Ok, I'm back with another cloth diaper question. Anyone have suggestions for removing poop stains from cloth diapers? Right now I put a little bleach in the wash, but I don't want to over-do it & run the risk of having some bleach residue left in the diapers. I can live with the stains, but my husband seems to be very concerned so I told him I'd ask around :)
Thanks for all the suggestions ladies. I haven't tried any of them yet, but the plan is to buy a clotheshorse & dry them outside. (Our HOA covenants restrict us fromputting up a clothesline so...) I'll let you know how that works when I try it. But I think I've managed to convince hubby that even though they might have stains, it's not the end of the world ;-)
I wouldn't use bleach, that can be harmful to the diaper and baby. Have you tried laying them in direct sunlight? That should resolve the problem.
Good luck!
E.
Seconding the sun here. The next time you wash them, lay them out to dry on a back porch or on a clothesline -- you'd be amazed how much that will remove the stains and the stink!
Hi M.,
I agree with the sun thing...whenever possible, I hang my diapers out...makes them smell better and helps bleach the stains w/o the chemicals.
Also, you may want to try diaper liners. I bought some and cut them in thirds to fit the diaper...if there's a mess, most of the time it ends up on the liners and I can just dump it in the toilet. This saves on stains and time spent with my hands in the toilet ;)
Good luck,
R.
I've used cloth through two kids and poop stains happen. Working hard to get them out all the time hasn't been a priority of ours. We use prefold diapers mostly and have found that the best thing to do is hand dry them in the sun. Wash as usual, take the wet diaper and hang (or lay on the ground if you don't have a cloths line) with the stain in the direct sunlight. The stain will disappear or atleast mostly fade away. There is some really good information about detergents and at the bottom, stain treatment on http://www.sunshinediapers.com/cloth-diaper-university/ch...
but basically they suggest an oxygen bleach or hydrogen peroxinde. This site also has a comment in the newsletter (on the front page) about dealing poop stains.
Good luck!
Lay them out in the sun!
Hi M.!
Lay your diapers flat on a chair in the sun outside. Or if there is a window that lets a ton of light in you can put them inside as well. You will be amazed at how well the sun will bleach them! I did and was just astounded! I don't know how long it takes since I left mine out all day on accident :) But it works!
Bleaching is ok once in awhile, but don't make a practice of using it or else it will wear out your fabric faster :)
I would do vinegar water, won't hurt the cloth an you can use it in the wash water of all the baby clothes to brighten them up. I proved it to my daughter when she had some baby clothes that were used from her sister in laws child, an they came out much brighter an cleaner looking. Best of luck.
Good Morning M., I have found that hydrogen peroxide poured on poopy underwear really helps remove the stains.
We have a few accidents every few days and really it helps. After rinse them off, I put some warm water in the bathroom sink put in the shorts, and pour it on the stain to soak. It bubbles and comes out pretty well.
Hope it helps you as well
God Bless
K. Nana of 5
This is what I have done for all white clothes items, and it worked well on cloth diapers too. Use 1 cup dry dishwashing powder, 1 cup clorox, 1 gallon hot water. let items soak for a couple hours - then wash as you normally would. Recently I've adapted this method to be done in the washing machine increasing the dish powder/bleach to 2 cups each and fill washer to half-load. I let it agitate for several minutes, then let soak - at least one hour (or until I remember it), drain out pre-soak, then wash as normal. Sure does give me bright whites. My sister-in-law has even boiled some very soiled shirts using this method, but I've never done this myself. The soaking works for me.
Poop stains are going to happen, especially depending on what he eats. Just because there is a stain does not mean that the diaper isn't clean, but I'm sure you know that, you just need to convince your hubby. I use OxyClean every fourth load, baking soda, vinegar and laundry detergent every wash, and always double rinse to get it all out (no one wants acids stuck to their butt!). It works really well for me. There are still the occasional stains, but they are clean, de-bacterialized, and deoderized!
I haven't used cloth diapers so I don't know if this will work but I buy dreft stain remover from the baby section at walmart. Dreft is the #1 recommended detergent to use on baby clothes because it caters to their sensitive skin. I have used it many of times on little outfits and the stains come right out in the wash!
AFter you rinse them out right away spray with spray and wash with resolve power Its great!
You've been offered some very good suggestions on how to solve this problem. No one has yet suggested a clorox bleach pen. You can apply the bleach gel directly on the stain. I love my clorox bleach pen. I've used it on white parts of brightly colored clothes and it did not bleed into the color on that item or the other brightly colored clothes washed in the same load. It also rinses clean.
Good luck.
