DIY Laundry Pretreater

Whether you're using a DIY Detergent or a store bought detergent, you're going to need a pretreater. With three kids, it seems like I'm always getting these little oily spots on my clothes that seem to not come out in a normal wash. This mix works well on stains and oily/greasy spots too!

This pretreater is affordable and easy to make. I hope you love it as much as I do. You'll need some DIY detergent, a bar of Fels Naptha soap (I highty recommend this bar for it's stain fighting abilities), a bottle and/or spray bottle and hot water.

Cloth Diaper Detergent : How-To

If you've been around here long, I'm sure that you've come across my DIY Cloth Diaper Detergent at one point or another.  You might use it, or perhaps you've toyed with the idea of making it, but thought it would be too much work.  Have no fear, it's both affordable and easy to make!




This method of mixing can be applied to the Laundry Detergent Recipe as well.

Fabric Softeners: What you should know.

Dryer sheets and conventional fabric softeners are not only expensive, they aren't good for the environment or you.

Traditional dryer sheets contain all sorts of chemicals.  The first thing you might notice is their scent.  They are chock full of synthetic fragrances (phthalates!).  Phthalates are hormone disruptors found as components of synthetic fragrances. They are linked to issues with obesity, reproductive development and more.

Next you might notice their waxy sheen.  Did you know that most sheets use animal fat (tallow) to give your clothes that extra softness?  There's just nothing like animal fat on freshly cleaned clothes... right?

If that's not enough, there's still a lot more.  When you think of fabric softeners it obviously occurs to you that it is in contact with the skin, but keep in mind that most, if not all, of these chemicals have serious side effects when inhaled.  To me, it only makes sense that if it's in my dryer being heated up and evaporated off into my home (and around it), there is a risk of inhalation.  If I can smell it, I'm inhaling it.

According to the EPA these are just some of the chemicals found in traditional softeners.  You can read more about fabric softeners (and a whole host of other common household items on this PDF release).

alpha-Terpineol: Can cause inflammation of the skin on contact for some people.  Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material.
Benzyl Acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer.  Skin irritant.
Benzyl Alcohol: Skin irritant irritant, respiratory irritant.
Camphor: May cause mild skin, eye or respiratory irritation. Some sources suggest that it is possible that epileptic-like seizures may be caused through exposure.
Chloroform: Carcinogenic.  Causes skin irritation resulting in redness and pain. Removes natural oils. Respiratory irritant. Causes central nervous system effects, including headache, drowsiness, dizziness.  Prolonged exposure may lead to death due to irregular heart beat and kidney and liver disorders.
Ethanol: Can cause central nervous system disorders.
Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA's Hazardous Waste list.  Skin irritant. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. Repeated or prolonged contact with the skin has a defatting effect and may cause dryness, cracking, and possibly dermatitis.
Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system & respiratory disorders.
Pentane: Causes skin irritation, cracking or flaking due to dehydration and defatting action.  Vapors have a mild narcotic effect. Symptoms of overexposure may include drowsiness and irritation of the respiratory passages. Greater exposure may cause unconsciousness and death.

Anyone else noticing that the fabric softeners meant to keep our clothes soft are seriously damaging and drying out our skin?!

So, what can you use?

Vinegar
You can pick up gallons of this stuff for a couple dollars.  Use about a 1/4 cup per load in your rinse cycle. I like to use a Downy ball (you can find these for a couple dollars at your local store). I fill it about half full and toss it in with my load. If your machine has a compartment for softener, you can put it in there.

This will not leave your clothes smelling like vinegar! I was hesitant to try it at first because I thought it would. So, I tried it out on a load of my husband's work laundry. I'm terrible, I know.  But it worked, no smell and everything was softer! For fun scents, you can add essential oils to your vinegar.

Dryer Balls
I love dryer balls.  I use four of the Nellie's Dryer Balls (2 standard, 2 pvc free) and I just adore them.  My clothes dry faster, my diapers (even all of my all-in-ones) dry in a single cycle and everything gets so soft. It even helps with wrinkles.

Wool

Nellie's Dryer Balls
(I love these!)

Nellie's PVC Dryer Balls

(love these too)

Eco-friendly Branded options
I'm sure there are more options out there, but here are just a few.

Ecover
Seventh Generation Liquid  - we have used this and it works great
Seventh Generation Dryer Sheets
Method Liquid
Method Dryer Sheets - we have used these and like them a lot
Mrs. Meyers Dryer Sheets
Mrs. Meyers Liquid

Cleaning Up Stained Kids' Clothes

Each time I grab clothes for our youngest from storage I am faced with stains.  I put clothes away washed and clean, but they come out with these awful, yellowed stains.   They are protein stains that develop from proteins left in the fibers from drool and other things.  I use to think that there was no saving them.  I tried washing every which way and nothing worked.  So when our youngest was due and I was faced with a tub of stained newborn clothes, I put my cloth diaper knowledge to work.  I used the sun!

It worked beautifully!  All of our baby clothes were saved and it was easy.  I have since used this on just about any, and all, natural stains with great success.  Here's what I do:

I have a wash tub in my laundry area, so I fill it about half full of hot water and added 2 or 3 massive scoops of Oxiclean. I mean the big green scoop that it comes with. I put on my rubber gloves and dissolve the Oxiclean in the water. I then add every piece of stained clothing, being sure to get each saturated. My objective is not to have it be a big pool of water, but just enough to get everything sopping and just a little left over (I want that Oxiclean super concentrated!).

You could do this in your tub or even in the washing machine - which would be ideal.

I let it all soak overnight.  If I did this in the wash tub, I would transfer the laundry to the washing machine with the help of a bucket.  I fill the machine as usual - using warm water and then add a normal amount of detergent.  Do a normal wash cycle, but do not dry in the dryer!

Then, here comes the rest of the magic. I hung them all out to dry in the sunshine.

Voila! Every stain was gone. They all looked like new! I couldn't believe it. Some of the stains were awful too. I had a couple of outfits that were headed for the trash, but I thought I'd toss them in and give them a chance. They look like new too. Wow, just wow.

Thank you oxygen action and sunshine, you have saved me, yet again :)

This is great for getting clothes ready for donating or yard sales, for salvaging stained family favorites and more.

You've got to try this diaper detergent!

I have talked about Thirsties in the past here and here.

I just love this company and love their products. The links above are to two of their diapering products and they are really great, they never leak and well, I just love them. Please take a moment to read more about them, their commitment to our planet, and how they choose to operate. You can find that here.

I was given the chance to try out their new cloth diaper detergent combo, pre-wash and super wash. I am not use to using a commercial detergent, but I love their other products, and the description of these seemed great. I thought I would give it a shot :)

Thirsties has lots of great products, you can even request a catalog by going here :)

pre-wash
Completely non-toxic solution
100% biodegradable
Custom formulated by a chemist specifically for use in pre-washing diapers
Designed to help loosen and rinse away waste and bacteria
Antimicrobial ingredient purifies naturally
Washes completely clean; will not leave residue
Highly concentrated to reduce costs and carbon output
HE Safe
Made in the USA

super wash
Completely non-toxic solution
100% biodegradable
Odorless & colorless
Custom formulated by a chemist specifically for use in washing cloth diapers
Probiotic solution introduces good bacteria
Reduces odor
Helps prevent diaper rash
Effectively brightens and whitens without harmful additives
Washes completely clean; will not leave residue
Highly concentrated to reduce costs and carbon output
HE Safe
Made in the USA

I have not been disappointed :) This two part system really does the trick. I've been using it for about a month and a half now. To anyone with 1 child, this is like 2-3 months (I do a lot of laundry for my girls.)

What I really like about this system is that it's so easy. Below, you see the two cap system. The cap on the left is the one you open. It goes to a little reservoir that holds the amount of liquid (with measuring marks) that you squeeze into it. It reminds me of the fluoride and mouthwash containers :) It's so easy. Lid off, squeeze, pour, lid on. That's its. I can easily do it with my daughter in one arm. I like that :)
What's in it?
Well, I'm not exactly sure. I do know that the pre-wash conatains honey and lemon juice (per the allergy warning on the back of the bottle.)

As for the other ingredients, their descriptions say that they are non-toxic, 100% biodegradable and they get rid of bad bacteria/introduce good. If I had any memory of my chemistry courses in college, perhaps I could speculate :D

I can tell you that I haven't had any build up, sensitivity or stink issues.

What else do I like?
I love how it works overall. I have no staining, and I haven't been able to sun my diapers in months!

I've mentioned how easy it is. Love that.

It also seems to last forever. I've done probably 2 dozen or more loads with this stuff and I'm barely 1/3 of the way into my bottles. That's great.

What don't I like?
I wish my washing machine was bigger :D Seriously, I have so much to do around here each day that I often forget to do things and if I forget to wash my diapers when the pail is full, my load becomes too large and things just don't wash as well when it's too full.

Nothing wrong with the detergent, I guess I wish they could send me laundry fairy. I'll see what I can do ;)

I am not fond of plastic bottles. BUT, I do understand them and I do recycle them. I know in some areas recycling plastics is iffy, but I do know that all of ours are used locally by a company, so that does make me feel better about the plastics that seems to accumulate around here, despite our best efforts to reduce it.

----Update! We have a winner!----
The giveaway portion is over :) Thank you to everyone that participated!

Congratulations to Angela! I love this detergent and I hope you do too!

Oh and have I mentioned that you have the chance to try this too??!

Here's how to enter to win!
Please leave a separate comment for each entry in order to have it counted.

This entry is mandatory! If you do not do this, your other entries will not count!
Please post here telling me another Thirsties product that you would like to try. Include your email address (if it's not on your profile) and the words "Live Green" somewhere in your comment.

Want more entries?

*Follow us and tweet this giveaway! Please tweet, "Learn about and *win* Thirsties kickin' detergent combo from @EFFblog http://bit.ly/1jtGb1 #clothdiapers" Leave a comment with a link to your status. Tweet daily for more entries!

*Follow our blog and post letting me know that you are :) (right side bar)

*Join our new email newsletter (right sidebar) for notices on special events coming up for the blog.

*Put the EFF Blog Button on your blog sidebar or web page. Leave a link!

*Become a fan of the EFF blog on Facebook, leave a comment.

*Become a fan of Thirsties on facebook, leave a comment.

*Post about this giveaway on your blog or other social media. Leave a comment with a link.

and as always, Good Luck and Enjoy!

US Only. Giveaway ends Jaurary 28th. I'll use random.org to pick a winner. I will email the winner. If I do not hear back within 48 hours a new winner will be picked.

FCC Disclaimer: I was provided the product to review for the giveaway (Thank you Thirsties!). No money or other perks were given. All reviews are my own and honest opinions. For more information about this blog please look here. For giveaway guidelines please look here.

Get Stains OUT! of Your Diapers!

So, you use cloth, Congrats!

Aaaaand you hate stains. You're in luck!

There is a crazy simple solution :)

The sun!

Wash and dry your diapers as usual. (Need help with that? Try these tips!)

Line dry your diapers. This works in cold weather (I wouldn't do it in freezing weather) and even cloudy days. Sunny days will work best, and warm days will help dry your diapers best of course, but the sun will bleach out the stains! It is truly amazing.

When you're all done (or the day is), bring them indoors. If they aren't dry, toss them in the dryer or let them air dry (I would ONLY do this if they were like the most itty bitty bit of damp.)

Enjoy your stain free diapers!

This is March in Ohio!

Don't have a clothesline? I use a retractable version mounted to our deck and it hooks onto our garage.

No place for even a retractable? No problem!

You can still sun through a window. I've done this before through a side window and it did work, not as fast, but it did work. I would imagine a larger window with more direct sunlight would work great. Try putting your diapers on a rack like this in front of the window.
This method of "sunning" also works great on clothing stains from foods and other miscellaneous things.

See here about cleaning up stained kids clothes (and anything else for that matter).

Washing Cloth Diapers

This is for typical washing.

If you need to strip your diapers, try this.
If you need to prep your diapers, try this.
If you have ammonia issues with your diapers, try this.

Storing Dirty Diapers
Most people use a plain old trash can with lid. It's cheap and very effective. Some people use a pail liner or pillow case as a 'bag'.

This is a dry pail. Don't fill with water, there is no need.

What to do with Solids
Exclusively breastfed poop needs nothing. Just toss it in the wash. It will simply wash away.

Everything else should be sprayed, plopped or scraped into the toilet and flushed away. The diaper can then be put into the pail or wash.
You may choose to use a flushable liner for easier removal.

Methods of Washing
Here are the top methods. They are not the only way, but simply the most tried and used (as I have found).

Method #1
Cold Wash/Cold Rinse Cycle with Detergent
Hot Wash/Cold Rinse Cycle with Detergent
Dry (machine medium heat or clothes line/rack)

Method #2
Cold Soak/Rinse
Hot Wash/Cold Rinse Cycle with Detergent
Dry (machine medium heat or clothes line/rack)

With any of these methods an extra wash cycle or rinse can be thrown in for an extra dirty load of diapers.
Vinegar can also be added to any cycle, or (most commonly) the last wash/rinse in a downy ball or the softener reservoir.

Drying
You can use the dryer if you like. Use a medium heat at the most. You don't want to damage the PUL (covers, pockets, all-in-ones)

You may also line dry your diapers. This has the added benefit of the sun's stain removal powers :) Seriously. It's amazing what stains the sun can get out.

What type of detergent can you use?
You can make your own. (We have a recipe on this blog.) or purchase a detergent.

There are several brands. I'm sure I will miss some. Just because a detergent is listed here does not mean that I personally support it! I have not had the chance to try these, as I have always made my own. Detergent can be different from one household to the next. Baby's skin sensitivity, water hardness, wash routine and other things can play a factor in effectiveness.

Okay, onto brands you can buy :)

Allens Naturally Laundry Detergent - http://www.allensnaturally.com/
BumGenius Diaper Detergent - http://www.cottonbabies.com
Charlie's Soap - http://www.charliesoap.com/
Country Save - http://www.countrysave.com/
Crunchy Clean - http://crunchyclean.com/
Nellie's - http://www.nelliesallnatural.com/
Planet - http://www.planetinc.com
Rockin' Green - http://www.rockingreensoap.com/
Seventh Generation - http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

Laundry Detergent

I've posted my recipe for Cloth Diaper Detergent, but never considered to post the version for laundry detergent. Silly me :)

They are basically the same, except that the regular detergent has soap in it :)


What soaps can you use?

From my understanding, most any bar soap will do. I think most people try to choose something that's easy on the skin.

Fels Naptha (Love this stuff)
Ivory (I think you can even find flakes of this, which would be handy)
Zote
Kirk's Castile
etc.

So what's the recipe?

Basically it's this:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1/2 cup of oxiclean
1 bar of soap, finely grated

There are tricks to grating it. The best one I've heard is to chop it up (food processor can help here), lay it out on some cookie sheets to dry for a day or so, and then chop it up again (again, food processor, big help!) Be careful not to push your processor too hard (don't rush it!).

Now, I said that the above recipe is basically the recipe. I don't like leftovers and I don't like having to do things over and over again, so I like to make large batches. It's a little more work at the time, but a lot less work over time :D

Here's the full recipe:
3 Boxes Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (55 oz each)
2 Boxes 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz each)
1 Large Tub OxiClean (96 oz)
24 Bars of Soap, finely grated

Depending on what soap you get and how you buy it (bulk, discount store, etc.) you can make a full batch of this for around $60 and it will last a VERY long time.

I've found that getting large buckets to mix this up makes it SUPER easy! Layer all of your ingredients into one (or more) buckets. Pour from one bucket to the next, and repeat until it's mixed to your satisfaction. That's it!

This recipe has a higher yield than the CD detergent, so yo may need more than 2 buckets to mix back and forth.

How do I use it?

I liked to use 2 tablespoons per load of laundry. My husband has a fairly dirty job and I have messy kids *cough*daughter*cough*

If I'm doing a cold wash, I have a jar that I keep close by that I can put my scoops into, add some hot water and help dissolve it a little before throwing it in the wash. It will work without doing that, but I like to.

**I'd like to make a note about the borax used in this recipe.  A recent article by EWG cautions the use of borax for cleaning in the home noting that toddlers and young children face special risks from hand-to-mouth transfer of carpet or crack and crevice, dust or spray borax treatments. I would recommend not using borax as a general home cleaner - any cleaner (aside from pure water) used for these purposes will leave a residue.  I feel comfortable using the minuscule amount in the detergent. It is not used on open surfaces and is washed out during the rinse cycle.


You can read a bit more on this debate here - there are some great points of view in the comments.

Cloth Diaper Detergent

I have been using this since October 2008 with no issues. I've actually received compliments on used diapers that I have sold smelling so good and asking what I used :)

If you're looking for the clothing version of this, look here.

Here's what I do. It's cheap and I love it :)

More or less, It's: (this is not exact, since I use the larger recipe below)
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1/2 cup of oxiclean

BUT.... I don't like having misc. leftovers, so I make up a batch... like this :)
It should cost $30, max.

3 Boxes Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (55 oz each)
2 Boxes 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz each)
1 Large Tub OxiClean (96 oz)

Yes, it's a lot, but it's super cheap to make, so no biggie :) It just lasts forever. Or you can share :)

**I'd like to make a note about the borax used in this recipe.  A recent article by EWG cautions the use of borax for cleaning in the home noting that toddlers and young children face special risks from hand-to-mouth transfer of carpet or crack and crevice, dust or spray borax treatments. I would recommend not using borax as a general home cleaner - any cleaner (aside from pure water) used for these purposes will leave a residue.  I feel comfortable using the minuscule amount in the detergent. It is not used on open surfaces and is washed out during the rinse cycle.

You can read a bit more on this debate here - there are some great points of view in the comments.

**I see a lot of people asking where to purchase these supplies.  If you are unable to find them locally (I've had great luck at our grocery store and others at hardware stores.) you can purchase everything to make this on Alice.com at reasonable prices and that includes free shipping.  They currently do not carry the 96 oz Oxiclean, so you would want to purchase two of the 56 oz that they offer.

This is my current wash routine:
I love this routine.  My diapers have no smell and are so fresh.  I have also been using an open pail (pail w/ no lid) and that seems to make such a huge difference when it comes to ammonia lingering.


Warm wash with cold rinse w/ 1 tablespoon of detergent
Hot (or warm) wash with cold rinse w/ 1 tablespoon of detergent

I have also done this in the past with good results:
Cold wash/rinse w/ 1 tablespoon of detergent
Hot wash/rinse w/ 1 tablespoon of detergent

If you find that your diapers are not coming clean (smell dirty, strong ammonia, etc.)  Try using more detergent and or an extra wash cycle.