Speaking of Bug, she's starting to walk!!! In spurts, but more steps get added to those spurts daily. She is also still trying to cut her top left lateral, and hasn't been sleeping well.
Got some major yard selling and grocery shopping to do today.
But how about some fluffy talk? I made my cloth diaper detergent and have used it twice now, so glad to say that so far it appears to be working. I know I should probably do a cloth diaper info post first, but I will need more time to do that, and perhaps a little more experience, but I will post it and refer back to this post.
So, making your own detergent? great! it's so much cheaper. I'm still using up what's left of my (couponed) store bought detergent, so I haven't yet made/perfected a main laundry detergent, but here's my cloth diaper detergent:
Ingredients:
2 cups of Sun Oxygen cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda
10-15 drops tea tree oil
Grate the soap finely,
I use 2, I have hard well water, with this routine:
1 cold soak/prewash
1 warm normal wash with detergent
1 cold rinse.
About once a week I add a cup of vinegar to the cold rinse, followed by one last rinse. It helps keep away any kind of buildup and keeps the diapers soft, and helps balance the pH with the baking soda in the detergent. You can add the vinegar to every wash, I just do once a week though.
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Now, there are many questions and opinions out there about homemade detergents and cloth diapers. Of course I have mine, but I must stress that this is one of those things that is VERY individual based. So many factors play into washing your diapers.
1. Your water. Is is hard, soft, normal, city, well, acidic, alkaline. These things affect the effectiveness of your detergent. Hard water has a tendency to "use up" detergent, as the detergent tries to battle and clean the minerals in the water, not leaving much left to clean the contents in the washer, leading to use of more detergent. A water softener (not laundry softener) can be used such as Calgon, to battle this, so can Borax. See below for my thoughts on borax.
2. Your washer. This refers to top or front load. I have a top load, it agitates well, and I can use maximum water level with no issue. More agitation, more water, more clean. I have read that front load washers have sensors in them that automatically set the water level. I think sometimes this can be tricked. You can add water to your washer by hand, or I know some women who put water in their pail to really soak the diapers, making them heavier to trick the washer into using more water.
3. Your preferences. Lots of things that work for one family, do not work at all for another.
I know you may be wondering why Borax is not including in my detergent, when it is indeed part of many homemade detergents, or why I use bar soap, if you have read this can cause build up and repelling in your diapers, or if you can use Oxi-clean instead of Sun Oxygen. Borax is a little harsh. Though great for cleaning and water softening, you may want to consider the long term damage it could cause to the PUL and elastic of your diapers. Or that some babies have a reaction to the harshness of it. Same with Oxi-clean. Sun oxygen tends to be not only cheaper, but a little more gentler on clothes and skin. I want my diapers to last as long as I can get them to, being that I'm about to diaper 2 under 2, so I've got at least 3 years of diapering ahead of me, I'd hate to have to re-stash (for my budget's sake, not necessarily my own sake, I love fluff shopping) so I try to avoid anything that could possibly deteriorate the materials, such as Borax and heat drying (the heat can damage elastic especially, so I line/air dry all my covers and pockets)
Now the bar soap... I tried a detergent without the castille soap. It didn't clean well. At. All. I have researched that it can cause buildup, but most people's experience is that it doesn't. If it does, a simple strip here and there, to me, is worth it. Like I've said, only used it once, so I have no experience with or without build up. I should know in a few months or so. That is the only harm that can be done by castille soap. Some people use fels-naptha as well. It can cause reactions to sensitive skinned babes, which I have, so I avoided it completely.
I also hear that many diaper brands warn against using baking soda. I call balongna. I think this is one of those things to get you to spend money on the cloth diaper specific detergents that are few and far between without baking soda. I'm really not sure how baking soda of all things can harm any kind of fabric...
Now the tea tree oil, FIY, is fabulous. It doesn't take much, it's a strong essential oil, can find a big bottle of it at Wal-mart or Publix I'm sure. It is a natural disinfectant, and I personally like the way it makes my detergent smell.
I found that while researching and making my own decisions on homemade diaper detergent, it is trial and error. If you use this recipe and it does not work for you, do not give up. Find another recipe, or tweak it. A lady on another forum sent me a 3 load sample of what she uses. It worked after some tweaking. So see, it's easy to find a base to start with, but figure out what works for you. I'm sure that there is a combination out there somewhere that fits. Shoot, it may be Borax, washing soda, and fels-naptha for all we know.
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