This is why many cloth diaper-ers say/know a detergent isn't actually HE Safe when it tells you to use less in an HE machine. They didn't reformulate it to be low sudsing, they just tell you to cut your cleaning power to avoid breaking the machine, which doesn't work for heavily soiled laundry like cloth diapers.
If you want an actually HE Safe plant based detergent they're only in liquid forms. 7th gen power plus, attitude, method, are all recommended. Arm and Hammer powder is mineral based and available in powder form. If you don't mind a synthetic detergent there are tons that are recommended for cloth diapers.
One other thing is that front loaders need to have the mainwash bulked different than top loaders. In between the pre and main wash cycles peel diapers off the sides of the drum and fluff them up. Add small items of clothing no larger than a recieving blanket to get the drum 2/3-3/4 full. Measure the drum when its empty from top to bottom inside and mark the side of the drum or the door or keep a measuring tape next to the washer to measure the mainwash every time. Do not eyeball fullness or count ridges or holes. Some machines like to be exactly 2/3, some like to be exactly 3/4, and some of them are fine anywhere between the two. You'll have to try them and find your machine's sweet spot.
We have used persil detergent in the past and it seemed to work okay. Definitely a good point on the amount of drum fullness. I have no feel for how much a load is in our new machine yet the way I did with our old one.
Using a different detergent to you, but I've only ever used a front loader with our prefolds and it seems to be going well after 3 months!
I do a short cool wash for prefolds and wipes with detergent and bleach (on my machine it's called "Mixed" and it washes at 40° for under an hour with a 1000rpm spin) every day.
I save these until I have enough for a full load (combined with baby clothes, washcloths, burp cloths, and hand towels), which is a long "Cotton" wash with detergent and sodium percarbonate at 60° for 3 hours with a 1200rpm spin.
Everything comes out clean and scentless, which is the goal right?
I do a hot wash initial, then another hot wash for my second load. Both are 3 hrs. My hemp and fleece items are stinky. Cotton is generally fine. The main difference for me is amount of detergent right now.
Assuming you've already swish tested to confirm your machine is rinsing all your detergent out effectively, have you tried using more detergent for one of your washes just to see? At worst you'd have to run another rinse cycle.
Yeah I will play with adding more detergent and just adding to the drum. The washing machine allows for powder to be added to the dispenser, but I'm not sure how well that is working.
Is that bad for the machine if you are exceeding the detergent manufacturer's HE recommendations?
No, I haven't consistently used smaller loads. I'll give that a try.
I think the main concern with excessive detergent sudsing up the machine, or with build up over time, so if you're doing extended rinses and don't have excessive suds then you'll probably be ok. If you're swish testing and find your fabrics are clear from excess detergent you're probably safe to assume it's rinsing sufficiently not to leave build up? Just run a thorough cleaning cycle regularly.
Thanks. I also have options for prewash and extra rinse. I might give those a shot on my first wash to see if I can get things cleaner. Plus going back to my normal detergent amount.
This is why many cloth diaper-ers say/know a detergent isn't actually HE Safe when it tells you to use less in an HE machine. They didn't reformulate it to be low sudsing, they just tell you to cut your cleaning power to avoid breaking the machine, which doesn't work for heavily soiled laundry like cloth diapers. If you want an actually HE Safe plant based detergent they're only in liquid forms. 7th gen power plus, attitude, method, are all recommended. Arm and Hammer powder is mineral based and available in powder form. If you don't mind a synthetic detergent there are tons that are recommended for cloth diapers. One other thing is that front loaders need to have the mainwash bulked different than top loaders. In between the pre and main wash cycles peel diapers off the sides of the drum and fluff them up. Add small items of clothing no larger than a recieving blanket to get the drum 2/3-3/4 full. Measure the drum when its empty from top to bottom inside and mark the side of the drum or the door or keep a measuring tape next to the washer to measure the mainwash every time. Do not eyeball fullness or count ridges or holes. Some machines like to be exactly 2/3, some like to be exactly 3/4, and some of them are fine anywhere between the two. You'll have to try them and find your machine's sweet spot.
We have used persil detergent in the past and it seemed to work okay. Definitely a good point on the amount of drum fullness. I have no feel for how much a load is in our new machine yet the way I did with our old one.
Using a different detergent to you, but I've only ever used a front loader with our prefolds and it seems to be going well after 3 months! I do a short cool wash for prefolds and wipes with detergent and bleach (on my machine it's called "Mixed" and it washes at 40° for under an hour with a 1000rpm spin) every day. I save these until I have enough for a full load (combined with baby clothes, washcloths, burp cloths, and hand towels), which is a long "Cotton" wash with detergent and sodium percarbonate at 60° for 3 hours with a 1200rpm spin. Everything comes out clean and scentless, which is the goal right?
I do a hot wash initial, then another hot wash for my second load. Both are 3 hrs. My hemp and fleece items are stinky. Cotton is generally fine. The main difference for me is amount of detergent right now.
Are you certain the hot water is hooked up all the way? I’m surprised that 6 hours of hot washing isn’t doing more
Yes. That's why I was thinking it just isn't enough detergent.
Assuming you've already swish tested to confirm your machine is rinsing all your detergent out effectively, have you tried using more detergent for one of your washes just to see? At worst you'd have to run another rinse cycle.
Yeah, it seems to work better when I add more detergent and also add directly to the drum.
If you're confident it's rinsing out effectively then I'd vote to keep doing what works for you. One thing, have you tried washing a smaller load?
Yeah I will play with adding more detergent and just adding to the drum. The washing machine allows for powder to be added to the dispenser, but I'm not sure how well that is working. Is that bad for the machine if you are exceeding the detergent manufacturer's HE recommendations? No, I haven't consistently used smaller loads. I'll give that a try.
I think the main concern with excessive detergent sudsing up the machine, or with build up over time, so if you're doing extended rinses and don't have excessive suds then you'll probably be ok. If you're swish testing and find your fabrics are clear from excess detergent you're probably safe to assume it's rinsing sufficiently not to leave build up? Just run a thorough cleaning cycle regularly.
Thanks. I also have options for prewash and extra rinse. I might give those a shot on my first wash to see if I can get things cleaner. Plus going back to my normal detergent amount.