Help pls

[aymgoa]

@seanmcc Yeah, before all of this was happening I used detergent in both washes as well and I never had any issues. It was strange when the worksheet said just a rinse and spin for the first wash. I hate judgement we are all just trying to save money/the planet and need a little advice

 

[meki]

@aymgoa So I’m going to share my routine. It sounds like you’re not using enough detergent. I know that sounds crazy but you need way more than up to the first line. Even though it seems like there’s build up. If you wash them long enough, either hot enough water and enough detergent it will come out.

So here’s my routine

First cycle- 1 cup ALL free and clear liquid - 3 scoops Mollys Suds Baby detergent powder- 1 scoop dirty labs enzyme powder concentrate.

Run top loader LG on HEAVY DUTY- extra rinse- deep fill. HOT. This cycle runs for 3 hours.

Second wash. Exactly the same thing only heavy duty, extra rinse, HOT- 2 hours.

You may need to bleach your diapers

I’ve been cloth diapering for 11 months and we don’t have any stains. Never struggle with smells, never had ammonia build up or burns. Always pass the swish test.

Many washing machines are weight sensing, so they don’t fill up right away if the weight is off. What I do in this situation is I turn it on. Select my cycles. Watch it till it stops running water. Unplug the machine (if this isn’t an option for you, just turn it off) then I reselect my cycles. I repeat this process if necessary until there is enough water to fill up the machine.

Good luck. If you need 1-1 help I’d be happy to give you some guidance.

 

[cees]

@aymgoa Can you explain why you think you have detergent build up?  do they feel slimy like there’s soap that hasn’t washed out? Do they bubble?

Nothing about what you’ve described sounds like there’s tons of caked up detergent or soap. All Liquid detergent isn’t a fabric clogging disaster, it’s just suboptimal over months and months of use.

Frankly, you’re not using very much detergent at all . That leaves me to suspect that your diapers just aren’t getting clean in the first place. You smell poop because there’s still poop. Detergent buildup is so often scapegoat, when the issue is just that the diapers haven’t gotten clean.

Definitely switch your first wash cycle to hot. And if you can stomach the cognitive dissonance, try adding more detergent to both cycles. Even if it’s just a thought experiment, and you can blame me if a bunch of bubbles come out of your machine!!!

Edit: and to knock out the smell what you need is bleach. Add a splash to your first wash

 

[aymgoa]

@cees Slimy, watching the last rinse cycle and seeing suds literally redeposit to the diapers before the spin cycle at the end. Swishing and bubbles/white residue. I’ve tried adding bleach to kick the smell when I first had issues and it worked but I can’t add bleach to every load. That’s why I’m going crazy because it’s such a crazy small amount of detergent and I can see it just being put back onto the diapers. I know they’re not getting clean but I have no idea how to get them clean if more detergent is just causing buildup which won’t allow them to clean and less detergent they still aren’t clean. I’m stumped.

 

[cees]

@aymgoa Is there any chance that you’re washing machines filter is clogged?

 

[aymgoa]

@cees I can take a look at it, I didn’t consider that

 

[daribfr]

@aymgoa Careful with bleach, I've had it ruin my diapers. Do a splash of vinegar instead, that's really helped with smell. Definitely do wash on hot, I make sure my settings are on heavy/bulky with extra rinse.

 

[markiplier]

@aymgoa If you have soft water you should be using tide liquid free and clear, and you need to rinse rinse rinse until all buildup is out. Stripping is for mineral buildup not detergent.

 

[jesuslovesme527]

@markiplier Third Tide F&G liquid. What kind of washing machine do you have? I have similarly soft water, and my front loading LG machine is also not good at rinsing— it rinses cold and uses the same washing water. I have to do a third hot speed cycle with no detergent to rinse it all out. And I use very, very little detergent.

 

[aymgoa]

@markiplier Okay I’ll try that detergent. I did rinse it until it was clear. I used our bidet hose for each and every insert and pocket until nothing came out because I didn’t want to continue any stripping. I had to strip the first two times because of the bad smell that came from the accidental buildup I caused at first, which is recommended from other sources I’ve seen. Using RLR or GROVIA

 

[jesuslovesme527]

@aymgoa OP, I recommended Tide F&G liquid in a previous comment but I recently started using Seventh Generation Power+ liquid detergent. I can use a little more of it than the Tide F&G and it rinses out better for me. Good luck!

 

[manatus22]

@aymgoa I second tide free and gentle liquid for soft water. I also do a small amount of washing soda to help with smell and it works SO WELL. Like max 1/2 cup for a huge load. I use line 2 for prewash and line 3-4 for regular wash and have no issues, my water is similarly soft.

 

[markiplier]

@aymgoa Tide powder is for like 150-200ppm so it was causing major detergent buildup which can also stink.