Hi. I have used cloth diapers on my son since he was about 3-4 mo (is now almost 1). I use the bumgenius 4.0. Overall, no complaints. However, lately they have been extra smelly! I wash them every 3 days (with an extra rinse), and use Charlie's Soap. I know you can use bleach every once and awhile on the inserts, which helps, but for a very short time. And what about the diaper itself???
Also, what do you do when your little one gets a diaper rash. I thought cloth diapers where supposed to help cut down on rashes. However, my little one is cutting some teeth and has had an on and off again rash for two months. I switch to disposables so I can use cream, and once it clears up I swich back to cloth. Yet, it doesn't seem to take long before the rash is back! And I try to change him REALLY frequently.
Any advice?
Go to www.cottonbabies.com and follow the instructions for stripping the diapers using Dawn dishsoap (the original blue kind). They get smelly from detergent buildup. Just make sure you only use a tiny amount of detergent when washing and always do the extra rinse. :)
Another option worth trying is washing with a cup a vinegar. It helps remove the buildup as well. Maybe try less detergent. Good luck.
You can use bleach on the insert too. You might also try the sun. Lay all the diapers out and let the sun do some bleaching/sterilizing.
We put a fleece liner on the diaper for rashes. Lay it inside the diaper instead of in the pocket. It's not a super elegant solution but it's working so far.
I put 1/4 cup of bleach in the hot water wash once a month. I do the last wash of the calendar month to help me remember it. Makes a HUGE difference. We haven't had build-up or rash issues since I started doing this regularly.
I would strip the diapers too. There are now cloth diaper friendly bottom balm for babies. We use one. Check out www.allthingsdiapers.com website because they sell it there.
Bleach is ok on the inserts NOT the pockets, and make sure you rinse, rinse, rinse!!! Typically if you have a rash that comes back after you have cleared it up with disposables it means yeast... So the bleach will help.
I personally had issues with charlies, and switched to country save. Charlies left smells on my diapers, and my little one got a rash as well.
My daughter got teething rashes, and I made sure that we used a breathable diaper at night time. We use dry-bees night-time fleece pockets, with microfiber and hemp, but you can also use some prefolds with hemp or bamboo doublers, and a wool cover. The rash cleared up with the breathability. We also use grandma els diaper cream that IS cloth diaper safe, it creates a breathable layer, and helps clear up problems!!
Also when washing I always make sure I do a full cold wash (wash, rinse) a full hot wash (wash, cold rinse) and then an extra rinse it seemed to help a lot. If you have a front loader make sure you are rinsing more as they use less water!!
Hope this helps!!
Have you tried getting the stink out with Calgon water softener? It is save for Bums (the rep at the company told me about it). I find it for under $5 at Walmart. Small white bottle on the bottom shelf. I use it once in awhile for destinking/unrepelling.
You can wash colored items with a teeny bit of bleach just fine. I do it sometimes when my towels get that funky moldy smell. I use only about a 1/4-1/2 tspn. I put a half capful once and ended up with a spot on my towel, but at least the funky smell was gone. :) Alternatively, if you have a 'steam' or 'sanitary' cycle on your wash machine (or if you know someone who does that you can borrow to strip the diapers once in a while). I had the same problem years ago, and frankly I eventually gave up cloth diapering because of it - but I never heard about the bleach thing until recently, and I didn't have a sanitary cycle.
