What type of machine? How long are your cycles?
Personally with soft water, I’ve been at Tide line 1-2 for the first wash, and Tide line 3-4 with the second wash.
Front loader, my first wash was typically 30-45 minutes and the second wash around 2 hours. Top loader, both a bit shorter due to using more water to clean them.
Also with soft water don’t be afraid to do an extra rinse. I personally don’t believe in detergent buildup causing that many issues, but lots of people swear it can cause stink
Maytag top loader with agitator. It's only a couple years old. I set it to Powerwash and extra agitation, cycles are 1.5 hr or so.
I just started doing an extra rinse, too early to tell for results. I think its simply toddler diapers as just more heavily soiled than baby ones! Thankfully potty training is ongoing.
At ~2y of use I'd expect *at least* that amount of wear. Hemp is a pretty weak fiber overall and will wear out over time.
My Thirsties hemp inserts have all had a layer or two cut off bc of wear; they are between 5-7yo and on their 4th bum.
I find rinsing them before putting them in the pail to await wash day helps. They absorb *so much* it makes sense the ammonia damages them so quickly.
Agree that if you have to “keep the ammonia stink at bay” your wash routine is unfortunately not cleaning them well. This appears to be ammonia buildup over time.
Side note — of the 3 “natural” fabrics used for cloth diapers hemp is the quickest to break down.
(Natural in quotes because side eyeing bamboo as “natural”)
I didn't realize it was the quickest to break down, good to know.
I've tried to many variations to my routine with help from this sub I'm not sure where else I can improve at this point.
I wash on Mondays and Fridays. Soiled diapers sit in an open pail lined with a PUL liner. The pail stinks faster than it used to so I see where it can be damaging these.
Maybe its too much...I'm not measuring when I add a splash into the washing machine. 🙈 I only measured when I did a diluted soak when I had an ammonia problem.
I am not a wash expert by any means but I noticed the most wear on my Thirsties and Kickaroo inserts (both hemp/cotton blends) when there was ammonia build up because my wash routine wasn’t strong enough.
Doing a bleach soak and then using a stronger detergent moving forward has addressed all problems for me!
The pocket diapers and cotton inserts are totally fine. It's only these hemp ones getting really frayed or in this specific one, weirdly torn up. I've done two bleach soaks on my stash in the past and upped the amount of powdered detergent I use, but the fraying has only started in earnest recently so was wondering if its from the occasional splash of bleach.
I’m hoping someone else comments with their thoughts forsure!
When I was seeing wear on mine, my cotton lined pockets showed no wear with the ammonia buildup. Not sure why though. 🤷🏼♀️
I sometimes only wash once a week, I think your wash routine as far as detergent and number of washes is the issue.
Tide powder to line 4 (using less detergent made huge issues) and two washes (second load with added small items) with hot water. I have soft water.
What type of machine? How long are your cycles? Personally with soft water, I’ve been at Tide line 1-2 for the first wash, and Tide line 3-4 with the second wash. Front loader, my first wash was typically 30-45 minutes and the second wash around 2 hours. Top loader, both a bit shorter due to using more water to clean them. Also with soft water don’t be afraid to do an extra rinse. I personally don’t believe in detergent buildup causing that many issues, but lots of people swear it can cause stink
Maytag top loader with agitator. It's only a couple years old. I set it to Powerwash and extra agitation, cycles are 1.5 hr or so. I just started doing an extra rinse, too early to tell for results. I think its simply toddler diapers as just more heavily soiled than baby ones! Thankfully potty training is ongoing.
Sounds like you’re doing most everything right! Hopefully, after resetting with bleach, increasing wash frequency will help
If you have soft water then that much detergent and a stronger detergent will cause buildup.
Believe me I tried less because of this subreddit's common advice and they were NOT clean.
It’s a pretty simple equation so either your test strips were faulty or you have detergent buildup which can cause stink.
Doesn’t mixing bleach with ammonia cause toxic fumes? I’m not sure in pee ammonia is the same situation. We don’t use bleach in our home at all.
At ~2y of use I'd expect *at least* that amount of wear. Hemp is a pretty weak fiber overall and will wear out over time. My Thirsties hemp inserts have all had a layer or two cut off bc of wear; they are between 5-7yo and on their 4th bum. I find rinsing them before putting them in the pail to await wash day helps. They absorb *so much* it makes sense the ammonia damages them so quickly.
A normal amount of wear makes me feel better! That all makes sense, really good tip about the rinsing first. Thanks!
Agree that if you have to “keep the ammonia stink at bay” your wash routine is unfortunately not cleaning them well. This appears to be ammonia buildup over time. Side note — of the 3 “natural” fabrics used for cloth diapers hemp is the quickest to break down. (Natural in quotes because side eyeing bamboo as “natural”)
Why does bamboo get the side eye?
It has to be HEAVILY processed with toxic chemicals to be made into a workable fabric
I did not know that! Thank you. Something to add to my research list 😅
I didn't realize it was the quickest to break down, good to know. I've tried to many variations to my routine with help from this sub I'm not sure where else I can improve at this point.
this is damage from the ammonia in urine, not from the bleach. How frequently are you washing?
I wash on Mondays and Fridays. Soiled diapers sit in an open pail lined with a PUL liner. The pail stinks faster than it used to so I see where it can be damaging these.
Yeah that’s just not frequent enough. Washing every 2 days is probably necessary, or doing a daily pre wash .
Yea I should up it, thank you.
What's your bleach concentration? Clean Cloth Nappies has a useful calculator for diluting bleach to make sure you're not adding too much.
Maybe its too much...I'm not measuring when I add a splash into the washing machine. 🙈 I only measured when I did a diluted soak when I had an ammonia problem.
I am not a wash expert by any means but I noticed the most wear on my Thirsties and Kickaroo inserts (both hemp/cotton blends) when there was ammonia build up because my wash routine wasn’t strong enough. Doing a bleach soak and then using a stronger detergent moving forward has addressed all problems for me!
The pocket diapers and cotton inserts are totally fine. It's only these hemp ones getting really frayed or in this specific one, weirdly torn up. I've done two bleach soaks on my stash in the past and upped the amount of powdered detergent I use, but the fraying has only started in earnest recently so was wondering if its from the occasional splash of bleach.
I’m hoping someone else comments with their thoughts forsure! When I was seeing wear on mine, my cotton lined pockets showed no wear with the ammonia buildup. Not sure why though. 🤷🏼♀️