Stripping Cloth Diapers in a Top Loader

There are a MILLION different ways to strip cloth diapers. Everyone has their own method of what works for them. There is not one set way of stripping that works for everyone. Most people come up with their own routine and see what works for them. This is mine.

We have a top loader and we use Rockin Green detergent. We usually don't have any problems with leaks or ammonia stinkies, but every once in awhile they occur. Especially if we've been travelling or I've gotten lazy and skipped a washing more than once... I usually wash every other day.

To start, I wash everything as normal:
First, a cold rinse to get all the yuckies out. Then, 1/8 cup (2Tbsp) of Rockin' Green Hard Rock in a very HOT wash, followed by 2 cold rinses to make sure all the soap gets out.

I hang dry all of our covers, wetbags, and any velcro AIOs. The rest gets thrown into the dryer with a few dryer balls. On nice, warm, sunny days, I hang everything outside to dry. The sun is fantastic at getting rid of stains and bacteria! The reason I do not dry the covers, wetbags, and velcro in the dryer is because the heat from the dryer can cause the PUL/TPU on the wetbags and covers to wear out faster and the dryer can also cause the velcro to pill up and catch a lot of lint which makes it not as sticky.

While everything is drying, I turn the hot water heater up a bit.

OMG! Please ignore the hideous state of my water heater!

After everything in the dryer is dry, we're ready to begin stripping. I set the water level to the highest level and put everything from the dryer (except the dryer balls ;) ) back in the washer. I leave the covers and wetbags out, but AIOs go back in the washer too.

I start with a HOT, HOT wash and add 1tsp of original blue Dawn dishsoap. A tsp goes a long way and is plenty for what we are trying to do. Sometimes I will even add a pot of boiling water from the stove to my washing machine if I feel like more water needs to be added.

The Dawn helps to get rid of any oils that may be on the diapers. ***If your washing machine is still under warranty, some washing machine manufacturers state that using Dawn in the washing machine will void their warranty, so you may want to research that before using this method.

After the hot wash with Dawn, I do a cold soak with Bi-O-Kleen Bac Out (to get rid of the ammonia stinkies and stains.)

I rinse, rinse, rinse the diapers in a cold rinse until there are no more suds. If you use Bac Out, some babies sensitive skin can be irritated by the ingredients it contains, so you will want to rinse several times to make sure they don't contain any residue. You will be able to tell if your diapers are rinsed thoroughly enough if you do not notice any sudsy bubbles when you open the washer in mid rinse. These diapers are not rinsed enough:

See the sudsy bubbles and notice the water isn't clear.

Still not rinsed enough:

Even though, there aren't suds, there's still residue in the water.

Finally! (It took about 7-8 rinses before I saw crystal clear water.) These diapers are rinsed enough and ready to go into the dryer after this cycle:

Dry as normal. I like to toss dryer balls in with my diapers just to fluff them up a bit and keep the static low.

I've also found this blog to be very helpful in finding stripping solutions. I'd love to hear any other tips on stripping cloth diapers!

Tuesday Morning Quickie...

I have not forgotten about my blogging resolution, but this has to be a quickie since I have a puking baby and I'm still playing catch-up from our trip.

Highlights from our trip:

Survived 4 hour plane trip with 13 month old.

Took scary gondola to top of Crystal mountain.

Ate at yummy restaurant on mountain top.

Saw beautiful view of Mt. Rainier.

Then had to take scary gondola back down the mountain. AAAAHHHH!!!!

Turned into a brunette.

Went to the beach.

Had awesome pre-dinner dance parties.

Bubble baths in the BIG tub.

Came back home with a sick boy fighting a case of Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease. Poor guy. We spent a few hours late last night at the ER. Hoping this goes away soon! But we had a fantastic time in Washington!

Oh, happy day!

It was such a beautiful day today, so Kellan and I walked to the park to feed the ducks! At first there were just a few...


But they told their friends...


Kellan didn't quite understand the concept of feeding the ducks, so he ate the bread too.


I think he had fun anyway, though he did start getting angry that the ducks were getting more bread than he was towards the end.


We played on the swings for awhile afterwards and then walked home so that we could eat lunch and hang out with baby Liam and Chase.


The boys played in the pool for a while. Well, Chase and Kellan did. Liam was content to watch from the sidelines and play with his feet. And practice standing.







Such a fun day! Mama is tired, but up late packing for our trip tomorrow. Washington, here we come!

Fluffy Friday!

Ok, yes this is posted on Saturday, but it was Fluffy Friday! Yesterday, I we received both Kellan's custom Dr. Seuss diaper from The Giving Tree and his Crawler Covers from Etsy! We had a rough day yesterday (Kellan's fighting a double ear infection), so this was a nice surprise.

I am prepping this diaper like a mad woman so that he can wear it ASAP! I've been wanting a custom from The Giving Tree forever. The Giving Tree is a WAHM shop on Hyena Cart and the owner, Jessica, makes amazing diapers! She has some of the cutest prints around and does a fabulous job on them. She is a former NICU nurse and part of the proceeds from each diaper she sells goes to support The Children's Miracle Network.

I have been on the fence about baby legs for a boy. I love, love, love them on little girls, but boys I wasn't sold on. And then I discovered Crawler Covers thanks to someone mentioning them on one of my parenting forums. They are too cute and I LOVE how they look on Kellan! I don't think they look girly at all, though my dad wasn't a fan when he saw them. I also love that they fit from newborn through 8 years old. (Though, I'm betting they'd be pretty big on a newborn.) It's so hard to find cute accessories and things for boys, so I'm always thrilled when I finally find something fun!

APRIL FOOL'S!

I just finished putting together Chase's April Fool's joke for tomorrow. He is spending the night tonight and is SO excited about tomorrow being April Fool's, so I had to do something! Now I wish I had taken pictures of it, but oh well...

He takes a morning snack to school every day, usually either these Keebler Bug Bites (little graham crackers), Scooby Snacks, or a Rice Krispy treat. I opened up a bag of Scooby Snacks on the seam, poured them into a ziploc, and then rinsed out and dried the Scooby Snacks bag, filled it with colored Goldfish then resealed it on the seam with a glue stick, so it looks like it's never been opened.

Then I opened a bag of Doritos on the seam and dumped the chips into a Ziploc, rinsed and dried that bag and put the Scooby Snacks bag w/the Goldfish inside it. In the Doritos bag, there is a big note that says "APRIL FOOL'S! Have a great day! We love you! Love, Jim, Erin, and Kellan" stuck to the Scooby Snacks bag and inside the Scooby Snacks bag with the Goldfish, I slipped another note that says "APRIL FOOL'S AGAIN!" He's going to freak out, LOL.

What a week!

What a week! Tuesday I went in to the office for my weekly meeting and we were told that our largest client hasn’t renewed their contract. If they don’t renew by the end of the month, I’ll most likely be laid off. Not. Good. News. I was given the option to take my vacation now and return to work at the end of the month to see if I still have a job, or I could take a severance package and try to find other employment. I chose to stay, but I am scared. I’m on “vacation” until March 28 and then we’ll see what happens… Thursday was of course, St. Patrick’s Day, which is equivalent to Thanksgiving in my family. Every year my mom makes a St. Patrick’s Day feast of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. It is my FAVORITE meal of the year, hands down. Kellan got to experience St. Patrick’s Day for the first time this year!

He LOVED it!

Little feet, always crossed.

Liam didn’t get any yummy food, but he rocked his green. Oh, and my boy thinks he can walk. He is sure of it.

He doesn’t crawl and won’t entertain the idea of even trying. He just wants me to stand him next to the couch where he will cruise by himself for a bit until he either loses his balance and falls or else turns and takes off as if he’s been walking his whole life (which also ends in falling.) He then demands to be put back into a standing position and I oblige because he is so proud of himself for taking steps like a big boy.

And I am proud of my big boy.

Side note: I finally tried the back carry in the Boba. Love. It.

My dad and Julie came in to visit for the weekend and see Kellan. They haven't seen him since he was three months old, so it was good to visit with them again. Kellan had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa! Kellan LOVES animals, so we thought a zoo trip would be fun.

He slept through the first half, but woke up in time for the lions.

And the monkeys. He LOVED the monkeys.

We also drove out to Waterloo, Illinois to my great grandparents’ old farm. The new owner was nice enough to let us take a few pictures. I LOVED going to the farm as a kid and I was happy to get some photos of Kellan on the farm. This is the house my great grandfather was born in in 1905. It is still standing on their old farm, though the porch is gone now and it’s in considerably worse shape than I remember. I couldn’t believe it was still there.

I used to love playing with the cistern when I was little.

Here is Kellan’s version of American Gothic.

On the way out, we stopped by St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tipton where my grandmother and my great grandparents are buried. I miss them very much. Especially my grandmother. She was gone too soon. We’re headed for Indiana tomorrow to visit my mom’s side of the family. Better get packing!