- Diaper Fit (the diaper was put on wrong) - Most often, fit problems are around the legs. Be sure that the elastic is fitted around your baby's legs. If the elastic is not fitted to their leg, the diaper will leak. To solve a gapping problem at the legs, fasten the diaper tighter around the middle and use a lower rise setting. For a newborn, fold the top edge of the diaper down and cross the velcro tabs over in the middle.
- Stuffing - Wetting habits vary by child. Wetting habits will also change. If your baby is growing, they may eat more. This increases their urine output. You may need to use more inserts or change more frequently to accommodate the increased urine output. Inserts also vary in their performance when saturated. A completely saturated microfiber insert will leak when compressed. You'll experience this if you put your baby on your hip when he has a wet diaper. If this is an 'all-the-time' problem, consider switching to hemp inserts (like Hemp Babies Bigger Weeds).
- It just needs changed. A wet diaper needs to be changed.
Rule #1 - Most leaky diapers just need to be changed. A full diaper will leak. Period. The end. Amen. Just go change the diaper and all will be well with the world.
Rule #2 - It's probably not repelling. True repelling is really uncommon. Try everything else FIRST. Do not skip straight to stripping your diapers. Personal note: I've been cloth diapering for seven years and have never, ever stripped my diapers.
Rule #3 - (refer back to #2) The symptom of a repelling diaper is a continuously dry insert and a very wet lap. This should happen over and over again regardless of how it is stuffed. This won't be a one-time occurrence.
What exactly is happening? A diaper that is repelling is not allowing liquid to absorb into the inner core of the diaper because the surface of the diaper is coated with something that is hydrophobic. Hydrophobic means tending to repel and not absorb water. Oils and waxes coat fabrics and cause them to repel moisture. The most common sources of oil in your cloth diaper laundry are detergent, fabric softeners and essential oils.
Can I prevent it? Sometimes. Some households have water that leaves deposits on everything - not just their diapers. Everybody will get buildup if you use bad detergent. To best prevent buildup:
- Be sure that you are using a completely additive free detergent.
- Do not add essential oils to your wash.
- Do not use fabric softener.
How to strip your diapers:
- Wash your already clean diapers in hot (not boiling) water with a squirt of Dawn.
- Rinse twice.
- Put on your baby.
- Do not put them in the dishwasher. You could set your house on fire.
- Do not use boiling water. You could ruin the waterproofing.
- Do not wash with weird things you can only find at the hardware store. This is dangerous for you, for your diapers and for your baby.
- Just because a product is labeled as "safe for cloth diapers" doesn't mean that it is.
- When in doubt - don't.
Some of the information available online about stripping absolutely will RUIN your cloth diapers. You are solely responsible for taking care of your diapers properly. If you have questions, call Cotton Babies customer service at 888-332-2243.
I only use Dawn (blue) with my bumGenius diapers, and rinse twice. Is it bad to do that all the time, since that's what you recommend for stripping?
ReplyDeleteNo, that's fine for your diapers. My caution isn't about this method of stripping - it's for people who strip and strip and strip and strip and strip - for every little leak - instead of trying to figure out what else might be going on. Your diapers only last so long. Washing is what puts wear and tear on them. Repeated unnecessary washing is wasteful and not good for your cloth diaper investment. ;)
ReplyDelete'cause that's my regular wash routine, that's why I asked.
ReplyDeleteLove it! ezcellent informative & thorough post!
ReplyDeletebecause really kids can pee alot and any type of diaper can only absorb so much before it will leak. =]
Is it ok to use Dawn with a washing machine that requires he? My diapers are not leaking but have a very strong ammonia odor that shows up after being worn. I wash once on cold, once on hot with an extra rinse cycle and then dry them. They smell perfectly fine until the diaper change and then they just wreaks of old urine...what am I doing wrong? (oh, and I only use babyganics laundry detergent made for cloth diapers)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I'd guess your ammonia issues may be related to low water levels in your washing machine. I would suggest dumping a pitcher or two of hot water in your washer (directly on top of your inserts so it soaks in real good). This increases the weight of your load and will force the washing machine to use more water to wash your diapers.
ReplyDeleteAlso consider the fact that when air reacts with urine, an ammonia odor is released (think of what would happen if you left a urine sample out with the lid off). This is going to happen regardless of how you wash your diapers (and no matter what you wash them with). If the problem is in the pail, consider using a diaper pail with a carbon filter or washing diapers more frequently.
My son is 8 months old and I stripped my diapers once, at about 5 months, but was thinking of doing it again, using the method you mentioned. I use an oil based diaper cream with his diapes b/c nothing else works for him, thus the need to strip. If I am only stripping about 2-3 times a year, is that ok?? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any advice for stripping in a front loading washer? My BG pocket diapers seem to be repelling... we poured warm water on a clean diaper to test and the water just sat there and then rolled around sort of like mercury did when a thermometer was broken. I must admit that I used Desitin many months ago although this apparent repelling problem started around the same time we got the front loader. Any advice?
ReplyDeleteI have a repelling problem... I think it happened because I used Dr. Bronner's Castile soap in my cloth wipes solution. I have used Dawn in my wash twice (a cold wash, then a hot wash, then two rinses). Then I ran a sanitary cycle with no soap that uses extra hot water and two rinses. After each wash, I checked and my diapers are STILL repelling. The inserts are fine now, but the bumgenius diapers themeselves will not soak anything up. What can I do? I don't understand why nothing I am doing is working!!!
ReplyDeleteMy AIO's leak from my son's back every single time we use them. I have made sure to dry them well, stuff them, re-adjust them......what the heck. I am tired of changing sheets and jammies 4 times a day. He is wearing the small and they are snug since he is 2 1/2 months and over 13 lbs. Should I try stipping?? Maybe test if they are repelling. I use ALL free and clear detergent is this the problem?
ReplyDeleteFor JG: I have read in many places that it is not advisable to use any type of free and clear detergent because they contain additives that will leave residues on your diapers and cause them to repel and stink. Maybe you should try a detergent like Charlie's Soap or Claudia's. They work great. I have been using Charlie's Soap to wash my 7 month old daughter's diapers since day 1 and I have never stripped them.
ReplyDeleteI'm also having the "mercury" like beading on my Bums. We recently had to replace our washer because it would not spin our clothes completely, therefore, never rinsing away the detergent. I just stripped using RLR, washed on hot/warm (with no detergent) seriously like 7 times. The water beading seemed to have gone away and there were no bubbles in the final rinse, so I threw em in the dryer and they STILL repel. And trust me- there was no dryer sheet in that dryer and hasn't been any in there for weeks. I use only BG detergent. I had read that sometimes you have to use DAWN original and scrub your microfleece. Do you recommend doing that? Is that safe for my BG diapers?
ReplyDeleteI tried scrubbbing my inserts with Dawn and then doing a hot water wash and then rinse. The polyester suede on the flip diapers is still repelling. Althought the microfiber side is soaking up water. The Fuzzibunz site suggested oxiclean regular powder to strip their diapers. How does oxiclean do on the Flip inserts.
ReplyDeleteI recently found out the hard way that Grandma Els and Earth Moma diaper creams are not good on Flip. Caused leaking daily!!! Called Flip customer service and they basically said, toss them in the trash. But i figured out a solution to strip the stay dry FLIP diapers...
DeleteStripping the wax/oil. Essentially what I did was spray a ton of oxyclean on each diaper (over 20 sprays per diaper), scrub in Oxy multiple directions with a tooth brush and got it a little foamy. Let the oxyclean sit a few hours or overnight. Rinsed about 9 times (3 loads...wash, rinse, extra rinse three times).
Stripping the Oxyclean out with Dawn.Then took them out and individually stripped them. Squeezed a line of original Dawn the length of the diaper, scrubbed with a toothbrush with a little HOT water (about 1/3 cup) and scrubbed 30 seconds or so in multiple directions till the blue Dawn line faded a little. Put in HOT water in the sink and let it sit. After I did them all, I waited till the water was cool enough to pull the drain. Then rinsed 9 times as I did the oxyclean. On the last load, I did add ONE Tbsp of Rockin Green to the wash cycle, followed by two more rinses.
My FB shells are repelling horribly. I don't know how or why this is happening. I only wash them in Rockin Green. I have tried the Dawn detergent a few times, and they are still repelling. Any other suggestions?!
ReplyDeletemine too! I even did a water test by pouring a little bit of water on them, and the little droplets formed on top and did not soak in. Did you find a solution to your problem?
DeleteHello. My husband read something about adding baking soda in the first cold wash (with liquid detergent) and then vinegar in the second wash. He did this multiple times-for what reason I do not know. I have a feeling this has changed the pH of the diapers and I have noticed that over the weekend when baby is in them 24/7 he tends to get quite red. Does anyone know of a way to check and/or re-set the pH of a diaper?
ReplyDeleteBe careful with some of this advice too, as Dawn is NOT recommended for use in washing machine and can ruin your machine as well. So, actually even with everything else, it's not the ideal way (boiling, dishwasher, etc) but it's what one has to do to strip.
ReplyDeleteDoes it count to strip in just a few extra hot water washes? I've heard this is the way to go, rinse, rinse, rinse, with no detergent or soap or anything, and make sure there are no suds/bubbles in the final rinse. I am having more issues with the diapers i picked up on consignment. I tried to wash them in Blue Dawn and it is taking forever to get the soap out. I think the last rinse finally got the gunk out, so we will see if that helped.
ReplyDeleteI want to buy used BG 3.0 pockets but the seller said they are repelling. She's stripped them once (I don't know how she stripped them). They are 4 years old- not been used in 2 years. I'm BRAND NEW to cloth diapering and want to buy these cheap $3/diaper CD. My question is: can I ALWAYS get a diaper stripped and functioning properly again? I'm willing to do some work to save financially. Do you think it's worth it financially to try stripping these since they are so cheap?
ReplyDeleteI bought cd about diapers 3 months ago. they are leaking everywhere. it seems that the diaper insert is leaking through. will stripping take care of this?
ReplyDelete