer.
8.) Allow the diapers to soak in the hot water for 6-8 hours.  "Stir" the diapers every 1-2 hours by starting the washer for a few moments.
9.) After 6-8 hours, allow the wash cycle to finish.
10.) Rinse diapers (4-6 times) in HOT water until soap bubbles no longer appear.  (The first time I stripped my diapers, I had to rinse them 7 times in addition to the rinse in step #9!)  Be sure to check for soap bubbles (not to be confused with agitation bubbles) during each rinse cycle.
11.) When fully rinsed, sun dry the diapers.
12.) Turn your water heater back to its normal setting.
13.) Repeat every six months, or as needed.

Hope this helps kick your stink like it did mine!

2 comments:

  1. Maybe this is a silly question, but if you spend all day soaking/washing them, how do you sun them?! The sun is long gone by the time they are ready to be dried! Can I hang them in my basement and sun them the next day even if they're dry?! (I'm new to all of this!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great question, because the process does take a long time! You can do a couple of things. 1-Skip drying in the sun (the benefit of sun drying is to bleach out any discoloration in the diapers). 2-Spread the process out over the course of two days. I go to sleep during cycle #8 (cycling the washer if I'm up with baby in the night). As long as the diapers are fully covered with water when you leave them for an extended period of time, they should be fine. I've had great results spreading the process out over two days in this way. I hope this helps!

      Delete