Washing Cloth Diapers with Rockin' Green

As promised, a post describing how we get our cloth diapers so fresh and so clean. If you ask twenty people how they wash their diapers, you are going to get twenty different answers. It's definitely the part of the process that confused me the most before we began, so I hope this will be helpful for at least a starting point.

I was contacted by the folks at Rockin' Green Detergent to see if I was interested in doing a review of their product before my boy was even born. I accepted happily, because I'd read great things about their detergent, and hey- decision made on where to start, right? Their detergent is free of dyes, enzymes, whiteners and brighteners, and actually perfect for all laundry, not just diapers. In fact, I used it for the one million loads of baby clothes and blankets that I did in preparation for my baby's arrival.

But the real reason I wanted to try Rockin' Green was of course for our diapers.  I've read horror stories of the wrong kind of detergent causing all kinds of problems with cloth diapers, from stinkiness and staining to repelling and leaking.   I was really hopeful that we'd avoid those problems by starting off with a well-loved detergent.

I prepped our diapers when I received them by washing them in Rockin' Green.  The first thing I noticed about the detergent is how awesome it smells.  I chose to try the Smashing Watermelons scent, and I had to remind myself that it wasn't candy so that I wouldn't try to eat it like pixie stick sugar (pretty sure detergent is on the no-go list for pregnancy).  Rockin' Green is available in six natural scents, and also in unscented, which is good if you're worried about voiding the warranty on your BumGenius diapers (which technically should be washed in "fragrance-free" detergent).  I wasn't worried.  Such a rebel.

Here are the flavors scents, which are available in Soft Rock, Hard Rock, or Classic Rock formulas depending on your water:

• Mighty Mighty Marshmallow
• Smashing Watermelons
• The Green Tea's (green tea and aloe)
• Rage against the Raspberry (raspberry and honey)
• Mötley Cleän  ("ocean, fresh linen, and sunshine")
• Lavender Mint Revival
  
• Bare Naked Babies (unscented) 

You're not here to learn how to wash brand new diapers though, so let's cut to the poop chase.  My eight-week old guy is exclusively breastfed, so the poop can go straight in the washer where it will be easily rinsed away (yes really, bear with me here).  When he starts solids, we'll get the majority of the poop off the diaper before its washed by way of a sprayer or flushable liners.  But for now, diapers go straight from baby to diaper pail to washer.  I drag the bag of diapers and wipes (we use Kissa's antibacterial pail linersas bags) down to the washer, and dump the diapers into my front loader, turning the bag inside out and shoving it in behind the diapers.

The first step in our routine is a cold rinse with no detergent.  Here are the settings that I use on my Frigidaire Affinity front-loader:

Fancy, right?  Ugh, no.  The funny thing about washing cloth diapers is that a regular old school top-loading washing machine actually does a much better job.  This is because a higher water level is better for getting your diapers really clean.  You can still use your HE washer though, you just have to get a little sneaky.  I have two ways of tricking my washer into putting out a little more water.  Number one- I do the first rinse on the "Delicates" setting.  I picked that tip up on a cloth diapering message board (see!  I'm not the only one who is fascinated!) and it really works.  The second trick is to throw a heavy wet towel in with your diapers. You're also better off doing a full load of diapers.  I've heard that the ideal number to wash at once is 24.

(trippy spin cycle self portrait)

Once the buzzer goes off on that cycle, I add two tablespoons of Rockin' Green to the washer. 

 Then I choose the "Heavy" setting with the following options:

The extra rinse is key.  If you don't have that choice, you can always run another quick cold cycle at the end.

For now I'm drying these in the dryer.  I did put a note on hubs' to-do list though, to install a clothesline for me so that I can dry them in the sun soon.  I really should at least separate out and air dry the covers, which dry much faster than the absorbent inserts.  But I'm lazy.  So it all gets thrown in the dryer for about an hour.

When they come out of the dryer I totally stick my nose in them and give them a good whiff.  Mmmmm clean diapers.

It's confession time, friends.  Just this past week, I cheated on Rockin' Green.  I know.  "If it's not broke" and all... when will I learn?  But I had a sample pack of a different detergent and I was itching to give it a try.  Let's just say that it sucked.  I think my friend Emily put it best when I loaned her a FuzziBunz diaper that she wanted to try out on her daughter (and yes, when Amelia and Finn are married one day we will make sure to announce at their wedding that they once shared diapers).  She did the whiff test and informed me that my diapers smelled like a wet dog.  I thought about being insulted for a second until I realized she was right.  Friends don't let friends have diaper funk.  Luckily, Rockin' Green has solution for this problem and welcomed me back with open arms despite my cheating ways.  I followed the instructions for deep cleaning... a little extra detergent and an extra long soak.

And just like that we were back in the land of clean-smelling diapers.  I will never stray again.

Almost too pretty to poop on.

If you've made it this far, you deserve a prize, and luckily I have one for you!  One lucky reader will win a full size bag (good for 45 loads in a top-loading washer or 90 loads in a front-loader) of Rockin' Green in their choice of scent and water formula.  (You don't have to be using cloth diapers to use it... we're using Rockin' Green on baby clothes, our clothes, AND diapers now.)  To enter, just leave a comment with the scent you'd like to try.  Commenters who also follow this blog (this is different from subscribing- see sidebar at right to become a follower) will receive one extra entry (please leave an extra comment telling me that you're a follower).  I'll announce the winner in one week.

So that's how we do things around here.  What's your wash routine like?  Any more questions?

*UPDATE* A few updates on how we do things at seven months... including the changes with eating solid food, the diaper sprayer, and a solution to the stink problem can be found HERE :)