Cloth diapering parents, I had no idea that so many of you were dealing with stink issues that I can solve for you! The first thing I ask when someone tells me they're dealing with stinky diapers is: how often do you strip your diapers?
I have been shocked lately how many have responded with some variation of "Um, never?".
Parents!! What are you doing?!! We need to be stripping regularly!!
Why do you need to strip?
Here's the lowdown: even cloth diaper-approved detergents leave some degree of residue on cloth fibers. Considering how often your diapers are washed, after several weeks (maybe as long as a few months if you're diapering only one child or have a large stash) that buildup is sitting on top of the cloth fibers. The result is 1) leaking because the fibers are coated with residue and cannot absorb, and 2) stink, because basically the stink is trapped inside the coated fibers. YUCK!
Stripping is easy!
There are several ways to do it, but I prefer the Dawn method. By this, I mean Dawn dish detergent, the Original formula. All you do is wash your diapers as usual, and then run an additional wash cycle with Dawn instead of laundry detergent. For a top loading (old school) machine, you'd use 1-2 tablespoons of Dawn. For an HE machine, 1-2 teaspoons. My HE machine only requires 1 teaspoon. After you've run the cycle, stick your head inside the washing machine. If you still smell Dawn, run another rinse cycle (for an HE machine that doesn't have a rinse cycle, just run a short cycle without adding anything) until you don't smell it anymore. The diapers should smell completely neutral.
That's it! See how easy it is?
Go! Do it NOW!
