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Ok cool, so you're going to have to strip and bleach soak to reset the diapers then start a good wash routine. Essembly wont get diapers clean, tide clean and gentle powder will but you definitely need more than a tablespoon. First step is to buy the strip and bleach soak ingredients and a hard water test. Strip all absorbent pieces in a bathtub or other vessel (not your washing machine). Then bleach soak everything using non scented non splashless bleach that has been bottled in the last 6 months. Everything means pocket shells that didnt go in the strip go in the bleach soak. Bottled in the last 6 months means you check the date stamp on the bleach to make sure the date code (its a julian date) says it was made in the last 6 months. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon A good routine would be: Prewash: just diapers, normal, softener option on, line 4 tide clean and gentle powder, any water level is fine just so it covers the diapers. In between the pre and main wash cycles peel diapers off the sides of the drum and fluff them up. Select a medium or larger load size. Once the washer is filled, pause the cycle and press down gently with a wide-bottomed object such as a potato masher, Mason jar, or rigid water bottle marked at 3 and 4 inches. Press until you just feel resistance, then stop. At that point there should be 3-4 inches of water floating on the top of the diapers. If you have less than 3 inches of water on top, you have “chili.” There is too much laundry in the load for the amount of water. Increase the load size if you can, or take out some laundry. If there is more than 4 inches of water on top, your load is too “soupy.” Add more laundry, but do not reduce your load size to less than medium. Mainwash: heavy duty or whites, whichever is longer, softener option on, line 4x2 tide clean and gentle powder Notes: no extra rinses, no vinegar, temperature is your choice If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 100ppm or less you dont need additional water softener for diapers with tide clean and gentle powder. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 100-180ppm you need 1/2 cup of borax in the mainwash only. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the machine is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup of borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup of borax in the mainwash. Thats a ton of information. Let me know all your questions once you read through it!
Being on a well or getting suds in the shower doesnt give you the information you need. You do need to test your water hardness number. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon If you use arm and hammer with oxiclean liquid you need 1 cap in the prewash and 1.5-2 caps in the mainwash. Cap means to the brim ignoring lines. If you use tide free and gentle liquid you need line 5 in the prewash and line 5x2 mainwash. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is less than 100ppm you dont need additional water softener for diapers with either of those detergents. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 100-180ppm you need 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash only. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash. Im leaning towards you will need to strip and bleach soak to reset the diapers since you dont know what your water hardness number is. If its less than 100ppm and you've been using enough detergent and the cycles and bulking in the other comment you wouldnt have to. But if you havent been using enough detergent or water softener or getting proper agitation by bulking the mainwash exactly half full for 6 months it is VERY likely that you will end up with stink and rashes as you wash the diapers correctly and bring everything trapped to the surface. Strip all absorbent pieces in a bathtub or other vessel (not your washing machine). Then bleach soak everything using non scented non splashless bleach that has been bottled in the last 6 months.
If even one diaper comes out smelling like poop then the wash routine isnt effective. A good wash routine would get everything clean every time. If its been 6+ months since you stripped and you've been washing with only 1tbsp/1tsp of detergent youll need to reset them again. Last time though. Strip all absorbent pieces in a bathtub or other vessel NOT the washing machine. https://fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/ Then bleach soak everything (even the non absorbent covers that didnt go in the strip) using non scented non splashless bleach that has been bottled in the last 6 months. https://fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-bleach-your-cloth-diapers/ Then a good wash routine would be Prewash: just diapers, less than half full drum, quick wash, heaviest soil and highest spin, line 1-2 tide original powder 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 at least 3/4 full. Measure the drum when its empty like in the picture and keep a yardstick or something else marked at what 3/4 (or 1/4 if you measure from the top down) full is next to the washer to measure the mainwash every time. Do not eyeball fullness or count ridges or holes. Mainwash: heavy duty, heaviest soil and highest spin, aquajet deep clean on, line 4-full scoop tide original powder Any temperature, its your choice. If you want to use oxiclean for stains you can. Don't use citric acid or vinegar. No extra rinses. Only use water softener (borax) if you need it. Adding it when its not needed creates a suds cushion that doesn't allow for proper agitation. If you didnt test using strips you need to. Do not rely on water reports from the city. Its an average from the water treatment facility. The pipes that carry water to your home and then through your home can give or take minerals. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180ppm or less you dont need additional water softener for diapers with tide original powder. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Test-Systems-WaterWorks-481108/dp/B00DIJ0W30/ref=pd_sbs_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DIJ0W30&pd_rd_r=73P6KBBT306FD9Z4H2ZS&pd_rd_w=2uur6&pd_rd_wg=Xae5E&psc=1&refRID=
Attitude works well. Some people have gotten bottles that say the surfactants are only <5% in the ingredients list. The refill boxes all seem to have the 5-15%surfactants ingredients list which is what you need. You need 0.5 caps prewash and 1.5 caps mainwash. If you dont get the bottle and dont have a cap though thats about 2 tablespoons prewash and 6 tablespoons mainwash (30ml and 90ml). You do need to test your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine even if you have a softener. Having a softener means your water is AS hard as it would be without one and doesnt automatically mean its 0 ppm for both hot and cold from the washing machine. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 0-60ppm you dont need additional water softener for diapers with any detergent. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 60-180ppm you need 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash only with attitude (or any recommended HE safe plant based detergent). If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup of borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup of borax in the mainwash with any detergent. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup of borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup of borax in the mainwash with any detergent.
So l the city publishes an average at the water treatment facility. The water then travels to your home through pipes that can give or take minerals. Then inside your home and in your water heater those pipes and heater can give or take minerals. So testing fron your washing machine is needed. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon If you need an idea of how to get water from the washing machine, put a small container in the detergent drawer and start a cycle on cold. When you hear water running cancel the cycle and collect the sample. Test it. Repeat for hot.
A worksheet does sound difficult, I never used one ir heard of anyone having success using one. You do need to test your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon. To get a sample from a front load washer put a small container in the detergent drawer and start a cycle on cold. When you hear water running cancel the cycle and collect the sample. Test it. Repeat for hot. You will also need a different detergent. All (brand) free and clear liquid has been known to coat fibers like fabric softener which prevents diapers from being absorbent and traps bacteria. Do you want to use tide free and gentle liquid or powder instead? They are very similar but work much better than the brand All. Or you can pick any recommended HE safe detergent from this chart
Tide original powder or tide clean and gentle powder? "Hard" and "soft" are relative terms and not how you determine if you need additional water softener for diapers with your detergent. You will need to test your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon. To get a sample from your washing machine put a small container in the detergent drawer and start a cycle on cold. When you hear water running cancel the cycle and collect the sample. Test it. Repeat for hot. ETA: you dont have to change baby overnight if they sleep through the night. It is not unusual to have overnight diapers smell like ammonia in the morning since pee has possibly been sitting outside the body for 6+ hours.
Oxiclean is fine for stains. Deep water still is not good for your wash routine. Dawn has to rinsed super thoroughly from the diapers before you put them in the washing machine or youll have suds for days. Its not usually worth it unless you have cream residue (which you shouldnt with a good wash routine). You will need to check your bleach to see if it is regular disinfecting bleach bottled in the last 6 months. Splashless bleach, concentrated bleach, scented bleach, etc are all not going to work for this. Just regular bleach thats it kills the flu etc. You also need to test your water hardness. Whether you noticed an issue previously or not, youre having issues now. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon Once you have the correct unexpired bleach and test strips you can start to reset them. Strip all absorbent pieces in a bathtub or other vessel NOT your washing machine. Then you have to sanitize everything diaper related except for wool or silk. Everything means everything. Wipes, covers, wetbags, changing pads, etc. Then a good wash routine would be: Prewash: just diapers, normal, normal soil, high spin, line 1-2 tide original powder 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 exactly half full. Measure the drum when its empty like in the picture and keep a yardstick or something else marked at what half full is next to the washer to measure the mainwash every time. Do not eyeball fullness or count ridges or holes. Mainwash: heavy duty, heavy soil, high spin, Add Soak (NOT deep water, its under that), line 4-full scoop tide original powder Temperature is your choice for both cycles If your water hardness number is less than 180ppm you don't need additional water softener for diapers with tide original powder. If your water hardness number is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash If your water hardness number is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash NOW, while you have the fungal infection and for 2 weeks after the rash has gone you do need to add 1/2 cup bleach in the bleach dispenser for the mainwash and wash on hot. This is just for the fungal infection and not a part of the wash routine forever.
I think youre falling into the bucket that everyone I know of that says Fluff Love recommended too much detergent but then also only used the detergent recommended amount and didnt use the recommended cycles, bulking, testing the water hardness number etc. Then also using another groups definition for "too mich detergent" (seeing suds at the end of a cycle or during a cycle so you think you need an extra rinse) and everything gets blamed on detergent amounts when a good routine is everything working together. Ive used fluff love recs for 10+ years without a single issue. I have some diapers that have been in rotation almost that whole time as nighttime diapers and have no absorbency or smell issues. I also have only changed my own machine once going from a hand me down 20 year old set to a samsung top loader for the last 8 years. So I haven't killed any washing machines. I have used front loaders while on extended family vacations without issue too. So here's what I would do. I would test my water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine. Test kits can be found a Walmart, pool supply stores, hardware stores, pet stores, and online. You'll need to make sure the kit says it tests for Total Hardness or General Hardness and has a scale that goes to at least 250ppm. Testing water directly from the machine is best. If you plan to use hot water to wash, both hot and cold should be tested. ** Avoid the free Whirlpool and Water Boss brand tests as they have been known to give inaccurate results. Also, avoid the electric TDS tests as they do not test Hardness. If you have a Petsmart nearby they test water samples for free. Canada Home Hardware tests for free, as well. If you don't want to search for a kit, here's one you can order from Amazon I would [strip all absorbent pieces](https://fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/] and then [bleach soak](https://fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-bleach-your-cloth-diapers/] everything cloth diaper related except wool or silk to fully reset everything. Then I would wash like this: Prewash: speed wash, heaviest soil and highest spin, line 1-2 tide original powder or line 5 tide free and gentle liquid (note: prewash should be less than half full, just diapers) 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 like in the picture 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. Mainwash: heavy duty or bright whites (whichever is longer), heaviest soil and highest spin, line 4-full scoop tide original powder or line 5x2 tide free and gentle liquid If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is less than 180ppm you don't need additional water softener for diapers with tide original powder. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is less than 100ppm you dont need additional water softener for diapers with tide free and gentle liquid. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 100-180ppm you need 1/2 cup of borax in the mainwash only with tide free and gentle liquid. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 180-250ppm you need 1/4 cup of borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash with any detergent. If your water hardness number for hot and cold from the washing machine is 250ppm or more you need 1/2 cup borax in the prewash and 1/2 cup borax in the mainwash with any detergent. You will see bubbles during the wash. You might see bubbles in the door of your front loader at the end of a cycle. Thats because the spin cycle throws the bubbles out of the drum using centrifugal force and some get caught in the gasket. If your inserts dont feel slimey like a bar of soap they do not have detergent residue. If they do, lets talk about bulking and water hardness before talking about using less detergent. Does that all make sense?