Did your diapers come out of the wash stained?
Fear not! Stained diapers are not an indication that your wash routine is not working nor that you need to change detergents (see 'Are My Diapers Clean?' note below). In short, some baby's poop stains and some does not. From everything I have read it has to do with your diet (if you are breastfeeding) or baby's diet, yet I personally have never found a correlation between my daughter's diet and her stained diapers.
How To Brilliantly Clean Stained Diapers
First, a question - do you do a cold wash without detergent to start your wash routine? A cold wash will help remove all the nasties and help prevent the hot wash from setting stains. If you are already doing a cold wash, then you are doing everything in your wash routine that you need.
The way to clean your stained diapers is the most natural option ever - the sun!
Simply lay any wet (wet as in moistened, not 'wet' as in 'pee') diapers in the sun and this brilliant action hero will naturally bleach all of the stains.
Some tips
- No need to sun immediately after your wash routine - anytime you are ready to sun you can simply wet any stained spots and lay the diaper in the sun.
- It is not necessary to wet the entire diaper, just any areas that have stains.
- If the stain is especially stubborn and does not come out after a day in the sun.
- Try adding lemon juice (think back to middle school and squeezing lemons on you hair).
- Wet the diaper in the sink, then squirt some lemon juice on the stains (can be either fresh or bottled lemon juice).
- Important note - you will need to relaunder the diaper after using lemon juice to ensure the acidity stays off baby's bottom.
- Full sun is not necessary for sunning - rather - the UV rays will also do the job.
- You do not need an outdoor clothes line to sun - just get creative with your sunning spots! A deck's floor, your apartment's windowsills or a cleverly-parked-car's dashboard are all great spots to catch some rays.
- Happy Sunning!
Are My Diapers Clean?
If your diapers smell clean (both out of the dryer* and after baby wets**) then your diapers are just that - clean.
*If your diapers smell dirty when they come out of the dryer, then they are that - dirty. You will need to increase the amount of detergent you use to fix this.
**If your diapers smell like ammonia after baby pees, then you have a detergent buildup problem. You will need to strip the diapers.
