Stripping… Cloth Diapers #fallfluff
Posted by 
September 16, 2011 •
Today I want to chat with you about stripping your cloth diapers. I’m really hoping you can teach me something! This is something I have very little experience in. I’ve read plenty about it but really haven’t stripped mine yet. I did have to do an overnight soak when changing detergents, but that’s the closest I’ve come to stripping them. Admittedly, I think they are starting to retain a bit of stink now. And there are a few diapers that seem too get soaked through faster now, but I think she’s a heavier wetter now.
What Does Stripping Diapers Mean?
Stripping your diapers means you are taking extra measures to remove any buildup. This is different than your regular routine for washing cloth diapers.
Why Would Diapers Need to be Stripped?
Over time build up of detergent, oils, dirt, creams, etc can occur. When there’s build up, your diapers aren’t working as well and aren’t getting cleaned thoroughly. People usually refer to their fluff as having “the stinkies.” They don’t smell clean and/or are repelling wetness. Using too much or too little detergent and using rash creams that aren’t safe for cloth can led to this. Some people think you should regularly strip your diapers, others say do it when you notice a problem.
How Can I Strip My Diapers?
- One way is to “rock a soak,” letting your diapers soak in HOT water overnight. This often refers to using Rockin Green Soap during the soak.
- Another method is to repeatedly wash in super hot water with NO detergent until water is clear. This should be done with clean diapers, not soiled.
- Using Dawn soap. Be very careful with this! If you do this method only use 1 or 2 DROPS in the wash machine (maybe do it in the sink). Rinse until all the bubbles are gone.
- By hand in hot water. Grab your gloves! (Or a hand washing kit)
- I’m thinking about trying the grape stomp method… it looks interesting and like a really good way to work on your inserts. Basically you are soaking and stomping them in your bathtub.
For more information and methods, check out this compilation at Zany-Zebra.
So tell me: Have you ever stripped your diapers? What method did you use? How’d it work out for you?
See what Mariah at Formula Mom and April at Mama on a Green Mission have to say about this topic.
Tags: cloth leaves nothing behind, laundry, stripping cloth diapers
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I’ve had a smell with my daughter’s diapers and couldn’t for the life of me figure out what “stripping” them meant! Visiting from the giveaway, but will definitely be bookmarking your site!christinebewley
Glad you found us and that this was helpful for you!Syrana
I am with you on this subject, Im new to CD and id love to learn more about it. I havent had to do it yet, and im not sure when i should.
I’m loving the idea of the Grape Stomp Method! (I’ve heard Dawn in the washer can possibly void some warranties so I’ve avoided it). My 10mo old is just now starting to have a little odor to his night time dipes (I’m lucky just now- he does 12hrs in them!), and I’ve been doing an equivalent of this by hand (ugh). Thanks for the link! I’ll be trying this soon… And I’m looking forward to the bonus clean tub after! :)
Shelley – For the grape stomp method, be sure to only use baking soda if you have soft water. If you have hard water, it will actually make your diapers stink worse.
I’m new to cds so I’ve never heard of this-very interesting! Thanks for the tips-they’ll come in handy.
haven’t really stripped my diapers, although there has been a few times when life meant the diapers soaked in the washer overnight and I rewashed them in the morning.stewartheather
I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to strip my diapers ever since our vacation this summer. (we stayed with family in a hard water area. soaking in Rockin’ Green classic rock worked the best (didnt completely get rid of the ammonia smell though) and blue dawn made the ammonia way worse. I will be trying out Rockin Green Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer on some seriously in need of stripping diapers tonight :) Hopefully it does the trick…All of this stripping in coin laundry machines is starting to get really expensive!
Wow I was just planning to really clean up the diapers my baby just outgrew, thank you! I am going for the Rockin’ soak.
So far we’ve had to strip diapers once and the Rockin’ Green overnight soak worked wonders. Great to see all the other methods posted on here.PsMamae
i actually use eco sprout and i do an overnight soak in eco sprout (i have had to do 2 soaks in a row once after using RNG which made my diaper smell terrible) and then a bunch of washes with calgon because we have terribly hard water.moonglow283
Honestly, the best clean that I can get is to use a little bit of bleach in my Rinse cycle on INSERTS ONLY! NEVERRRRR… covers.
Then, Rinse, Rinse, Rinse, and more Rinse. I only do this maybe once every 2-3 months and actually haven’t had to do it since switching to Rockin’ Green completely.
I’ve had to do this before when I was a newbie to CD and didn’t really know what I was doing. To strip my diapers, I had the best results with just washing them in hot water 3-4 times.
Now, I was my diapers with home made detergent. Normally, I dry them in the dryer, but my other tip for removing funky smells is to dry them out in the sunlight. This also naturally helps remove stains without having to use bleach.familymusings
I do hot washes with no detergent over and over and over and over until I see no suds (as you suggested!). Sometimes it takes 8 or 9 cycles.
Thanks for this post. I’ll definitely be writing this down. I’ve only had to do extra rinses and a hot was with vinegar so far, but my son is starting to sleep for even longer hours at night, so I’m sure this idea will come in handy.
I haven’t used cloth diapers yet and am thankful to learn about everything since I plan to use them when the grandbaby is here. I remember using the cloth diapers when mine were babies and I used clorox then. It’s nice to learn about alternative stripping remedies. Thanks!tea4two20
I stripped my diapers about a month after I got them with dawn dish soap. Now that I adjusted my wash routine, I haven’t had to strip them again for the past 3 months. Dawn definitely has worked for us!
I have always used Rockin Green to soak (in a 10 gallon bucket since I have a front loader) and it works great for us!hollywilson82
i have always used dawn.
I have had my diapers 6 months and have never had to strip them, but I do let them sit in hot oxyclean water for about 1 hour before I wash them every time.
I am starting to have stink issues for the first time so this was awesome timing to read your post. Im not looking forward to the battle as Ive heard some people battle back and forth with stink for several washes before finally conquering it but like laundry itself it has to be done cuz its not going to do itself (but oh how I wish it would)!
I’m starting to deal with ammonia and rockin a soak (which has never failed me before now) isn’t working! Neither is hot washing. I’m thinking about trying the Dawn method but it scares me! What happens if I can’t get it all out of my diapers? Or what happens if I get a suds covered basement! I know I know, “just try it”. But I can still be nervous!
If you don’t get the stink out, it will continue to build up. That will likely lead to rashes and repelling. If you are nervous about dawn in the washer (I am too!) maybe do it in the tub? Then after the initial soak and hand/foot agitation you can rinse them then switch to washer to finish rinsing?Syrana
Ooh, good idea. I guess I know what I’m doing the next few days…
I haven’t gotten into cloth diapering yet, but I’m glad you provided these instructions. Stripping doesn’t seem so unapproachable anymore!allnaturalkatie
I’m actually past this stage in my life now but all my friends are just now here. I had my daughter very young. I like to find all the info I can to help them since I have time to look around and they don’t. Lol. I miss having a baby but it’s nice to have a teen that can take care of herself too.lewalk76
I love Rockin’ Green! I also try to sundry my laundry (CDs and everything else) when possible.
I’ve never done this before….this is awesome info. I’ll have to pass this info on to my sister in law too who is experiencing the ‘stinkies’ with her cloth diapers too.
I have stripped my diapers a couple times. I do the Dawn method. I use one Tablespoon in the washing machine and rinse on hot about 3-5 times. I’ve also used a similar method to prep my diaper inserts. Instead of washing hemp inserts 5-10 times, I boil them in a big pot with a few drops of Dawn for about 15 minutes and then drop them in with my regular diaper wash! It works fabulously. :-)
Good info, I just started cding so I haven’t had to do this yet. Good to know for the future.
I haven’t yet done this, but thanks for the methods!