Stripping

No, I haven't taken up a new career.

I mean stripping diapers.

For some reason when I began cloth diapering I ignored all this talk about stripping. I didn't know what strange things other people were doing with their diapers but I was sure I wouldn't need to strip mine any time soon.

Fast forward two months.

I'm not sure which change caused the problem. We moved, so we have slightly harder water and a new HE washer. We switched detergent... but is it the new detergent (Country Save) or is it that the new low residue detergent has loosened all the gunk leftover from when I used a Free and Clear brand? Is it too much detergent or not enough? And what is that smell, anyway? It's not ammonia or barnyard. It's just... musty. I suspect a possible buildup of urea? But wouldn't that lead to ammonia? Its most definitely not ammonia.

Oh dear.

The laundry situation is definitely the most confusing part about using cloth.

So I decided to strip my diapers. My first attempt failed utterly but this time around I seem to have gotten it. The diapers smell fresh and clean. So I decided to write down my stripping method because, knowing me, I won't remember the next time I need it.

First I did a deep clean with Tide Ultra (in case it was a not clean enough problem.) Rinse. Hot wash with 1 squirt of Dawn and 1/3 cup of bleach. Rinse, rinse. Overnight baking soda soak. 1/2 cup vinegar rinse. Rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse... so many suds were coming off. It was amazing. Maybe that baking soda soak really loosened deep residue. Anyway, I rinsed the whole day until I didn't see any more soap. Tumble dry.

Fresh diapers.

It's a real pain in the ass though and I hate to see what it does to my electric bill. So hopefully I only have to do it every few months.