Stripping Cloth Diapers
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What is meant by the term “stripping diapers”? And how exactly is it done?
Stripping diapers refers to to the process of removing any excess build-up that exists in the diapers, such as detergent or natural oils. Build-up in your cloth diapers can lead to rancid smelling cloth after baby urinates, repelling fleece, or leaking, and so occasionally you may need to strip them to get them their cleanest. So how can this be done? There are several ways:
1. Washing clean diapers on hot 2-3 times without detergent.
2. Washing diapers on hot with a squirt of Dawn dishwashing soap.
3. Boiling diapers in a large stock pot (works best for prefolds)
4. Putting diapers in dishwasher and washing them on hot with no detergent.
5. Microwave them (best for doublers and inserts)
Microwave them? Could you give us directions for microwaving them?!?
I usually put 1/4c baking soda in every wash. Can I still do that and put the dawn in also? I have noticed that my diapers are starting to smell. I rinse on cold and wash on hot , and rinse on warm because i dont have a hot rinse option. I have noticed after the first cold rinse that i can still smell the urine. Should i do an extra cold rinse? I am going to try the hot wash with dawn first. hopefully that will work.
Microwave them?
i don’t understand ???!!!!!!!!!
microwaving soap may actualyl get rid of it, lol have u seen soap in microwave on u tube? id say best to wash with dawn hot, on heavy cycle with extra rinse, then and wash with nothing but callogon which is water softener and gets rid of acess buildup
Please do NOT ever put your diapers in the dishwasher! All major manufacturers warn against it. Please do not risk starting a fire and risking your home and the lives of your loved ones. Also, this voids all product warranties.
If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Amy of Wee Bunz, Inc.
I have heard that vinegar will help with stripping. Anyone else?
Let’s get back to microwaving… I’m so confused! Do you just zap them? All together or by themselves? Wet or dry? In water or without? Wll it actually hurt anything to boil them?
I boil my microterry inserts for about 10 minutes to remove residue and any stains. I want to know about that microwaving method though. I have never tried to boil my entire diaper though and would like to know if anyone here has.
Also, for those who are home while doing laundry, when the washer moves to rinse, stop it and turn it back to hot wash to get a “hot rinse”. Works well here.
Good idea about the hot rinse cycle, Tasha! Thanks!
I think suggestion 1 and 2 is all a person needs to do to keep them clean. Don’t do the dishwasher as said above by Amy that’s a fire hazard. Don’t do the Microwave. I know it kills everything but that is where your food goes and it was designed for food.
And to Brittany it’s possible your water isn’t hot even or the dtergent your using but I would do what Tasha suggested use youe wash cycle in hot for another rinse. Also try the Dawn and baking soda.
Hi again,
I wanted to update my input. I totally agree that it’s not safe to put dry diapers in the microwave, as it’s a fire hazard. And who would actually sit there and put just a few in at a time, for all the diapers you have? I mean I have a pretty large stash and I wouldn’t bother wasting my time. Boiling them? Sound convienent? What size of pot? LOL!
This has been working for me. I use Nellies soap in our HE washer, wash on cold with heavy duty with some baking soda and a vinigar in a downy ball and a hot rinse. I NEVER have to strip my diapers. Never have problems with leaking. Using dawn is a cheap alternative, instead of using detergent and you won’t need to strip them. I don’t like the collegan water softener anymore.
You can put hydrogen peroxide or other disinfecting agents into wash, or downy ball.
*Note a first wash in cold helps lift stains, instead of setting them with just washing in hot. The sun is excellent and bleaching and fading stains, especially if you add an oxidizing agent
So Hydrogen Peroxide is a disinfectant in the washer? How much should I use? How much baking soda? I will try the cold wash first, didn’t realize that’s why I have stains from my 2 month olds poo’s!
Is it possible to just use Dawn as the detergent in the wash? Would I still use Hydroden Peroxide & baking soda? I’ve been cd’n (Prefolds) for about 6 months now & trying to figure out exactly how to do the cleaning on a tight budget. I’m beginning to think that the laundry detergent I’ve been using for last couple months is NOT good for the diapers (Sam’s Club brand Laundry Detergent).
Please help me!
If your diapers smell bad when your baby pees in them right off the bat they def. need to be stipped! I use dawn, I know it sounds funny but it is a de-greaser….DON’T USE ANY FREE & CLEARS, DON’T USE DREFTS OR ANYTHING WITH SOFTENERS! That’s what causes the problem! Just a little dawn and the stink is gone! LOL!
Hi there ladies I am new to cloth dipes (aobout 2 weeks now) and was wondering what the cheapest way to wash them and get them clean with out residue…..If using dawn how much do you use? same with baking soda and vingar.. and does the vingar leave a sent on the dipes or in following loads???
I also am trying to clean the diapers as inexpensively as possibly and have found that the Sam’s Club brand laundry detergent works great for me. I first, to reduce smell before washing, rinse the used diapers in cold water each night. I use the tub, sounds gross, but I wash it after. Water pressure really helps w/ poo dipes. After rinsing the poo from them I spray liberally w/ Shout. Then on the day I wash them I do a cold rinse, hot wash (Super Duty) w/ just a little detergent (sometimes I put Oxi-clean), then 2 cold rinses. This seems to work great for the diapers and doesn’t take too long to do. I first stripped my diapers about a month ago w/ Dawn (just a squirt, not much more than you would use for washing dishes) and now plan to use Dawn whenever the dipes are stinky. I sometimes use vinegar, never tried baking soda. Vinegar can leave a scent if you use too much. I use a Downy ball & just fill to the 1st or 2nd line depending on how many dipes. I always do an extra rinse whether I’m washing regular or doing the extra things to them. I haven’t had a problem w/ my 3 month old yet! (CDs are also great b/c my older daughter just turned 2 yesterday and she’s been potty trained for a month now! Yay!)
I put in my first post (July 29th) that Sam’s Club brand laundry detergent might have been bad for the dipes, figured out it was because I was using so many different things to keep them ‘white’. I just use the laundry detergent by itself now and haven’t had any more problems! Hang them outside to dry and that gets rid of the stains. The sun does amazing things!
Thanks for the input! Does anyone use baking soda to clean them? I am just wondering how much to use. Can you clean them in just baking soda? I have been using a small drop of tide to wash mine and i read tht it is not the best thing lol I just paid so much to get all my dipes to start cloth diapering i dont want to mess them up!!!
I just started using charlie’s soap and I am loving it!! This stuff works better than any other detergent I have ever used(don’t let the name fool you, it’s not soap)! I just started to sell it becasue I love it so much!!
We use Charlie’s soap as well and are loving it. Occasionally (once every 1-2 months) we will strip our diapers with a tsp of Dawn. Our diapers are then hung out to dry.
Where do you purchase nellie’s soap? i tried charlie’s but it irritates my kid’s skin, they’re allergic to something in it
I can get Charlie’s at cottonbabies.com. Good luck!
I use 1 cup hydrogen peroxide in a cold pre-soak. It works great for getting stains out, as does drying them in the sun. Make sure to rinse thoroughly as hydrogen peroxide can irritate the skin if in direct contact.
I have read that 1/4 to 1/2 cup of baking soda is an appropriate amount to use in the washing machine with your diapers.
I have talked to many many cloth diapering mommas and have gotten several rave reviews for Allen’s Liquid Detergent, available at MyBabyFirst.com.
Happy Stripping!
Tip - vinegar cannot be used with Synthetic materials - it holds on the the smell and can damage laminates. Happy Diapering!
gr8 tips Do these stripping, washing on hot, and detergent tips apply to diaper covers too?
What if I just always wash them in Dawn?
Microwave? Wont that scorch your materials and melt PUL?
My son is nearly 2 and have been using cloth diapers since he was born, but lately he gets frequent rashes…. I’ve tried everything… WHAT I THINK is it’s the WASHING MACHINE… I never had problems before we got the fancy new HE front loader…
even after washing them 4 or 5 times, I’ve only used “natural” detergents (selection is limited in canada, I’m currently using ECOS (which is recommmended on this site)…
anyone else feel frustrated this way?
I have been using Charlies Soap for over a month now, and I like it, but only in conjunction with either baking soda and vinegar, or preferably Biokleen Bac-Out. Otherwise, the dipes don’t get disinfected and leave a little rash. I just realized I do have build-up and need to strip the dipes.
So, for any of you that use Charlie’s Soap do you use the full recommended amount or less?? BTW I usually only was 6-12 diapers at a time…
You can find detailed instructions and a cheap way to was AND strip your cloth diapers and covers here:
http://www.babygogreenstore.com/faq.html
You can even print them out, just click the link under the “how do I wash cloth diapers” question. Good luck everyone!!