Hellobee Boards

We did dawn and bleach on our BG and flips and it seemed to work but now the smell is back (no leaking issues). I am going to do it again and with multiple rinses.

I used these instructions from a forum that said it was straight from cotton babies: Please apply the following recommendations for stripping of specific issues. Be aware, depending on the severity of the problem, you may need to repeat the procedure a number of times.

FOR LEAKING ISSUES:

1. Wash once in hot water with Dawn liquid dish detergent in the original blue formula (yes, it must be Dawn). Use one tablespoon for regular top loaders and one teaspoon for high efficiency machines.

2. Do two additional hot water washes with no detergent, just clear water.

FOR SMELL ISSUES:

1. Wash inserts once in hot water with Dawn liquid dish detergent in the original blue formula (yes, it must be Dawn). Use one teaspoon for high efficiency machines or one tablespoon with a regular machine. Use ¾ cup of chlorine bleach for a top loader and ½ cup for a high efficiency machine.

2. Do two additional hot water washes with no detergent, just clear water.

3. Normally, covers do not hold odors as inserts can, however, you may strip them using the instructions that apply for leaking issues. (See above.)

As for rash creams, you may use the type of cream that you feel is necessary, or one that your doctor recommends. You will need to use a piece of fabric (or bumGenius Stay-Dry liner if you want to maintain the same stay-dry effect for your baby) between your baby's bottom and the diaper to prevent the cream from transferring onto the diapers. After use, wash the liners separately to avoid the oils in the creams or lotions from transferring to the diapers through the wash cycle. We have found that the bumGenius Bottom Cleaner works well for bottom cleaning during a diaper change and does not leave a residue in the diaper that will block absorbency. We do not recommend cornstarch or baby powder.

@artbee: I use the blue Dawn, but when we had really bad build up from RockinGreen I had to soak the diapers in plastic tubs of warm water overnight in the garage with a little blue Dawn mixed in. The next morning I brushed all non-PUL parts of the diaper with one of those soft nail brushes to remove excess residue that didn't dissolve off on it's own. Then we rinsed, rinsed, rinsed! It was labor intensive and the neighbors probably thought I was crazy, but it was the best method for us! The other way I've done it is just soaking and washing with blue Dawn in the laundry machine, but it doesn't do as good of a job as the soak and scrub method.

I do lots of rinses. One thing I learned was to find a high spin rinse cycle to make sure as much was wrung out as possible. You may want to try sunning them too. The sun is very powerful and then strip them.

@artbee: Just thought I'd pop in & say that it took SEVEN cycles (some on hot/cold & a few just cold) to get our dipes to run clear yesterday!