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Hey ladies. I don’t mean to just drop in on you like this, but I am having a serious problem with my son’s cloth diapers and need some help! A lot has happened since the problem first started and I want to be detailed to get the right solution, so this is probably going to be long. TIA for reading!
My son has been using Gdiapers with the disposable inserts since birth and at about 5 weeks old we added Tots Bots Easy Fit pocket diapers and he’s been wearing a combination of both diapers since then. He recently turned 6 months old and this is the first time we’ve ever had any issue. I’ve always washed his diapers (and all our clothes) in 7th Generation detergent (usually free and clear, but occasionally scented) and line dry them. He’s never had the slightest rash or skin irritation until about three weeks ago. At first I thought he just had a normal diaper rash. His front area was a red and irritated, so I started using the Butt Paste. After 4-5 days it didn’t change, so I switched to corn starch. It seemed to get a little better and then it would get worse again, then better and then worse. I was giving him about 5 minutes of air time at each diaper change plus two to three 15-20 minute sessions of diaper free time a day. It seemed to help some, but it never went away and would eventually go back to as red as it started . His bottom is having a different issue. The skin is very dry and flaky and yesterday it actually cracked and bled in a few places . I have been putting Vaseline on his butt and it looks a lot better.
On Friday he had his 6 month well check. His doctor saw the rash and said it had yeast in it and that’s why it wasn’t going away so she prescribed a cream for it. She didn’t look at his butt, but said the dry patches on his tummy were eczema and that it was probably on his bottom too since its common on for it to show on their thighs (he doesn't have any there).
We went to pick up his prescription on Friday night, but the pharmacy had to order it so it wouldn’t be available until the next day. Coincidentally I was planning on stripping the detergent out of his cloth diapers on Saturday. They were loosing a bit of their absorbency and started to have an odor when he peed. Saturday he spent the entire day in Gdiapers because the Tots Bots were being ran through hot water rinses in my washer. By the end of the day, the rash was gone. I hadn’t put anything on it all day. It just disappeared.
The next day we put him back in the Tots Bots and the rash came back. After some thought, I realized that a few weeks ago I ran out of 7th Gen but we were low on cash so I had to buy All Free and Clear to get us to payday. About a week after using All is when the problem started . They have been washed in 7th Gen several times since we ran out of All and they went through one full wash cycle on hot with an extra rinse, plus four additional hot rinses. The detergent is obviously still bothering him and I don’t know what else to do to get it out. I am also wondering if there is yeast in them or not. My gut is telling me no since the rash cleared on its own once he was switched out of the Tots Bots, but the doctor’s diagnosis has me wondering.
So I am not really sure what to do. I put a Tots Bots on him Monday morning just to make sure they were the problem and he was red and irritated at the next diaper change . He has been in Gdiapers ever since and only has mild redness (no bumps or rash-like irritation) in his groin area. My 2 and a half year old daughter only wore Gdiapers and never had any skin problems, so this is all new to me. Help please!
Since the rash went away so quickly while he was in the other diapers, I'm guessing its not yeast. That wouldn't go away on its own like that. Which leaves it being a reaction to the diaper in some way. The new deferential may not have gotten the diapers totally clean which may have left some bacteria in them. I would use a little bleach in your next load and dry them in the dryer. If that still doesn't solve the problem, cut up an old 100% cotton t-shirt and put it between him and the diaper. Some babies are bothered by microfleece (which I think is the inner of Tots Bots). The liner might be enough to see if its the fabric bothering him. Good luck!
So basically you use disposable inserts in the gs? And then there is a rash but only in the Tots Bots AIOs? It sounds to me like the Tots Bots just aren't getting clean enough. Since you know 7gen is a safe detergent for you, and the All may have been a problem, I would stick with the 7gen. But it may not be killing all the bacteria in the AIOs. I would try washing on your hottest possible temp setting with plenty of either oxygen or regular bleach in addition to detergent, then rinsing well. Stripping with rinses only will help with detergent residues but not bacteria. Hth and good luck!!!
Thanks for the responses! Yeah, it's weird how the rash comes and goes. I am trying to put it all together, but I am thinking the days the rash was lessened was my diaper washing day. Typically he wears the Tots Bots until they are all dirty (except in the early morning when he has 5 gallon pees ) and wears the Gdiapers while I am washing the others.
Can I use vinegar to kill the bacteria instead of bleach? I would rather stick to something natural if possible. How much should I use? I only have 13 Tots Bots, so it's not a huge load to wash.
I have a front loader, so should I put the bleach or vinegar directly on the diapers before I start the machine or put it on them during the rinse cycle, or just put it in where the detergent goes? Sorry about all the questions. I hope I don't sound like a dumb dumb but I've never dealt with this before and have obviously never used bleached to clean my laundry and just want to do it the right way. I don't have my dryer hooked up right now, which is why I line dry them (I still would the majority of the time even if I was able to use it) but can use my sister's next week if it's necessary.
Does your front loader have a bleach dispenser? Like a special drawer or compartment somewhere? It should... Bleach must be properly diluted before coming into contact with your fabric, otherwise you would get bleach stains.
Brutal honesty coming up... Bleach just WORKS. You know what is all natural? Fecal bacteria irritating your LO's bum. Arsenic. Deathcap mushrooms. Just because it is natural, doesn't mean it is your friend. Just because it's artificial, doesn't mean it is bad. Household use of bleach is not environmentally damaging, does not cause cancer, and if handled properly is quite safe. People mix it up with the industrial bleaching processes used by wood pulp processing, which releases toxic dioxins. Household bleach is no more dangerous than tea tree oil... Just dilute it properly and wash it off promptly if you get some on your hands.
If you want to use oxygen bleach, that stuff is not as strong for killing bacteria, but it is very safe and leaves virtually zero residue. It is basically hydrogen peroxide which breaks down to water and oxygen gas in the presence of air. Vinegar is fine as a preventative or to aid rinsing but is simply not strong enough to kill embedded colonies of bacteria in your diapers inner layers. If you are getting rashes, you need to bring out the big guns.
Here's what you do. Buy a small bottle of regular unscented Clorox. Put 1/4 cup in your bleach dispenser, a full amount of detergent as for very dirty clothes, your Tots Bots, and run a long and very hot cycle (sanitary cycle if you have one). Run another short hot cycle if you are worried about residues. Dry in the sun or in a dryer on hot. They should be squeaky clean now!
So in the future, try to adjust your washing routine so they stay clean and the bacteria don't settle in again. Keys are: hot water, sufficient amount of detergent (don't do the "use half what you normally would" thing, always use the full amount for your load size!), and maybe some vinegar or oxyclean to boost. Vinegar should usually go in the rinse cycle, in the fabric softener compartment or in a Downy ball, about 1/4-1/2 cup per load. Oxy powder can get thrown right into the drum as you throw the load in.
It is late and I am up with insomnia here so I'm sorry if I sound insane good luck and let us know how it goes!!!!
I'll save myself the trouble and just ditto everything Shen said.
I was one of the people who fell for the "half the detergent, no additives, etc" routine. My diapers stunk. Now that I use a regular scoop of detergent and some Oxyclean in every load, no stink. If the buildup of bacteria is bad enough to be causing a rash on your LO's bum, its time to break out the big guns and use some bleach. I know its a little nerve wracking when you've always heard to treat diapers so delicately, but they really aren't that delicate. They'll absolutely stand up to a little bleach. Good luck!
I also have to second shen7. She convinced me to try bleach and it is the only thing that has even touched our ammonia stink. My Fler doesn't have a bleach dispenser but per instructions on the back of our bleach bottle I put about 500mL water in the detergent compartment after the bleach.
Does your front loader have a bleach dispenser? Like a special drawer or compartment somewhere? It should... Bleach must be properly diluted before coming into contact with your fabric, otherwise you would get bleach stains.
Brutal honesty coming up... Bleach just WORKS. You know what is all natural? Fecal bacteria irritating your LO's bum. Arsenic. Deathcap mushrooms. Just because it is natural, doesn't mean it is your friend. Just because it's artificial, doesn't mean it is bad. Household use of bleach is not environmentally damaging, does not cause cancer, and if handled properly is quite safe. People mix it up with the industrial bleaching processes used by wood pulp processing, which releases toxic dioxins. Household bleach is no more dangerous than tea tree oil... Just dilute it properly and wash it off promptly if you get some on your hands.
If you want to use oxygen bleach, that stuff is not as strong for killing bacteria, but it is very safe and leaves virtually zero residue. It is basically hydrogen peroxide which breaks down to water and oxygen gas in the presence of air. Vinegar is fine as a preventative or to aid rinsing but is simply not strong enough to kill embedded colonies of bacteria in your diapers inner layers. If you are getting rashes, you need to bring out the big guns.
Here's what you do. Buy a small bottle of regular unscented Clorox. Put 1/4 cup in your bleach dispenser, a full amount of detergent as for very dirty clothes, your Tots Bots, and run a long and very hot cycle (sanitary cycle if you have one). Run another short hot cycle if you are worried about residues. Dry in the sun or in a dryer on hot. They should be squeaky clean now!
So in the future, try to adjust your washing routine so they stay clean and the bacteria don't settle in again. Keys are: hot water, sufficient amount of detergent (don't do the "use half what you normally would" thing, always use the full amount for your load size!), and maybe some vinegar or oxyclean to boost. Vinegar should usually go in the rinse cycle, in the fabric softener compartment or in a Downy ball, about 1/4-1/2 cup per load. Oxy powder can get thrown right into the drum as you throw the load in.
It is late and I am up with insomnia here so I'm sorry if I sound insane good luck and let us know how it goes!!!!
I have been busy so it took me a while to get back. Basically I was not satisfied with this answer (and the tone of the response reminded me why I haven't posted on JM in four months ) and I did what I should of done in the first place, researched the answer myself. I found a great solution on this website How Tos and FAQs of Cloth Diapering - Diaper Pin that allowed me to thoroughly clean my cloth diapers WITHOUT using bleach. I modified it a bit to fit my needs.
The diapers had already been washed so I started with the baking soda soak. I used my bathtub since I have a front loader washer that doesn't use a lot of water. I let them soak for about 8 hours. Then I tossed them in my washer, with detergent and distilled white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment and ran it on a sanitize cycle with an extra rinse. I lined dried them. He was still having MILD irritation from a FEW of the diapers so I repeated the process. He wore them for 24 hours straight (no GDiapers!) and has not the slightest bit of irritation! Also the baking soda made them feel so nice and soft again. I will be incorporating this process into my regular laundry routine to ensure that another build up doesn't occur. Looks like your "big guns" DON'T have to be harmful chemicals after all.
There are a lot reasons that I very, very limited amounts of chemical cleaners in my house. Even when used in moderation, exposure to them over time can be harmful and even the most careful person can make mistakes that can turn catastrophic. And duh not everything natural is good for you but if my baby is going to have a rash I would much rather it be from something natural than by a chemical. Also the website I referenced above advises against using bleach on your diapers because the chemicals break down the fibers and cause your diapers to wear out more quickly, which I should've known because when I worked for a company that installed water softeners we often discussed how bad chemicals are for your clothes and general household cleaning.
And yes I know bleach is considered "safe" when diluted and used properly yadda, yadda, yadda, but I don't like to mess around with things that need to be handled with caution, especially around my family and I would much rather accidentally knock over a jug of vinegar than a jug of bleach, but hey... that's just me.
BLEACH: is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. Never mix bleach with acid toilet bowl cleaners or ammonia. These mixtures may produce fumes which can be DEADLY.
I'm sorry to hear that you were offended. I was simply trying to share what worked for me and felt that the others did the same. Again, sorry upset you, but I'm glad you found a solution that worked for you.
I don't have time for complicated procedures, and am quite pleased with bleach, hot water, and plenty of detergent. Never once have i had stink, ammonia, or yeast.
I'm sorry to hear that you were offended. I was simply trying to share what worked for me and felt that the others did the same. Again, sorry upset you, but I'm glad you found a solution that worked for you.
Typos courtesy of my "smart" phone.
Thank you both for apologizing. You don't see that much on JM and I really appreciate it. I don't think y'all intended to offend me I just kinda felt like you were rolling your eyes when I said I wanted to use natural products. It's okay though. Apology excepted and I really appreciate your thoughts and taking the time to respond to my post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alicenwonderland
glad you found a solution that works for you!
I don't have time for complicated procedures, and am quite pleased with bleach, hot water, and plenty of detergent. Never once have i had stink, ammonia, or yeast.
Well that's good because the method I described is neither complicated nor time consuming. I turn on cold bathwater, gather my diapers, dump in 1/2 cup of baking soda and mix it for about 20 seconds, dump in my diapers, turn off the water (you just need enough to cover the diapers, it doesn't have to be full) then return six to eight hours later. It takes like four minutes. The baking soda soak doesn't have to be done every single time you wash diapers. Since I am just starting to use this method I don't know exactly how often, but I am thinking at most once a week, but most likely twice a month.
After the soak I take them out to the laundry room, toss them in my washer with detergent and vinegar, press extra rinse, then start. Adding vinegar instead of bleach takes the same amount of steps (maybe less because there is no diluting), so no extra time there. So you're looking at an extra 4-6 minutes at a maximum of 4 days a month. That's nothing. And I am just as busy as everyone else that has little kids. I am home all day by myself with them and my DD doesn't nap so I don't get any break. I have chores to do, errands to run and mouths to feed just like everyone else.
If you're happy with bleach and that's what you want to do then great, but my main point is that there are other options out there that work just as well, or maybe even better and that you DON'T have to use chemicals. Vinegar kills 98% of germs and bacteria and is an amazing urine neutralizer. That's why it's great for cleaning pet stains. Just because it is different doesn't mean that it's overly complex and you should be afraid to try it. I was perfectly ready to use bleach if this didn't work, but it did and I encourage all of you to try it just once and see how soft clean your diapers come out.
And for the record, over the 5 months I have been using these diapers, they have never smelled bad. One thing that worried me about using cloth diapers is that they would smell, so I always smelled them after washing to make sure they didn't stink. The only bit of odor they had occurred immediately after he peed which is usually caused by detergent build up, so that can happen to anyone. And there was never any yeast. His irritation has been gone for well over a week and I never used the prescription cream on him. In fact I haven't used any treatment on him in at least a week.
Anyway... Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions even if it wasn't the answer I was looking for, it did point me in the right direction. I really appreciate your time. I have been trying to stay away from JM, so I probably won't be back anytime soon. Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I am glad your routine is working right now! I have a question for you though. How old is your DS and how much solid food is he eating? See, I started out with a very very simple and no-bleach wash routine when my baby was EBF. Never had any hint of stink and I thought hey, this is easy. I had a career as an environmental scientist (consulting and government work) prior to mommyhood and am generally all about doing the most low toxicity, low impact option. Then my baby started solids... not much at first... but the more solid food she was eating, the worse her poops got. Even though I had a mostly cotton, all natural fibers stash which is generally considered easy washing. And I started getting stink, even the dreaded ammonia. As their digestive system develops, the gut flora become established and therefore there are more bacteria in the poop and they get harder to wash out easily. Bleach was almost a last resort for me, I am sensitive to odors and thought I would find it intolerable, but the unscented kind is actually inoffensive to me compared to the scented one my mom has always used. I went from a 3 HE FLer cycle routine that tied up my diapers all day to a 1 cycle routine that completely ended all my stink issues and my DD's bum was never clearer, no pinkness after overnight, etc. So I researched bleach chemistry and realized it is not as bad as I had thought, household bleach has bad PR. Of course you don't want to ingest it or let your kids play with it, but you probably don't want to let your toddler or baby play in your bathroom with your full bathtub full of soaking diapers either, since that's a drowning hazard, so you know, there are risks to everything and you just need common sense precautions.
I think the baking soda soaks and vinegar rinses are a very gentle disinfectant treatment, there are far more heavy duty treatments out there with bleach being the most effective, so don't assume A) no one has tried baking soda /vinegar and B) it would work instead of bleach for everyone. In the future you MAY need to try something more heavy duty too. We are here and happy to help with any issues that come up for you or anyone else in the future. Many ladies on here have CDed exclusively for YEARS and have been through many washing experiments and tweaks to the routine!
Also just a chemistry point for the record, neat/undiluted vinegar in contact for sufficient time (I think the tests were like ten minutes) may kill the vast majority of bacteria on solid surfaces. But that is not what happens in a dilute laundry solution of 1/4 cup vinegar in a full wash load. That is just a pH adjuster that aids in rinsing out alkaline detergent residues and creates an inhospitable environment for yeast. Just to clear that up.
Sorry you were offended :/ I tried just about everything out there that was natural (including baking soda and vinegar). Like you I was concerned about bleach because I also try to stay away from chemicals. I had a natural L&D, I don't take pain relievers for anything and I've had my teeth drilled without Novocain. However, since nothing natural worked on my dipes, it came down to using diluted bleach or throwing in the towel and exposing my DD to chemicals daily that would be in disposables. I feel I chose the lesser of two evils.
Hey, it sounds like you got everything figured out. That's great. I just have two tips for you. 1) why not try doing the soak in your washer instead of your tub? It sounds likes more work to transport heavy wet diapers and I'm a bit worried about the drowning hazard. 2) the mamas on here are awesome and always ready to give helpful, free advice. When you come here and talk about how unhelpful and rude everyone on this site is, it is going to come across as a bit offensive. Just my $0.02.
If you're actually very serious about avoiding non-natural chemicals, you may have to rethink your brand of diapers. TotBots are a synthetic diaper, so it's not a natural product in itself. ALL detergent also has chemicals in it. My son has severe skin sensitivities, and the worst rashes he's gotten have been from certain synthetic diapers and the chemicals used in them. Not meaning to be offensive Just informative!
30Likes
. His bottom is having a different issue. The skin is very dry and flaky and yesterday it actually cracked and bled in a few places 
. I have been putting Vaseline on his butt and it looks a lot better. 
. They have been washed in 7th Gen several times since we ran out of All and they went through one full wash cycle on hot with an extra rinse, plus four additional hot rinses. The detergent is obviously still bothering him and I don’t know what else to do to get it out. I am also wondering if there is yeast in them or not. My gut is telling me no since the rash cleared on its own once he was switched out of the Tots Bots, but the doctor’s diagnosis has me wondering.
) and wears the Gdiapers while I am washing the others. 
but I've never dealt with this before and have obviously never used bleached to clean my laundry and just want to do it the right way. I don't have my dryer hooked up right now, which is why I line dry them (I still would the majority of the time even if I was able to use it) but can use my sister's next week if it's necessary.
good luck and let us know how it goes!!!!
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