Detergents, and water talk.

When you first start cloth diapering you suddenly find that you talk about the strangest things. Poop comes up a lot in conversation. So does your water quality and what detergent you use. As much as we grew up thinking that Dreft was the perfect choice for baby clothes, it is not an option for cloth diapers. Also, if you love that "clean" smell of Tide you might be shocked to know that smelling your detergent means that the clothes are not actually clean! To be more accurate, they are not RINSING clean and some of the detergent is left behind. Eventually, you get a buildup of that detergent which causes the diapers to leak, since "soap scum diapers" can't absorb! That soap scum also will hold icky urine smells, which means that ammonia is still present, and can cause ammonia burns on little bums. In addition, many babies are very sensitive to detergent residue or perfume residue left on diapers and will break out in rashes when left in a diaper washed in the wrong detergents. People see that big scoop and think they need to use that much detergent, but with a quality detergent usually you only need 1 or 2 tablespoons. So picking the right one for you and your family is important! You need no enzymes, brightners, dyes, fabric softeners, and usually no scents. Even then, you sometimes get one like Bi-O-Kleen that causes build up and leaks anyway! A good list of most of the major brands is here. http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

To begin with, you again must look back to that first decision to cloth diaper and remember your reasons. Are you looking for the most economical choice, the easiest to find choice, the one which you can pick up at the store you already go to, the one which is best for the environment? In addition, are you on a well or septic system that needs to be taken into account? What type of system are you using? Prefolds are pretty bomb proof and can be abused much more, but pockets are notorious for build up issues causing repelling and microfiber commonly gets stink issues. Finally, how hard is your water?

Hard water is an extremely common complaint in cloth diapering. Hard water is water with a high mineral content. It is usually calcium and magnesium although iron, aluminium and manganese can also be elevated. You will often see white (or rust if iron is present) rings around your drains. If you live in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, or Kansas you almost certainly have very hard water. Don't despair, according to wikipedia 85% of America has hard water at some level. If you are one of them, all clothes washed will eventually get hard, scratchy, and greyish. According to Hardwater.org that is because insoluble salts are formed when mixing soils to the minerals, and it shortens the lifespan of the fibers by 40%. When you are talking about cloth diapers getting washed every other day that happens much faster, but there are detergents made to combat hard water. Thank goodness, because I want my favourite jeans to outlive their trendiness! I use the detergent for cloth diapers on all the family clothes now.

Okay, so which detergents to choose? Well, we have used several here and have found three that we think work well for us. Which to choose depends on your reasons for cloth diapering. My kids both have really (really really really) sensitive skin and these all passed the test for mine, but each child is different.

For most economical and easiest to find, we picked Planet detergent. If you need it right away, especially if you just ran out, Whole Foods has this detergent. It will cost you more than when you can find it for online, but we don't call it Whole Paycheck for nothing. :) If you order it online from a cloth diapering store that you can buy other stuff from (or enough Planet) to come up with free shipping, this is one of the least expensive options. Cottonbabies.com has it for $5.79. For reference, the one that says 20 loads is about 45 diaper loads for us top loaders. (Actually, I now use 1-2 tablespoons of detergent on my regular loads as well.)

If you are looking for a tried and true, you have Country Save/Bumgenius. We liked Country Save and BumGenius detergent equally well, which makes sense since they are made by the same people. We found Country Save at several local stores, while Bumgenius is only available online in our area. It is neither exciting nor offensive, and Country Save was the one most recommended to us. It is the one that I used with my son 11 years ago as well. Good well tested formula. It is usually going to run you about $12, although here you can get it for $10 with free shipping. http://countrysave.alice.com/?order=best We got about the same number of loads from the BumGenius that says for 66 loads as we did Planet that says for 20 loads. Both boxes came out to around 45 loads for me.

Now, if you are willing to pay just a little bit more for quality, I found a third detergent option. Rockin Green comes in three forms. Hard Rock is for hard water, Classic Rock is for normal water, Soft Rock is for soft water or skin that has sensitivity to the other formulas. I can tell you that with our sensitive skin we still do just fine with Classic Rock and Hard Rock. It'll run you $13.95 for Soft and Classic, or $15.95 for Hard Rock and it is new enough that you may not be able to find it locally. This is, again, 45 loads. At RockinGreenSoap.com you can get free shipping on $75 orders, and many other online retainers have free shipping when you purchase a certain amount. I just throw on detergent when I make other purchases to save on shipping costs. We use Classic Rock for our regular laundry and Hard Rock to do deep cleans periodically. I've got a few videos for "Rockin a Soak" that I'll put up for you to see. Those soaks really get that build up off from other detergents. You can also buy this detergent in sample packs, so even if you get the Classic Rock for wash days, pick up a few samples of Hard Rock for deep soaks. The big draw for many people to this detergent is that they come in scents. Honestly, the scents are nice and I love that my mail and laundry room can smell like watermelons or oranges*, but your laundry should still come out without smell. For me, the scents are the bonus. Come for the scents if you wish, but stay for the amazing clean that your diapers and clothing will get.

(*Edited to put in the newer Rockin Green scents. Edited from "Grape Soda, or the lime and coconut Monkey Snakcs")