Up until recently I had heard of ‘stripping diapers’ but had never really looked into it. To me, it seemed like a complex project that would take a lot of time, and be really difficult so I avoided the topic.
But then my son got ‘bullet impentigo’ on his bum, and it kept coming back because of the cloth diapers, so I knew I would have to figure out how to strip his diapers so we could keep using them.
I started reading different posts about how to strip them and it seems that there are close to 10,000 different ways to do it! Overwhelming to say the least. I decided I would post a question on the FB fanpage of the company (cotton babies) that makes the diapers we use and ask what they suggest. Cotton Babies was very helpful, and sent me some advice and a link with their stripping process within an hour or two.
And I was shocked. Stripping diapers is that easy??? really??? So the next day I bought what I needed and set out to strip the diapers. This is what I did
Washed them like normal.
Left them in the washer and started the water going again with HOT water.
I left the lid up so I could see when it was full & so the spin cycle woulnd’t start too soon
Then I added some dawn (get the recipe here)
After they were washed I ran 3 or 4 more cycles with no soap (just hot water) to get all the dawn rinsed
and then I dried them like I normally do.
And it was AWESOME! the diapers came out so soft! and so bright! I am definitely planning on doing it every 6 months or so!
I know it might seem scary to put dawn in your washing machine or to bleach your pretty diapers but as long as you follow the recipe I linked to above you should have no worries. I had no crazy bubble over flows and the colors on the covers of his diapers came out brighter than they had been before I stripped them!
I was so pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and that it worked the first time I tried it. I was expecting to have to try a bunch of different methods until I found something that worked but I didn’t! Easy, cheap and it worked!
I would definitely recommend trying this method first if you are planning to strip your diapers.
If you are trying to figure out if you need to strip your diapers or if you want to read more about it, I would recommend that you start here. They have tested and retested their stripping method and are there to help if you have questions! This is the company that makes the diapers we use on Elias, and I absolutely LOVE Them. I can’t say enough good things about their company!
Ashley says
I’m doing this tonight! My son is healing from a yeast diaper rash, so I want to strip the cloth diapers so that it doesn’t return again. I have been using bamboo diaper liners to keep the cream off his diapers, but better to be safe than sorry. Thanks for sharing!