What is this stuff on my cloth diapers?!

[Pink Petals]

Ok...

Started with a 6 hour Oxiclean soak. Spots are even more visible since the Oxiclean really brightened up the white of the dipes.
BUT that doesn't mean that it didn't kill the mildew...

Going to wash with a quarter cup of bleach tomorrow, just to be safe. Then I am putting them in the "sun" to freeze.

Bleach scares me... Bye bye warranty.

Will update tomorrow!

 

[Rachel_C]

If it helps you take the step of tipping the bleach in (not directly onto the nappies!), you've probably already invalidated the warranty by soaking in oxy. Also, did you know that when water is dirty, in an emergency you can add a little bleach to make it safe to drink? It's less scary when you know you can actually drink the stuff!

 

[Pink Petals]

What I did...

1) Bleached the washing machine. Cleaned the wipes warmer with vinegar. Replaced the wipes pillow.

2) Soaked the affected Swaddlebees in Oxiclean/ hot water for 6 hours.

3) Washed the Swaddlebees in hot water with 1/4 cup bleach. Ran 4 extra rinses. Put in the Sun to dry (by some miracle, it was 2 degrees above 0 yesterday thanks to a Chinook).

The result? The really bad spots in the oldest Swaddlebees have not budged. The little flecks in the newer ones however are gone. But I think now I can assume the mildew is dead even if the spots remain?

4) Washed all other dipes, inserts, wipes and wet bags with bleach in a separate load just in case.

In the future, we plan to keep the wet bag open, wash daily without exception and dry thoroughly before putting away!

What a nightmare. Glad it is hopefully over. Diapers appear unaffected by all the treatments thank goodness. Going to keep a close eye on things for a while...

Thanks for the advice and support!

 

[Rachel_C]

I'm glad you've sorted it. I wouldn't worry too much about washing every day, I think it's more likely that they weren't getting properly dried in between washes. Most people seem to wash every 2-3 days with no issues... but of course doing smaller loads more frequently should give you more time to get each one thoroughly dry so might work out better anyway

 

[misspriss]

I have two of those Swaddlebees simplex 2.0s, and they take forever to dry! They are my "going out" diapers, so after I wash and dry the diapers I just leave them in the dryer and dry them with the NEXT load of laundry, or turn them on with just them and a towel for another go-round. They take forever to dry fully!

I am glad you got most of the spots out. I will remember to keep an eye out for specks on mine!

 

[Pink Petals]

I have two of those Swaddlebees simplex 2.0s, and they take forever to dry! They are my "going out" diapers, so after I wash and dry the diapers I just leave them in the dryer and dry them with the NEXT load of laundry, or turn them on with just them and a towel for another go-round. They take forever to dry fully!

I am glad you got most of the spots out. I will remember to keep an eye out for specks on mine!

The spots hide well! Most turned up around the seams and on the underside that is up against the pul (the side you see if the diaper is inside out).

You are right, they take forever to dry- so many layers.

Great diaper otherwise!

 

[Rachel_C]

Do you know if you have hard water? Apparently, hard water takes longer to dry than soft water! So if you do, you could consider adding water softener to the wash and it might help a little bit. Do an extra spin at the end too if you can.

 

[misspriss]

I have two of those Swaddlebees simplex 2.0s, and they take forever to dry! They are my "going out" diapers, so after I wash and dry the diapers I just leave them in the dryer and dry them with the NEXT load of laundry, or turn them on with just them and a towel for another go-round. They take forever to dry fully!

I am glad you got most of the spots out. I will remember to keep an eye out for specks on mine!

The spots hide well! Most turned up around the seams and on the underside that is up against the pul (the side you see if the diaper is inside out).

You are right, they take forever to dry- so many layers.

Great diaper otherwise!

I've only had them for a couple weeks, but I'll start checking periodically. I'd like to add a couple more to my stash, LO is not a particularly heavy wetter at all, so AIOs work fine for him.

 

[Pink Petals]

Found a crazy thread on another forum today. She had mushrooms growing on her CDs!!! I would post the link, but I think it is against the rules.

Wow though...

 

[Rachel_C]

Wow I just googled that... I bet you're feeling a bit happier about only having mildew now!

 

[Pink Petals]

Just thought I would update in case anyone stumbles upon this with a similar problem.

The mildew spots keep coming back. Not sure if it is my washer or what.

I have done the bleach cycle three times and after a while, it's always the same...new spots.

The only diapers that are safe so far are my minky Tot Bots. Rest are wrecked. Hundreds of dollars. Bah.

 

[Rachel_C]

Eek, I'm sorry to hear that. Have you cleaned the machine thoroughly? I assume you're not getting stains on other clothes or towels?

Is it definitely new spots appearing, not old (faded) spots getting worse again?

That your minky nappies don't have the same problem makes it sound like it's a drying issue to me, as minky dries so quickly compared to other fabrics, unless mould doesn't like minky for some reason but I think polyester can grow mould. How are you drying the cotton nappies? Do you have a tumble dryer?

 

[Pink Petals]

Hi

We have been doing a 90 minute tumble dry for 24 hours worth of diapers.

Definitely new spots, as they are on diapers I've bought since the first time I had the problem.

Not sure if we are getting thewasher clean. I have run it through empty on hot with bleach and wiped out the lip with bleach. It is a first generation top loader (2002), so perhaps not well designed for preventing mildew. We also leave the door wide open.

My Grandma just bought herself a brand new set and her 35 year old top loader is still running strong. I am thinking of asking her for it.

 

[Rachel_C]

It might be worth trying it to see if it is the washing machine. Or you could try washing machine cleaning stuff?

 

[Noo]

When was the last time you got your machine thoroughly cleaned and serviced? x

 

[Pink Petals]

Never. Where I live there aren't services that clean washing machines. I can only seem to find repair services for fixing broken machines. I bet it would be full of buildup if taken apart.

 

[Rachel_C]

Do you have stuff in the shops to run through them? We have stuff in the supermarkets alongside stain removers, usually.

Or perhaps you could try regularly using a nappy sanitiser? Not something like Napisan (not sure if you have that anyway) but a sanitiser made by a nappy company so you know it's safe with modern nappies. Here, Bambino Mio and Lollipop do it, not sure about other brands but there must be one.

 

[Pink Petals]

Great ideas. I will look into both! Thanks.

 

[Pink Petals]

Ok. Now my tot bots are affected too.

For the first time since LO was born, I am actually thinking about switching to disposables.

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I just read something about a mom who had a mouldy seal in her washer. Maybe you can get a repair person to come check it out and potentially replace a seal? That was the solution for this particular woman.

It really sounds like you have an unidentified source of mould somewhere.