Tarra Yvette

Now we are getting into some advanced cloth diapering stuff, haha. If you’re new to reading here or just looking for the beginning stuff, please check out the basic cloth diaper washing post. And the other cloth diapering made easy posts 😊.

One common problem with cloth diapers is stink. If you’re following a good wash routine, things should be fine. However, one of the main causes of stink is mineral buildup.

How does that happen? Well, there are minerals in tap water and just how much depends on your location. For example, here in eastern Kentucky we have hard water. That means our water has a high amount of minerals in it.

Typically this doesn’t cause a problem, but with diapers (and hair, honestly but that’s for another day 😂 ) it can.

To find out if you have hard water you can check your water company’s website OR take a sample to a local pet store. They will check for free.

If you have hard water (or soft water) it’s not the end of the world. To avoid ever having a stink issue you’ll just add a water softener to your wash. Calgon and Borax are commonly used softeners. Some powdered detergents have a built in water softener, too. Also avoid extra rinses during your wash routine. (And if you have soft water, you will need extra rinses).

If by chance you have hard water but didn’t know and end up with stinky diapers – you’ll need to strip them to get the stink off. You can do this by soaking in hot water with a stripping solution, or washing with a special stripping detergent.

The easiest way is to grab some ready made stripping product, like Grovia Mighty Bubbles or RLR, and follow the instructions.

Stripping/sanitizing is also recommended if you purchase preloved (used) diapers.

Stripping is not recommended too often. It shouldn’t be done more than once every 6-8 weeks, and most people only do as needed.

And that’s that! See, easy – right?