Stripping Cloth Diapers

Yup, I am one of those crazy cloth diapering moms. I use bumgenius and sometimes prefolds with covers. All a sudden Helen started getting rashes with the cloth diapers. This never happened before. Then when she would soil the diaper, it would smell like ammonia right away. So I knew it was time to do what is called, "stripping" cloth diapers. Since I put a status update about it on my facebook, and had a response and having some cloth diapering friends, I thought I make a post a how to!

Usually you want to strip your diaper every three to four months. or as needed.

Why you might want to strip your cloth diapers.

• They are starting to cause unexplained rash on your child.
• They smell even after you have washed them.
• They smell like ammonia after your baby have soiled them.
• There is a detergent build up, or diaper cream build up.
• Your cloth diapers might be leaking now and you can't figure out why. 
• If you have hard water you may get mineral build up.
• Sometimes using too much detergent or not enough during washes. 

Here is how I striped my cloth diapers.

• I made sure they were washed first. 
• Then I did another complete wash cycle on HOT water with  no detergent.( I turned up our water heater for this)
• Once they were washed (they do not have to be dry) rinse them on hot water over and over until you see no more bubbles on top. 
• Air dry them, or dry them on low heat.
• Sunning them also will help disinfect.

I think of Stripping cloth diapers as a fresh start.