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stiff diapers

Katie - posted on 02/22/2009 ( 9 moms have responded )

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i love love LOVE using cloth diapers but they have started getting hard and stiff...does this mean that i'm not cleaning them properly? is there something i can do to soften them up??

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Vilate - posted on 04/28/2009

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My favorite are wool dryer balls!





you got tons of great advice, has any of it helped?

Mylene - posted on 04/27/2009

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I use a magnetic laundry ball in the washer to soften the water in my laundry and that makes a big difference for our clothes (I don't wash diapers though, I use a diaper service). Dryer balls are also great to soften clothes without chemicals... They can be pricey at first but they last pretty much forever. You can also use a tennis ball in your dryer instead (it's a bit noisy though). It might work for diapers as well.

Guinevere - posted on 03/19/2009

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I switched detergents to Charlie's Soap and they've been much softer and come out with no odor.

Malinda - posted on 03/19/2009

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Another thought - what temperature is the water that you're washing them in? If you have an HE Front Loader with a Sanitize cycle, it uses water that is actually too hot for the cotton and tends to stiffen and pill prefolds. My understanding is that the water really shouldn't be (and doesn't need to be) hotter than 125* F.



Otherwise I agree with the vinegar and water softener suggestions (we use Calgon and it works well for us).

Laura - posted on 03/19/2009

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How are you drying them? I have found that my bamboo diapers are stiff if I hang dry them, so to counter that I toss them in the dryer w/a ton of dryer balls for 10 to 15 minutes and they get all silky soft again. If you are using the dryer, are you using dryer balls? They kind of massage the fabrics and help keep them soft.

Joanne - posted on 03/18/2009

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Could be your water supply. If you have hard water, you may need to add something to soften it up. I always do an extra rinse and vinegar and this keeps mine soft.

Danielle - posted on 02/24/2009

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What type of dipe are you using? I found that there were ones I didn't like to use because the material was just stiff & yucky like that. I just quite using those ones (kissaluvs & crickett's, I believe) & kept with monther-ease & bella bottoms. That was also during the summer when I was hanging the dipes out to try, but there were only a couple of brands that I had that issue with.. so I didn't see that as an excuse.

Jennifer - posted on 02/23/2009

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Rinse them an extra time and try drying them in the dryer. Also, I know this sounds crazy, but hang them up in the rain. The rain actually softens clothes. I found out by hang my laundry getting caught in the rain a few times and then read it.

Allie - posted on 02/23/2009

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some else asked this a few weeks ago, try looking back to find more help. you may need to rinse them to make sure all the soap is out, also how are you drying them a tummble in the dryer might just do it. and vinigar is ment to be a softner. good luck.

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