The Truth

Update:2/23/10
A few days ago I got my sample in the mail, and went to wash/soak my diapers-- oops left the cycle on too long and the machine was in the rinse cycle! Arggh! One load of soap down the drain--literally. Feeling frustrated that I 'wasted' some of my precious sample, I cut corners and didn't use as much recommended for getting the stink out. Why do I cut corners? Why do I not follow directions? I soaked them for three hours with two scoops instead of three scoops. I could've soaked them all night, but needed my machine for other laundry. So, the smells are not gone. Maybe somewhat less, but the jury is still out. Next time I will follow directions.

I've been using cloth diapers for about a year, so I guess I'm not technically 'new 2 cloth' anymore, but I sure feel like it!

I haven't posted for awhile about CDing because I've felt as though somehow I've 'failed' as a Cloth Diaper Mama. We've moved across the country, had the flu, gotten some bad diaper rash, and now we're expecting #5 with the associated bouts of morning sickness. Through all of this I've been frustrated with some REALLY stinky diapers, and as needed, we've resorted to disposables and then back to cloth again.
In October, when our whole family got the flu, (between diarrhea and being knocked off my feet), the diapers sat and marinated for a few weeks while we went back to disposables for awhile.
I've been using my homemade laundry soap on my regular laundry and cloth diapers. The diapers were somewhat manageable when there was sunshine, and I could sun the smell out for two days straight. But we've had snow storm after snow storm and I don't think the freezing temps will get my diapers dry, let alone bleach the smells out. Those cute little bums weren't so cute with the ammonia smells that had been wafting through the air. Besides that, the amount of time, Oxiclean, and number of times I had to wash each load to get them to smell less, I was questioning if it actually WAS less expensive to be using cloth diapers, because it was no longer convenient. Consequently, I'd begun to hate cloth diapering.
In desperation, I bought Tide at my last trip to Costco. The ammonia smells are much less, but the diapers are too scented for my preference. So, I turned to my favorite blog, The Cloth Diaper Whisperer, and discovered a new detergent called Rockin Green Cloth Diaper Detergent, and was impressed by the reviews. Diaper Shops was out of the detergent so I went to Rockin Greens's website and read more reviews and decided I had to try some and ordered a sample. If all goes as hoped, I'm just a soak away from fresh diapers!
I will be back to document my progress in this process. Until then! :)