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! 

Not excited for school to start...

  School starts back up in a few weeks for my big kids and I am not one of those parents that count down the days until they can send them back to school. I really enjoy spending time with my kids.  We hang out all day and if I am lucky there are some crazy antics for my enjoyment. I am generally lucky.  There are days when I am not so sure that the craziness is funny or enjoyable, on those days I try to step back and look at things with a broader perspective. They may have made a huge mess or be super noisy, but I can promise you that I will miss every bit of it when they are grown. So,  I just readjust my attitude,  find the fun in the mayhem and madness and laugh right along with them.
Today was one of those days.  My 9 year old son is having slight attitude issues and my two littlest ones are, well, little. My son had a comment for everything that I said or told him to day today, which seems to be his newest way to challenge me. I changed more dirty diapers than I can remember and somehow in the middle of one of those changes, messed my back up. I am still not sure how that happened, but it is not very pleasant. I also, cleaned up every type of food that I fed the littlest ones and from nearly every surface that the food could attach itself to...seriously. I battled with my cloth diapers one more day, trying to defeat the evil stinky monster that has decided to attack our diaper stash.

After all of that, I was worn out. Done in. Ready for bed at 5 p.m.  Then, my 11 year old gave me a beautiful picture she had drawn and colored for me and my 13 year old told a funny story and taught the babies a funny song and dance and my sweet husband came home from work with a big hug and sweet words for me...And, well...I had to smile. I had to readjust my attitude and see just how richly blessed I am, even on a day when things seem a bit rougher than usual.  I love this life.

My first post...

    I am not very comfortable sharing my writing with the public, but I am all about trying to push myself, so here goes.

   I suppose I could share a little background for those who may not be familiar with my family. I am married to a terrific man, who happened to save me on a dark and rainy night from a strange man who was lurking by my vehicle in a dark, empty parking lot. And, he has been my, "Prince Charming", every day since...We spend most of our time parenting our five children, three of whom are from my previous marriage. The blended family dynamic works really well in our home, but I credit that to having children who love their step-dad and with having such an amazing person to act as a bonus parent to the children, that they can't help but love him. There are always issues, of course. We may not always have an easy path to walk in regards to my ex-husband and differences of opinions on that front, but we try to always emphasize the joys in our lives, rather than dwell on the difficulties.

  Our children are 13, 11, 9, 2 and 1, so we run the gamut of parenting issues :)  We always try to work with each child individually to encourage open communication and a healthy relationship. It is difficult enough to make your place in this world, so we want to the kids to always know that they have us on their side, pulling for them to do the very best they can in their endeavors. We also encourage them to expand their minds, through reading and artistic expression. I am sure that I will share some of their work in the time to come, since I am a proud mommy :D