Mama, It's Time to Strip!

So stripping diapers is a topic that you hear lots about. Everyone seems to be an expert at when and how to do it. So what is a rookie to do?

Well lets talk about the when to strip first. If you have a good wash routine you shouldn't need to strip as a regular thing. I repeat... Stripping is not a routine thing with cloth diapers.
How do you know that it is that special time?  If you are having issues like ammonia stink or leaks, it is time to strip. If you are switching detergents, it is time to strip. If you got second hand diapers it is time to strip.  So why would you need to strip in these situations?

Ammonia stink and leaks can be caused by a build up of detergent in your diaper fibres. These trapped detergent particles make it that pee and poop gets trapped in those fibres and don't wash away. This buildup causes stinkies and makes the diapers less absorbent over time. Stripping your diapers removes the buildup and in most cases fixes your smell and leak issues. 

The same principle is true when you switch detergents. You may have your old detergent trapped in the fibres and this can cause issues if you just start using a new one. In some cases the two detergents don't react well together and cause stink issues and/or rashes on your baby. Stripping the old detergent out of your diapers before starting the new one makes sure that your diapers are at a nice clean starting point.

The third reason to strip is when you get new to you diapers. Because you don't know what type of water and detergent the other family had you want to make sure to remove anything that may be in the diaper before using it on your baby. A good strip and a sanitize is needed. I always treat new to me diapers like they have the plague.

Ok so how do you strip?  Well there are a tons of methods out there advertised by cloth diaper retailers, manufacturers and bloggers. It is mind blowing! The most common ones are bleach, blue dawn, RLR and hot water.  Let's break these down.

Bleach is a great disinfectant, but it is harsh on your baby and the environment. You do not need bleach in your everyday routine. I do use bleach if I am dealing with a yeast diaper rash or new to me diapers. I always assume the worst with used diapers. Once any buildup is removed I wash them with my regular detergent on hot water with 1/4 cup of bleach. I double up the rinse to make sure all the bleach is out. Use regular chlorine bleach. While regular bleach is simple enough if you really don't want to use it you can use Oxygen Bleach. Add the full recommended amount to your hot wash cycle and let it agitate for a few minutes and then pause the cycle for about an hour to let things soak in. Then finish the cycle and double the rinse.

Blue Dawn is often suggested for stripping diapers. It is even recommended by diaper manufacturers and I find that so unbelievable. Here is the thing with dawn... it is dish soap and first and foremost it can void the warranty on your washer. Here is the second thing... it is a degreaser. A degreaser is great if you got a non cloth friendly cream on your diapers but really pointless to remove build up. Adding soap to fix soap build up really doesn't make much sense does it? Now if you got diaper cream on your diapers that you shouldn't have, use a bit of dawn and a toothbrush to scrub it out and rinse well in hot water before washing the diaper but for anything else keep dawn in the kitchen to wash dishes with.

RLR is a laundry additive to remove buildup.  Great right?  Well yeah but it is made to remove build up from minerals in hard water. According to the package it is supposed to help loosen up detergent residue but again you are adding soap to soap. It suds up like mad so you are going to be rinsing forever! No joke. I used 1/2 pack on a load of really dingy inserts once and it took 10 rinses to get the suds out. I suggest RLR if you suspect you have mineral build up from hard water but not for anything else.

Hot water.  Sound simple right? It is. Hot water helps break up soap better than cold water. So if you suspect soap build up or want to remove anything stuck in the fibres of your diapers wash in hot water without anything added and keep checking for suds. It will work out any built up soap and anything else that may be trapped in your diapers.

Any idea what my preferred method of stripping is?  Yup plain old hot water!  You don't need to use any special additive to strip diapers. In most cases 3-5 hot washes will do the trick. After you do your hot washes and have clear water in your rinse cycle you are done. In most cases this alone will fix your issues.

So now that you are a pro ... dare you to tell your partner that you are spending your afternoon stripping and make sure you take a pic of their face.