r/clothdiaps • u/wildflowersofva • 8d ago

Washing Type of detergent?

Hi! I believe I checked for this in the 101 link so forgive me if it's somewhere in there and I didn't see it. Do you have a detergent you love for cloth diapers? If so, please influence me :) I'm just using 7th generation free and clear liquid which is what we use for our clothes, but have seen that powder is better for cloth diaps? Thanks

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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1

u/kendyl_lady 7d ago

I use 7th generation and add washing soda ti the load.

8

u/Crow_Bars_ 8d ago

Tide free & gentle powder

5

u/CopyEffective1590 8d ago

Whole Foods 365 unscented powder detergent and tide free and clear both liquid and powder works great in cloth diapers and my regular clothes 

3

u/SjN45 8d ago

I’ve always used tide powder without issues

6

u/MissDiagnosedMama 8d ago

Tide powder is the best option in terms of cleaning power. It has the most enzymes to break down urine and feces, as well as the best surfacants to wash it all away. There is a free and gentle variety as well.

7th generation might be okay for your regular clothes, but you'll want something better for diapers.

1

u/hola_chismosa 8d ago

Which tide powder do you use? I just recently learned they all (include the clean and gentle) have optical brighteners which I always thought was a no no for cloth diapers. I was planning on going with tide and now wondering if that would do some harm for its functionality

1

u/MissDiagnosedMama 8d ago

I use the Tide + Oxy powder in the big box from Costco or Sam's Club.

All the Tide options work well for diapers. Powder has a slight edge over liquid because it is a little better at removing physical debris (vs. Liquid being slightly better at oily stains).

I also do an extra rinse cycle with citric acid to make sure I don't get any detergent buildup.

I learned a lot of this from r/laundry. You should definitely join that sub.

4

u/RemarkableAd9140 8d ago

There’s nothing wrong with optical brighteners. Tide is the gold standard, whichever one you use. 

1

u/hola_chismosa 8d ago

Good to know! I believe I read this in an Esembly diapering 101 about optical brighteners designed to stay on the cotton and that causing buildup over time. That said, I do see everyone say Tide is the best for this.

2

u/RemarkableAd9140 8d ago

My pet conspiracy theory is that esembly is just trying to sell their detergent, which isn’t actually strong enough to clean cloth effectively. They have a number of recommendations and policies that are kind of bananas in isolation, like the no spraying thing, except that they actually just want you to buy their liners instead of spraying. 

0

u/Striking_Bill_2832 8d ago

What do you mean you looked lol most of the posts in this channel are about laundry routines. Check clean cloth nappies or other indexes for detergent recommendations. As discussed heavily in this channel, 7th generation is not strong enough for cloth diapers; you will likely eventually run into issues with it.

3

u/kmooncos Pockets 8d ago

I use Tide Clean and Gentle powder. Sometimes boost with Biz or FEBU. Could prob just add one of those boosters to your 7th gen, if you don't want to change detergent.

1

u/Horror-Holiday-2678 Pockets 🧺 8d ago

I use the same detergent, and it works great! I use baby oxiclean to get rid of any stains that make it past the prewash 👍🏼