A few months ago, I wrote a post about my CD wash routine, and I mentioned that I didn't have any issues with stink or ammonia yet. Well readers, that all changed last week when I opened the lid to the washer after my normal wash routine and the strong stench of ammonia hit me like a ton of bricks. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I knew I should do something about it before it got worse. So, I did a lot of research, and came to the conclusion that my diapers had detergent build up, which is apparently pretty common in top-load HE washers.
So, once again, I had to rework my wash routine. I realized that I was using quite a bit of products on my dipes: detergent, oxiclean, stainstick, Bacout...It's no wonder there was build up. I decided that instead of putting oxiclean on all of my diapers, I would soak the dirty diapers separately. I bought a small white trashcan and filled it with an oxiclean/water mixture. Now, whenever Rory has a dirty diaper, I place it in the small bin to soak. By the time it's time to wash the diapers, the stains have usually completely disappeared, which also eliminates the need for the stainstick, except for very stubborn stains. When it's time to wash, I simply dump the whole bucket in the washer.
I spoke to a few other CD moms and several of them recommended that I try a powder detergent instead of the liquid one I was using. I was resistant to this at first because the CD-friendly powder detergents aren't available at the local grocery store, and I didn't want to be caught detergent-less on a wash day. But, Marcos and I recently signed up for Amazon prime, which means we have free 2-day shipping on most products. Problem solved. I went with Country Save because it's cheap and had great reviews.
Most of the posts I read about ammonia caused by detergent build-up emphasized the importance of rinsing in order to ensure that all residue is removed from the diapers. So, my new wash routine is as follows:
1. Hot wash set on bulky with an extra rinse, using 1/4 C Country Save detergent.
2. Hot wash set on bulky with an extra rinse, no detergent.
Obviously this could change in the upcoming weeks/months, but so far, so good!
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