How to Soften Up Diapers?

[suzhatch1]

I recently bought some GUC dipes that I believe are OC or OC/Hemp blend and noticed that they feel quite stiff and a bit "hard" I'm sure it's just from repeated previous washings & wear, but I'm wondering if there is a safe way to "soften" them up again. I'm sure they'll never feel as soft as brand new dipes, but just hoping for a little bit more softness would be nice

I'm so careful not to use any additives to my wash routine except the minimum amount of detergent, but I'm wondering if maybe a touch of liquid fabric softener would be called for in this case? Maybe a pre-soak in cold w/some softener - or add the softener to the actual hot wash cycle? I don't want to damage the dipes, just wanna soften 'em up a bit......anyone have any recommendations?

TIA!
Suz

[Carrie]

Vinegar will work fine as a fabric softener. I wouldn't add any commercial softener b/c it adds a coating that reduces absorbancy. Have you wahed them yet? Because the tumble dryer can also help with hemp stiffness. I'm not sure how much vinegar to add--maybe 1/4 cup or so to the final rinse. Then tumble dry. That should soften them up nicely!

[wbkt8]

yeah, i was about to ask if you air dried them or used the dryer.

[Minniebees]

Try soaking them in Borax, it will loosen up any residue on the diapers. I also dry using dryer balls and my diapers are softer (but don't dry faster).

[suzhatch1]

Originally Posted by wbkt8 yeah, i was about to ask if you air dried them or used the dryer.

I just got them a couple days ago from another Mama on here & I don't know how she dried them, but in after my initial wash, I tumble dried them in the machine dryer.

I may try the vinegar in the rinse cycle to see if that helps any. Although I usually do an extra rinse after adding any vinegar (just to make sure I get all of it out). I know I used vinegar once or twice before when stripping, and I don't think I noticed the dipes being any softer. Although I guess I wasn't really looking for softness then but now I am. LOL!!

[wbkt8]

the only reason i asked is that i know the few times i've line dried hemp it was stiff as a board....drying in the dryer usually helps that for me.

maybe a dryer ball. i know they make special ones but i've been wondering lately if a white tennis ball would work....my mom uses those in her dryer for drying polar-tec jackest & stuff.

[pugmom]

Suz,

There used to be downey advanced fabric softener that was safe for CD's, but of course they discontinued it.

Some mamas on mdc have been using ecover....

http://tinyurl.com/l43n7

Here is a thread about it. I have one precious bottle of DA I bought 6 months ago, but I haven't tried it yet.

these 2 apparently do not cause the repelling.

[Choose2bgr8]

This is a little off, but not much.

With summer coming on I want to line dry the diapers. I did it the other day, put vinegar in the rinse and they were terribly stiff when dry on the line. I don't have a timer on my dryer and I air fluffed them and that seemed to help, but I was trying to avoid using the dryer (to save $$$). Any other suggestions?

[wbkt8]

Originally Posted by Choose2bgr8 This is a little off, but not much. With summer coming on I want to line dry the diapers. I did it the other day, put vinegar in the rinse and they were terribly stiff when dry on the line. I don't have a timer on my dryer and I air fluffed them and that seemed to help, but I was trying to avoid using the dryer (to save $$$). Any other suggestions?

i find that if i dry them for about 10-20 minutes (i know you said you don't have a timer, but maybe just do it for a bit and then take them out) - they won't be dry but it loosens them up from the wash - and then air dry the rest of the way they don't get nearly as stiff.

it also depends a lot on the kinds of fabrics you have. i find the velour doesn't do well with air drying like described above - they still seem crunchy to me - but sherpa, cotton, hemp, etc. seem to do just fine with it.

hth

[suzhatch1]

Originally Posted by pugmom Suz, There used to be downey advanced fabric softener that was safe for CD's, but of course they discontinued it. Some mamas on mdc have been using ecover.... http://tinyurl.com/l43n7 Here is a thread about it. I have one precious bottle of DA I bought 6 months ago, but I haven't tried it yet. these 2 apparently do not cause the repelling.

Thank you for that MDC link - that was interesting to read!! I'll have to check out that Ecover & maybe the Method and compare the 2. Maybe I might do a special small load wash with just these couple of "crunchy" dipes diapers w/a touch of the softener to see if that'll help. I don't want to use it on all of my dipes if the others are just fine.