Cloth Diaper Safe DIY - Laundry Detergent
This week I decided to attempt to make my very own home-made laundry detergent that would be safe for my pocket-cloth diapers. My hope is that this will save us money on the cost of all those special "cloth-diaper safe detergents" while preserving the quality of my cloth diapers for future little ones.
After much research and a little recipe adaption (Keeping in mind I am no chemist) I came up with what I think is the perfect recipe. I tried it out and loved it so I am sharing it with ya'll!
What You Need:
1 Box(55oz) Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
1 Large Tub of OxiClean (96oz) (I used the knock off brand Sun Oxygen to save $)
3 (55oz) boxes of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
2 (76oz) boxes of 20 Mule All-Natural Team Borax
One bar of Tom's All Natural Soap - finely ground (I used Sensitive and Unscented)
5 Gallon Bucket with Lid
Plastic Gloves
How You Do It:
In a large 5 gallon bucket layer ingredients (alternating - This will make it easier to mix) Mix as you go using plastic gloves for extra protection. Once ingredients are well mixed you are all set! That's it! So easy and affordable.
Everyone washes their cloth diapers differently but I have found that I am only needing to use approx 2 Tbsp of the detergent with each medium (pre-soaked) sized load. I kept the scooper from the Sun Oxy and am using that, as it measures approx 2 Tbsp.
* From what I read prior to settling on this mixture is that you CAN also add a few drops of essential oils such as lavender, etc. in the mix. I decided not to in the hopes that avoiding the essential oils may be better for the fabric of my cloth diapers. The essential oils may be a nice additive to use with a regular wash for added scent.
I am presently looking up DIY cloth diaper detergents on Pinterest and everywhere I've looked says that baking soda is not safe to use for cloth diapers, as it will effect their absorbancy. How long have you used this detergent on your cloth diapers? Are you using it on the inserts too? And finally, have you noticed any leaking or wicking issues since using this detergent? If none of that has caused your diapers problems, I would LOVE to use this detergent but since I make my own cloth diapers out of PUL and we just use the regular cotton burp rag type cloth diapers for inserts, I REALLY want to make sure my detergent is safe for them. My husband just told me today he's been putting dryer sheets in every load in the dryer and I've also noticed major leakage lately. I'm thinking I might need to make all new diapers but if I do, I wouldn't want my new detergent to ruin them as well, ya know? lol Thanks for any info you can give :)
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