Hellobee Boards

Why do you feel you need to strip your diapers? I have heard a lot of people that have never had to strip their diapers. Unless you are having leaks/repelling problems, you should be fine without stripping.

However, to answer your question, there are several ways you can strip diapers. For our pocket diapers and repelling issues we've run up against, I've found the most effective way is this: fill a bathtub about 1/3 to 1/2 way with hot (very hot) water. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of bleach (not everyone agrees with this as it can be hard on the elastic) or bac-out and 1 tbsp. of original blue dawn dishwashing liquid. Stir and dump in the pockets. I let them sit for about 30-45 minutes (mostly so the water cools down enough) and then take a fingernail brush or other medium bristled brush and scrub each individual fleece lining. Sometimes I put just a tiny drop of dawn on the fleece itself and scrub that in. I place each scrubbed diaper in a 5-gal bucket so I can keep the scrubbed diapers separate from the unscrubbed diapers. Once done scrubbing, I drain the tub and rinse it free of soap suds and then refill it and dump the diapers back in the hot water and swirl and swish so they all get a good rinsing. Then I take them all to the washing machine and rinse them again just for good measure (we had detergent build up bad until we switched to Tiny Bubbles). Sometimes you might want to do two quick rinses if you still see suds in the washer during the rinse. Then dry like normal.

For the inserts I've boiled mine on the stove in a big soup pot full of water. usually it is just the fleece that I've had repelling issues on, not the microfiber or bamboo insert so just stripping the pocket covers works most of the time.

I haven't had to strip in the last 6 months, which I am so thankful for.

@lovelife: As far as smell, typically it is due to ammonia buildup, suggesting you are rinsing enough but can be due to detergent build up, though not quite as often. Before stripping, get to the bottom of what the smell is originating from first. For stains, try sunning your diapers after washing as that will get rid of almost any stain. If you want to prevent a lot of stain issues, before throwing your diapers in your wet bag or pail liner until your next wash, spray them with bac-out and that will help a lot too. To me stripping is more of a last resort. If you don't need to, I wouldn't strip more often than once a year.