Cloth diaper stinkies

I love my cloth diapers, but I hate the stinkies that tend to show up every couple of months. I generally battle and battle, stripping the diapers and then rinsing them over and over and sunning, sunning, sunning them until I can finally chase the stinkies away for a little bit.  I was getting tired of watching rinse cycle after rinse cycle, checking to see if the water was (finally) clear or if it was gray or full of bubbles...I needed a solution to this craziness and I need it quickly.

I had been reading online about a few different WAHM detergents that seemed to have a good following in the cloth diapering community. Rock 'n Green and Lulu's in the Fluff, were the ones I seemed to hear a lot about, so I thought I would order a sample of each and see how they worked on my particular issue.

I received the Rock 'n Green sample in hard water formula and the Motley Clean scent. I put it in with the diapers and allowed them to soak(in hot water) in it for a few hours (about 5), then finished the wash and did an extra rinse (I am paranoid about excess soap build up) and hung them out on the line to dry in the sun. The diapers seemed clean and they smelled ok, but there was still a slight hint of odor (I have a rather sensitive sense of smell).  I may have been expecting more from the product than was reasonable...I do tend to have very high expectations (just ask my DH,lol). In the end, I wasn't impressed enough to buy a big bag of it.

A few days later, I received my Lulu's in the Fluff for hard water sample. I was pretty excited to try it out, because I have read reviews and seen pictures after a glamour soak that were just incredible (and exciting for a loon like me...). I immediately put the dirty diapers in a cold wash with 2 TBs of Lulu's. I let them wash through that cycle (constantly checking the water to see how clean they were getting) and was amazed when I opened the lid after the final rinse and spin...there was no stinky odor at all. None. There is usually still a bit of a smell after the first cold wash...I was pretty impressed so far. I wanted to make sure the diapers were really clean, so I ran them through the normal hot wash cycle, again adding 2 Tbs of Lulu's. I felt comfortable enough after the first cycle to actually leave the laundry room (which thrilled my husband) and waited (im)patiently for that cycle to end so I could see how the diapers (and mostly, the inserts) smelled.  I heard the washer stop and went downstairs to check the diapers (ok, ok...sniff the inserts). I reached into the washer tub and grabbed the first insert I could snag and gave it a huge sniff. Nothing. I sniffed again...nothing. There was no odor that my sensitive sniffer could detect at all. I nearly danced a jig, right there, in the laundry room. I immediately told my husband that I was definitely ordering a big bag of Lulu's.  I was impressed with Lulu's and would have no qualms recommending it for my friends out there who cloth diaper.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple of other detergents/products(eco nuts, Clean B, Crunchy Clean) that I have heard do a great job, and I will likely try them out as well and review them. But, for now, Lulu's is #1 in my book.


Lulu's in the Fluff has offered to sponsor a pretty wonderful giveaway on my blog. You could be the lucky winner of a bag of Lulu's in the Fluff (unscented regular or unscented hard water) and a mystery diaper!
To enter you need to be a fan of Lulu's in the Fluff on FB, be a public follower of my blog and post below with which version of Lulu's you would like to try and why :D Make sure to leave your email address or FB name so I can contact you if you are the winner!



I will choose a winner via Random.org at noon(est) on August 16, 2010. Good luck!!

I want to thank Lulu's in the Fluff for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!
I encourage each of you to try Lulu's and see how wonderful it is for yourselves!


You can order it through numerous retailers. See http://lulusinthefluff.com/retailers.html for a full list. 

And the winner is comment number 24: "24 Heidi said...

OOOH I would love to try the hard water LuLus since I have very hard water. I've been introduced to Rockin Green but am open to anything even better!! :) I am a fan of LuLus on Facebook & I follow your awesome blog!! :D

August 15, 2010 9:58 PM "

Congratulations Heidi!