Evening Revelation

If there's one thing that I've learned over the years of working with different brands/styles of diapers and all the different detergents and routines is this.....it never hurts to try something different.  If it doesn't work, you just switch to something else....strip and start over.  AND if something works for you then stick with it....even if it doesn't work for everyone. 

Everyone has their own 'tried and true' methods of washing diapers, but it doesn't mean that one way is better than another.  Or that their way or the coveted "CD" or "Natural" way will work for you.  So give it all a try.  You won't ruin your diapers by trying a different detergent.  Use your instincts and your experiences with your regular laundry to guide you and if it happens to work....then great!  But there are so many different ways to wash, rinse, dry, sun, strip, or store diapers.  And there are just as many detergents out there too!

So if you want to try "Tide"...then give it a go.  I personally love EcoSprouts...it's my top favorite out of all the 30 different detergents that I've worked with.  It works with every type of routine and I like it because I usually don't have to do an extra rinse at the end, which saves me money!  Here are a few more tidbits that I've learned over the years.....once I started to ignore the regular "Cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse...only use CD specific detergent" rules.

• Rinse in warm water.  An old way to treat stains has always been to rinse in the temperature that the spot was made in.  So if you're having a problem with set in stains on your diapers....rinse with 98 degree water (not hot and not cold).
• Never skip the first rinse before your HOT wash cycle.  Feel free to skip rinses after wash cycles if you are able to.  If you find the right detergent and amount for you, you could definitely skip the extra rinse at the end.
• If you are battling stinkies, try rinsing your diapers right away.  I know that rinsing every diaper at every diaper change is just not feasible for most...I know that I can't do it with 3 kids running around the house, two of which get their diapers changed at the same time.  But, if you rinse all of them from the day at night after the kiddos go down (like in the shower or a big sink or even a bucket) then throw them into the pail to wait for wash day, you'll find that your stinkies (and your stains if you rinse with warm water) will be far less or non existent.  You can also throw just a tiny tiny amount (like a tsp) of detergent in with your first rinse cycle to help 'pre-treat'.  AND if rinsing at night just doesn't work, you can also put a tbsp of your detergent into a water bottle and spray your diapers damp before throwing into the pail to work as a pre-treater....just like you'd do with "Shout" and stains on a shirt.
• If your routine works......don't change it!  And especially don't second guess yourself if your routine doesn't work for someone else.  It doesn't mean that you are wrong, it just means that they are different.....and that's OK.

Good Luck!