I’m going to be completely transparent with you.
I am so frustrated with my cloth diapers!! If you connect with me on anything know that I am in the trenches with you. 
Just because I have this cloth diaper information site, wrote a super detailed cloth diaper book and now have a cloth diaper forum where I answer your questions DOES NOT mean that I have a “get-out-of-jail-free” card for cloth diaper problems.
Oh, how I wish it did though. What it does mean, however, is that I have become an expert through numerous trials. Each of my cloth diapered children (4 so far) have experienced some issue that at the time seemed overwhelming and unsolvable.
What problem am I having this time?
A pea sized sore on Camden’s bottom is the problem. It won’t heal. It appears to be healing after I apply Burt’s Bees diaper rash cream but then returns when I don’t apply it. So it never really heals.
When we went camping and I used GroVia Biosoaker inserts it cleared up. After coming home and spending a few hours back in cloth the spot began to open up again. It is a very odd occurrence too. The skin almost begins to separate then forms a small hole. Same place every time.
I’m thinking the reason I see positive results when I use Burt’s Bees is due to the barrier it creates. All moisture is kept out.
Another big problem is at night. His nighttime diapers burn his bottom. I realize that ammonia is a byproduct formed from the breakdown of urea. I know it isn’t something you can “fix”. But, there has to be a solution that will prevent it from coming on so strong.
I have many factors working against me but they can be worked around.
First, I have hard water. We do have a water softener but it is possible that it isn’t operating properly. So, we are going to have someone come out and check it. In addition to that I am going to order some Calgon and begin incorporating it into my laundry routine.
Second, I have an HE front-loading washing machine. I need to get more water in the machine!
Starting tomorrow I’ll be adding a big bucket of water to the pre-wash. I’ve been too easy on the water issue. I thought I had solved the problem by turning down the spin cycle therefore making the load heavier therefore tricking the machine into adding more water. But, I think that is causing a problem of not properly spinning out the dirty water from the machine.
Third, I have got to stop using Tide. I liked the old formula but Tide Ultra is not performing the same. I still have Country Save so if I use that in conjunction with the Calgon I may be okay.
Poor Camden. I just feel so crummy that I am causing all of this. He doesn’t deserve to be in pain at night because the diaper is hurting him.
I want so so so bad to just use disposable inserts or even worse buy some “healthy” disposable diapers. But, I know me. If I say I’ll use them just for a couple of days while I solve the problem, that 2 days will turn into a week.
I lack in the self-control department. Or shall I say I seek the easy way out more often than I like.
You are my accountability partner. We are in this together right? I troubleshoot and one day you can glean from my experiences.
I feel better already. I’ve got a plan and it starts right now by ordering Calgon. (already done!)
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
Whitney says
I LOVE the flushable GroVia diaper liners! Yeah, they make cleanup easier, but, even better, they work as a moisture barrier. They’re natural, so i prefer them at night over polyester fleece. They’re washable a few times, too, and GREAT as a moisture barrier to help heal diaper sores or rash–especially if we’re travelling or super busy, and it’s not feasible to change my toddler whenever he’s a little wet. :)
Anna says
If it was yeast wouldn’t it spread. When we had yeast it was like a rash that spread not just a small contained dot. But I am no expert by any means.
Laura says
I had this same problems with sores on my (at the time)18 month old. I also had a newborn and a front loader washer…and was constantly washing, soaking, sunning, scubbing diapers and it wouldn’t go away. I had a close relationship with a bottle of apple cider vinegar and the sores went away, but little did I know the darn yeast was still alive and well in the diapers and the rash came back. I did cave in to disposables after a few months of this battle and never looked back. I now have just one little boy in diapers and the girls are both potty trained and I’m back to cloth. I ditched the front loader for an older top loading washer, the best decision I’ve made by far and I’m back to loving cloth!
Krista says
One quick comment on the yeast thing: I’ve heard athlete’s foot cream clears it up!
Kara says
Hey! Here are a few things that might help you. Sorry if I’m repeating what others said. It’s too much to read! :)
1. Only use cloth diaper detergent (Rock N Green, BumGenius, etc.) Nothing else!
2. Strip your diapers once a month (You Do not have to use bleach). Put the diapers in the washing machine and do one regular wash with soap, a rinse cycle with 1/4 cup vinegar (helps break up the ammonia) and then do 4 to six hot washes with nothing… Just water) This will break up the mineral deposits on your diapers and make them more absorbent and less stinky.
3. Use 1/4 cup vinegar daily if your diapers still stink or need an extra deep cleansing. I do this ever day (you can put the vinegar in a downy ball during the rinse cycle or in the fabric softener dispenser.)
Good luck! :)
Krista says
I’ve been having a similar issue lately. One morning all of the sudden my baby had what looked like hives in his diaper area. He also had a small patch of it on his face. I tried all sorts of things for weeks, and it seems better now but it’s not totally gone. He must just have my sensitive skin. We occationally use g-diaper bidegradable inserts when out and about, but it’s never long enough for me to tell if there’s a difference.
Some of the things I tried were using only tea-tree oil, water, and olive oil as a wipes solution; switching detergents; and washing longer. I also tried a little non-chlorine bleach to get the stink out of the diapers (another issue I’ve been having).
One more thing, I can’t use regular prefolds. I don’t know what it is, but they burn his skin. I stuff prefolds into my pocket diapers and he does fine with the layer of microfleece. Also I made some of my own diaper inserts from flannel (it’s pretty easy), and they are nice on his skin! You could try using a diaper liner. The flushable liners are convenient, and there are also reusable ones.
Kristi Potts says
Definitely sounds like you need to strip your diapers and use something such as Tea Tree Oil to combat it (I like to do a few drops of TTO in coconut oil to use as our rash cream, and a drop or two into our wipes solution. Just make sure you don’t go too crazy with it since it is strong or you will end up irritating his bum from that!) You can add some TTO to your diapers as well to help beat the yeast or other ickies that are living in your diapers. The fact that it went away when using the bioliners and then came right beck when you went back to the cloth screams yeast.
Also, a super hot water and vinegar soak helps get rid of yeast, too. If we have yeast pop up I normally do both a vinegar soak, and then a TTO soak. Probably over-kill, but I want to make sure that stuff is GONE! And I do like to throw sposies on her for a day or two so I can soak them all at once. But you could always do it in batches. Just make sure you get ALL of the diapers or that yeast will start breeding and come right back again. Treat baby, treat the diapers, and you should be good!
Jamie Lynn Kohut says
Hey Autumn,
Instead of using TTO, you may want to consider OOO… read the following blog post: very informative!!
http://www.everythingbirthblog.com/2010/06/the-truth-about-tea-tree-oil-and-cloth-diapers/
Morgan says
I have the opposite problem! We traveled for 10 days and used sposies – then my poor daughter broke out in a mountain of boils and open sores! Now I’m afraid to use a disposable even for a quick weekend trip (where we have no access to laundry). We kept her naked for 5-6 hours a day and that did the trick after about three days. Good luck!
Krista says
My guy breaks out from regular disposables, too. We would have to use the all-natural ones. We just use biodegradable inserts for trips.
Jennifer says
I wonder if it is yeast?
Jen says
Could he be allergic to a particular diaper you are using? I had to stop using Kawaii bamboo diapers. I tried EVERYTHING to get my little ones rash to go away. It seemed like yeast, but he was actually allergic to the bamboo of all things.
I also use RLR packets to strip my diapers. Said prayer for you and your little one, Autumn. Wishing you the BEST of luck!
charity says
My Little one had a terrible rash for about 2 weeks. I switched to disposables and it did not clear up. It would get better but not clear up. Finally I bought fleece cut into strips like liners put triple paste on the rash and in one day it was gone. Continued this for about four days to make sure it stayed away. Try the triple paste diaper rash cream. It is not cloth diaper friendly but if you use the fleece like a liner it works wonders and you can stay in cloth. Good luck and dont feel like you are causing the rash. Your not rashes happen. Sounds like a type of eczema to me or possibly a type of bacterial infection. My 3 year old had similar round blister showed pediatrician gave him antibiotic cream and went away in a week he is cloth diapered at night. Your a great mama remember that.
christine kangas says
My son had a marking just like that. If you email me at the address I left for this comment, I’ll share a picture of it (due to area, I would rather not publicly post it) if you would like to confirm. It sounds like Impetigo, and is a rather serious deal. If it is impetigo, you really need to get him to the doctor and on some meds (ie: creams that aren’t CD safe) to clear it up and do a complete stripping of your stash while you’re at it.
Jill says
I know a lot of people don’t like ‘free’ detergents, but the tide free is not ultra and we have better luck with it than anything else.
Wendi Niccole says
I have JUST dealt w/ this! My dd was cutting her last two eye teeth. She had burning, runny poop for every diaper change for nearly a week. She got a bad rash. I applied coconut oil after every changing. The rash cleared up, no problem. But she had 2 bumps, that turned into “blisters” that looked like little volcanoes. The coconut oil was not helping those and then it was seeming to spread and she got a few more of these sores.
What I did: I let her soak in a tub with an infusion of herbs that are for healing after you’ve given birth (boil water, steep herbs for 15 minutes and add to bath, smells heavenly!). I bought mine at In His Hands online. After the first soak her bum looked better. After each diaper change I applied calendula oil + grapefruit seed extract (15 drops in 1 ounce of oil). It cleared up in a few days!
After the rash appeared I happened to change up my wash detergent. I added oxi-clean and borax to my detergent b/c we have really hard water and I feared my diapers where not getting clean. I wondered if the oxi-clean and borax were part of the cause of the rash. I stripped them well after realizing that could be the problem.
Hope you can get it cleared up. It is so frustrating to be in the midst of it and seemingly not be able to help your child.
stormi says
I am having a very similar problem but I don’t have your resolve (at least, not anymore). DD has been in sposies for 2 weeks straight bc I can’t bear “giving” her a rash anymore. She’s been in disposables for a few days a few times in the 4+ months we’ve been cding. I’m at my wit’s end.
Marcela says
I live in Brazil and since I don´t have all the diapers and laundry products you have, the only thing that worked here for the bad smelling in the microfibers (because amonia) was a new routine that includes boiling the microfibers at each washing cicle. Even thought it got better I still can smell the amonia after a while. I´ve being using mostly cotton inserts during the day leaving the mcrobifers just for the nigth. Hope you can figure out a way of correcting you problem, but personally I don´t see a problem in using a disposable diaper for the nigth if this is for your son´s confort!!
Elizabeth says
Hi Marcela! I am moving to Florianopolis from the US with my 4 month old son and my husband. Do you live hear there? I will be in SP for a few days also.
I’m trying to figure out if we should buy disposable diapers in Brasil (hopefully a natural non-bleached kind) or if we should bring our cloth diapers.
Thanks for any help!
Elizabeth
lizzfiedler@gmail.com
Katie says
So I haven’t read all of the bazillion comments so at the risk of being redundant, I recommend fish tank ammonia remover. I had ammonia issues and I soaked clean diapers overnight in fish tank amonia remover and water. My mom found this on a blog somewhere and I tried it and it seems to have solved my problems for now. When my baby had a sore I did use disposables for a week and I didn’t feel guilty. If nothing else, just have him wear them at night until he’s healed. I also use pieces of fleece as inserts which seems to help keep my diapers in good working order when I use Burts Bees and I also think it keeps the wetness from his skin. Hang in there, sister! We’re all rooting for you. :)
Leah says
Katie – when you say you use fleece, do you put it right against the baby’s skin or inside the diaper? if inside the diaper, do you put in on top of the other insert so that only the thin outer cloth is between skin and fleece? also, just one layer of fleece or multiple? thanks!
Jen Hen says
My little guy got really bad diaper rash when he had the runs awhile back. A&D ointment worked like a dream! He healed so fast. Plus I don’t use any microfiber terry, I’ve not had an ammonia issue since I started cloth 1 1/2 years ago. My diapers are bulkier, but truely I have tried a couple microfiber diapers and I don’t feel as if they performed as well as my flannel and terrycloth dipes. (I’ve used the same ones this whole time and they are just now showing some wear.) I use All free and clear which I’ve heard isn’t the best since it’s supposed to have optical brighteners, but if you live by a military base, theirs is made without that. I also have a top-loader and have known people who buy them second hand to keep aroung just for cloth. I plan on doing this if we ever go front load. I don’t know if any of this will work for your little guy, but I love your advice and thought if my 2 cents helps you, then awesome!
Sky says
I’ve recently had the same problem (ammonia and a sore that wouldn’t heal). I just ordered some RLR to try and get our diapers super clean. Also ordered some water test strips bc I suspect we have hard water. My son has been in Seventh Generation disposables all week and I was out of cd safe creams so I picked up some natural Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and used that but then I remembered I had CJ’s yeast formula and started using that too and his butt looks so much better! I have a he front-loader and use mostly prefolds, organic cotton sherpa and bamboo with a couple microfiber inserts (maybe like two). My fingers are crossed that the RLR will help. We will see! Good luck!
mays says
Coconut oil is so nice for a cloth safe rash cream. Has antibacterial/microbial properties too. BUT I’m going to enable you and say buy just ONE small pack of sposies while you get things straightened away. Then you can use the intense butt cream (like calmoseptine) and get everything cleared up for him, get his diapers back to perfect, and then be happily back in cloth :)
I think using the Country Save is a good idea. Don’t skimp on it. Use even double the recommended amount. (that’s what I do) And I don’t get buildup, and things come clean.
Heather says
I had rash problems with my DD when she was about 1 yr old. The rash was ongoing for a couple of months. I would recommend that first of all you get your drs input on the rash if it does not go away when Camden is in sposies (or bare bottomed). Second you should use sposies while the rash is healing, that way you won’t hesitate to use all the creams your dr proscribes, and the super dry gel will allow Camden’s skin to heal. Like PP I had to use sposies for at least a month for the rash to fully go away and not come back again–it would go away in a few days but it always came back if I switched back to cloth too soon.
I suppose an alternative to using sposies would be going bare bottomed but that would be a bit messy unless it’s time to PT Camden! You really do need to stop using those infected CDs for a while because they can spread the infection right back to his skin again. Do not let a CD touch his bottom till you are sure the rash is not going to come back.
My dr also recommended that a 60 degree wash was not enough to kill all the “baddies”–you need to wash over 70 degrees (on most machines that will be a boil wash, altho my machine does a hygienic 75 degree was.). I use that hygienic wash every time there is a poopy diaper in the load. I realize some people wash on cold with no problems but in this case my dr turned out to be right, because when I started washing on hot we had no more rash problems.
I am sorry to sound so un-supportive regarding the use of CDs, it is just my experience that it was a good thing to give up on the CDs for a while and then I was able to use them again for several more months before PT time. If you find a different solution I will be really happy to hear it!
Mary Michaud says
Just a quick suggestion about the nighttime diapers – use a fleece liner (I just cut up fabric) at night. While it doesn’t remove all the ammonia/urea away from the body, it does wick away most of it.
MieVee @ MummysReviews.com says
Sounds like a problem I had and have resolved.
My older boy has very sensitive skin. He got yeast infection once, started with 1 red spot, then many spots.
– anti-fungal cream prescribed by paed was necessary to kill the yeast. Applied cream 3 times a day for 5-7 days or even longer till no more red spots, no diaper cream for 30 minutes after each application. Air the bums as frequently as possible.
– ALL diapers, inserts, cloth wipers, liners thrown into washing machine to be washed with oxygen bleach (we use Nellie’s) and washed in hot (60 deg C). This risks damaging some weaker PUL. Even when some delaminated partly, the diapers still perform without leak later on.
Eventually, the spot went away. But at night, if he’s in a pee-ed on diaper for too long, the spot comes back. So I also changed his diaper if I know he has pee-ed or complains about itchiness at night.
– use a good diaper cream with STAY-DRY disposable liner (we use a bit of Bepanthen nappy rash cream & GroVia liner)
For my newborn, he’s even more yeast-prone. 4 bad episodes within 3 months old!!!
He’s very sensitive to poo. If he poos and I missed it for a few hours, esp at night, he gets a bad yeast infection.
Treatment:
– similar to above. Anti-fungal cream, zinc oxide diaper cream, disposable diaper/insert, sanitise all cloth diapers, etc. on hot.
Prevention:
– night-time: used disposable diapers or inserts + a generous layer of good diaper cream (we’d to use a high zinc oxide content). Check and change regularly.
When he eventually stopped pooping at night, I finally went back to cloth full-time.
I’ve a front-loading HE washing machine. I usually wash diapers with home clothes and towels together for a bigger load. So every day, I’d get some bulky items to throw into the wash, by rotation — towels, children’s blanket, bedsheets, etc.
Natalie says
When my baby’s bum is real irritated I will put her to sleep (especially nap time) with no diaper and just a puppy training pad under her to keep the crib dry.
Whitney says
Poor little guy! Triple paste is a genius product. I was a nanny in college and the little girl I took care of had chronic yeast infections for well over a year. Her mother finally discovered triple paste. We would “frost” her with it, put a thick layer for the first few days and in a week it was gone. I’m talking open sores to a healthy bum.
I’m pregnant with my first and that is the go to product I will always have in hand. Expensive but worth every penny!!
Give it a try :)
Vonna says
Hi Autumn! Thanks for sharing with us! I have had some similar problems and want to share how I have dealt with them. First, I use calgon because we have hard water and it works great. 2nd – definitely stop using tide and switch to natural detergent. tide is awful for skin and environment. I use rockin green. for the sore (my son had one, I highly highly recommend zum baby rub lavender (called wee rub). this stuff is like magic. not only is it a diaper rash cream but helps heal up the sores. http://www.indigowild.com. I have tried all others but this beat them all. I do not get anything for endorsing them. just sharing :)
Here is what I do to beat the ammonia build up (and yes, I have an HE machine). I put my cloth diapers in a bucket of water and usually will not let them sit out for more than 24 hours before going into the bucket. when I am ready to wash, I put them in for heavy cycle. then open door and throw bucket of water in. also using the calgon (I get at walmart) and rockin green. I exclusively use fuzzibunz BUT i do not use their inserts. can’t get them to work even with all this other work. so I used prefolds to stuff and some other cotton stuffers and I have 2 hemp inserts as well. I have cleared up all problems and this is now going on 4 months. oh, one more thing. once every 1 or 2 months, I take all the diapers and wash them in a regular old washing machine to really get them clean. sort of like stripping, but not really. I haven’t stripped in several months and they are working great. good luck! please share with us.
Vonna says
I forgot to mention that I try to keep my diaper load below 10 as well. this seems to help. I usually do 1 to 2 loads per day. hang in there! and thanks for being honest and helping us all!! I was in the same boat a couple of months ago and nearly quit cloth diapering.
Jamie Richards says
I todally agree w the calgon. I have the same problem w my girl w prefolds. She would get the same sores on her i would strip in rlr then they would go away. 3 weeks later and again. I started adding calgon to ever wash w the soap. (no one tells you where to add it). That ammonia build up has notnreturned since. The hard water minerals would build up in the diapers and thats what adds to the ammonia causing the sores. Adding it to the soap helps it wash better and then gets rinsed out.
Jessica says
I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM!!! Scanning through the replies, many are saying yeast, but I think it sounds more like the Impetigo my baby had. My baby had an ammonia burn that bacteria got into and caused a spot just like you described. The dr said it was Impetigo. I had to treat her for the Impetigo while putting her in disposables until it cleared up. I had to make sure to sanitize the diapers well (as in resorting to bleach) to make sure the bacteria was out of them.
kristen says
stop stressing! It is just diapers! If he has open sores, use disposables! I use cloth and recently went through the same guilt-trip when i bought a pack of disposables…first pack in 4 years (CDing #4 now) our problem was not nearly as “severe”. 6 month old dd was waking up soaked everynight, and I was having to change sheet, her pjs, onesie and diaper. I caved and bought sposies, and they hold all her pee all noght long and she sleeps for 12-14 hours each night! and… (I can’t believe I am going to say this) I LOVE the trimness and how much more comfy she seems in her snug PJs. I am all about cloth booty, but also want her clothes to fit! :) Good luck, you are doing great, and buy some sposies for your little guy. burning skin cannot be fun.
Meredith says
I feel like I could have written your post. Here is what I did to finally get rid of it.
1. Disposables and bacitracin (sp?) until it healed.
2. Bleach the diapers.
Ongoing: at the first hint of ammonia, I add bleach to the hot wash (up to 1/4 cup).
The spot has not returned.
JulieK says
I have a similar routine as Meredith – my son gets “bubble-y” blisters on his Pee-pee and a bright burn-like rash all over about every 2 months. It used to happen ALL the time and last forever until I figured out this routine:
1. At the first sign of the red rash or a bubble, I immediately put my son in a disposable (or naked for a bit)
2. I put either bacitracin or Nystatin yeast inf. cream on the blisters/rash
3. I throw 1/4-1/2 cup bleach into the next diaper load. When that load has been bleach-washed AND an extra wash to get rid of any residual bleach
We are usually rash-free and back into the cloth diapers within 24 hours. And now that I start my routine ASAP, I generally don’t see the rash resurface for about 6-8 weeks again. (I have had his rash/skin/blisters cultured and tested for EVERYTHING except yeast (not sure why the dr would NOT test yeast!) and nothing was found that would cause the rashing).
Some similarities/differences I have with you, Autumn: I saw you were using Tide – I have never used Tide on my diapers. I mainly use Arm & Hammer Senstive Skin. I have tried a number of specific cloth diaper detergents and they are generally great, but I can’t afford them or the shipping. I also don’t have hard water. But I do have a Front Loader.
I truly hope you’re able to find a solution soon – I KNOW how heart-wrenching it can be to see your baby with a red sore bum that keeps coming back! :(
Linds says
When you do a bleach wash do you use detergent as well? Or just straight bleach. Do you pre-wash??
Autumn Beck says
I prewash with Bacout. Then wash with bleach and detergent (different compartments in my washer). Then I second or maybe 3rd rinse.
Linds says
Thank you!
Linds says
One more question! I am a little confused as to what type of bleach to use. I don’t want to discolor my cute pocket diapers with regular bleach, but according to your previous post “simple effective ways to disinfect cloth diapers,” color safe bleach doesn’t disinfect? I need to to do some heavy duty disinfecting…what should I use? Thanks for your help and wonderful blog! :)
jennifer gardner says
Autumn. I agree with everyone here. Your website has been a great resource and we understand that you along with every mama in the cloth diapering community face challenges when it comes to cloth diapering. I feel that it is the commitment to greening up our world that makes us such a close community, and it is especially evident this Earth Day weekend. I can throw in my two cents here. I have 8 month old twins in CD’s and I have a new top loading HE machine. I recently sat down with the manual and found out that the Sheets cycle adds extra water to the machine. After i found that out I decided to change up my routine to the following: One “quick wash” in cold, no detergent. One HOT wash on SHeets cycle with 1 capful Biokleen cold water detergent liquid with extra rinse, One HOT wash on Sheets cycle with extra rinse. After these rinses everything seems to get very clean. I then sun dry my pockets if i have time to harness the antibacterial power of UV from the sun. I know it sounds like a lot of hot water but i’d rather wash them right and not have to ammonia bounce or vinegar rinse too often.
I’ve never had problems with yeast or staph so I can’t speak to that, but for normal diaper rash i’ve found that California baby diaper rash cream (we are on solid foods so we already use flushable liners) really helps clear up diaper rash. Oh and 1 more thing – if you are considering switching to disposables check out Jessica Alba’s Honest diapers. I tried them out and they didn’t work for me but i think they are some of the most earth friendly disposables on the market. And cute too! Good luck with everything!
Jessica says
I forgot to mention that some sunlight on baby’s bum might help it to heal, ESP if it might be yeast related, I think w forget the power of the sun sometimes :-)
Jessica says
I haven’t had experience with the spot, but we did have a problem with ammonia in our microfiber and here is what we did to solve it. We also have a front loader with no auto option to add more water. We changed out ALL our inserts to pad folded flats, use the full amount of tide original he powder line 1, small amount of bleach once a month or so, and adding extra water to the extra rinse cycle. At night we have gone to a kite folded flat with a pad folded flat as a booster (even our hemp inserts were getting stinky), with a woolybottoms cover. The flats don’t hold onto stuff like the layered inserts and get so much cleaner in the front loader. I also came up with a way to easily add hot water to the rinse cycle…put a garden hose splitter on the hot water connection at the wall, hook your machine hose to one side of the splitter and a short garden hose to the other. You can use the garden hose to squirt hot water into the rinse cycle through the detergent drawer. I have found that the hot water gets more of the residue/detergent out. I also agree wth the delicates cycle/warm as a rinse, it uses more water. Keep pressing on and don’t be too hard on yourself :-)
crystal page says
We had what I think was the exact same problem you are describing with our daughter. My close friend also developed it with her son around the same time. Sadly, that is what caused her to give up on cloth completely. What we had was a Staph infection, as others are also suggesting. I was desparate and opted to give her antibiotics to treat it, but I have since heard that Grapefruit Seed Extract works wonders for Staph. I don’t think you need to feel badly if you opt for a few disposables while the infection clears up, because like you, my girl got a lot better when in sposies. That way, I could take all the time I needed to kill the living daylights out of my diapers. I boiled them, bleached them, stripped them. If I would do it again, I would also add GSExtract to the wash too. For us, the staph reoccurred which was a big pain and I ended up potty training her extra early just to get her into underwear. We haven’t had it since then. I feel for you! It sucks, but I hope you find answers soon!
Julie says
Wow…I’m with Janise. You need to give yourself a break!!! Do you have any idea how many moms you have encouraged to use cloth, that otherwise would be in disposables???? So what if one day turns into 2, or a month? What matters is getting that little bottom healed up. I’m glad you have a few things to try and hopefully they work out for you, but if not…it’s OK to for you to slip back to disposables until you get it figured out…it makes the rest of us feel human :) I would however get the potential for staph infection cleared up…sometimes things are just out of our hands :) Take care, and thank you for all that you’ve done for the rest of us!
Janise says
Thanks :-)
Anastasia says
My daughter toddled off into the grass last September and landed in an ant pile. She never fully healed. YES it’s better in Flips but again something ALWAYS happens that opens those dang wounds up again. The only “hint” is the bite OUTSIDE the elastic area is also still there, but as a type of boil. We’ve treated for everything too……….But the second she catches the least little thing she has diarrhea or pee that just rips her open again. All we know is what it’s not and what doesn’t work. The difference between her and her sister (who was holding her hand when they sat down) was that big sis is potty trained. My sweetie has had a heck of a time the last 6 months but I’m thinking of starting at least home nakedness so she has some relief. Disposables (store bought) only make things worse and the flips are great but I hate using them ALL the time. (I try to use them only for bus trips or overnight) That helped the most, the rest of the time I use fitteds with a flips stay dry against her skin and NO cover so I know the SECOND she goes and change her in the shower. Poop training her will do the most good. But yeah watching her shake and cry when she pees makes me feel bad, but I kept her in flips disposables for almost a month and the 2nd she had a bad tummy day those dang sores showed up again with more friends. So I feel your situation. I don’t know the answer either. True potty training could be a year away for my sweetie. so I’m lost as well……I just hate the tears as much as you do………
Liz Houser says
I am so sorry. Coming from a mama who has just about thrown in the cloth diaper towel from bizarre rashes for his whole life, I can relate. To me, it sounds super similar to my little man’s constant yeast issues. Super sensitive bum + yeast = open sores. Munchkin still has little “eyes” in two places,and they’ll probably just stay there forever. Oh well, adds character. Our solution? Northern Essence Better Butter by day (the magic is in the grapefruit seed extract)and disposables with Vaseline + chlotrimazol at night and sometimes nap. Is using Northern essence BB cream every day flippin expensive? Yep! I’m gonna start making my own. Am I willing to pay pretty much anything to heal his little bum? Of course! Good luck!
Liz Houser says
Oh, and I forgot, if it IS yeast, ACIDOPHILES vitamins every day! Makes the dirty diapers WAY less irritating!
Cathy says
I concur! Only I use Northern Essence Diaper Rash Salve rather than the BB cream. I tried both and liked the texture of the salve better. I put a disposable on at night with some heavy duty zinc oxide and that has kept her bum looking and feeling good. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one using a disposable at night. I figure one a day isn’t so bad :-)
Rachael says
My peanut was getting sores about once a month, but I just treated them with coconut oil (which helped). then a sore showed up on his “little boy part”, and that freaked me out. So, we saw the pedi — he said yeast infection. I got the anti-fungal, jock itch cream just like Doc said, and cleaned, cleaned those diapers. I did use bleach, and now that I got some, I’ve been adding a bit of grapefruit seed extract to each wash (in the bleach slot — seemed most logical to me). It seems to be better, but its only been a month. So, we will see.
I see lots of good ideas in the comments, so far. I’m mostly frustrated with the soak cycle not letting me do anything but cold. Ah, well, maybe I’ll try the jug of water via the detergent drawer… :P
Cathy says
I’ve been putting GSE and tea tree oil in my initial cold rinse cycle every time I wash for months and the dreaded yeast infection hasn’t been back. Good luck!
Crystal says
I agree that the sore sounds bacterial and some Baxtrim will help heal it completely. My son had a similar sore and it was staph. It has nothing to do with cloth diapering because I was using disposables at that time. It’s just one of those things!
Brandy says
My feeling is that it’s bacterial, bactrim would probably do the trick with lots of air time. I also CD full time, but would use disposables if it would help for a few days. You could use that time to boil the cloth diapers or wash with a teaspoon of bleach (I find the tiny amount of bleach every now and then helps with keeping the diapers very clean and odor away). Don’t be so hard on yourself dearie! Prayers going up for you and Camden!
Vanessa H says
I had to start bleaching each month as Bum Genius suggests on synthetics. I find that it works.
Anita says
It doesn’t sound like your typical reoccurring rash, I would take home to dr to make sure it’s not staph. Let him air dry as much as possible. Under a towel or blanket, in the shade outside. Also look at the products your using. No petroleum or petrolatum or other man-made hormone disrupters.. Coconut oil and GSE diluted with distilled water. Tide is probably your problem, did the same to me. Worked great then one day…. Just caused a ton of problems . Good luck and don’t give up.
Krystyn says
We’ve had bumps like that before and it was a staph infection. It would seem to get better and then get worse again. Maybe you could have that checked out.
Good luck with the other aspects. I hear hard water coupled with a front loader is a bear!
Heather says
Autumn,
I am so sorry! We had the same sore with my daughter in the last month, with NEW diapers, only washed in country save, along with the ammonia monster!
I resorted to those tiny square bandages from the curad box, along with alternating “traumeel gel” (a homeopathic that helps healing) and arnica tablets, crushed and made into a paste, also under the bandaid.
Now poor baby has a scar there, just like her brother has on his bottom from when he had the same issue. I am so sorry! THANK YOU for sharing your frustration, it helps all of us who are in the trenches with you!
Katherine says
The HE water issue I have a large soaking sink next to my washer in the basement, I have found that soaking my diapers in lukewarm water for about 60 minutes prior to washing has helped tremendously in regards to build up. I uses Rockin Green detergent and about once a month I follow the soak instructions on the back to prevent stinkies as well.
I hope Camdens bottom heals soon my first had this problem and we had to use a prescrition ointment to clear it up.
Andreann says
Hi Autumn,
Sorry to hear what Camden is going through. I think the pea sized sore he has may be a boil. One of my babies had one. I used a warm compress to release the fluid. The skin around the sore thins out and leaves a crater “hole” almost like what happens when a volcano erupts. Camden’s sore may keep returning if there is an infection present. I don;t really like the idea of having to take antibiotics, but Camden may need that or another natural remedy as a means to rid his body of the problem.
Beth says
My son had that horrible sore with disposables and that’s why I am switching for this kid. I used Mama Roses Naturals Magic diaper cream with her sunshine spray and zinc powder. I used a hair dryer on his bottom so that the only time he was wet was when he peed. As soon as I knew he was wet, he got changed. I would also run water over his bottom to wash him sometimes. I think wiping doesn’t always get it clean. Then spray sunshine spray on bottom and let it air dry/hair dryer on cool, then apply the magic balm, then if you needed the barrier add the zinc powder. I tried the burt’s bees and it made things worse. It was just to harsh to scrub off. I can promise you this will work, I spent my sons whole diaper period with a bleeding rash or sore if I ever deviated.
Jess Nye says
Your baby’s comfort is more important than what kind of diapers he’s wearing. Sorry, I know the point of the post was NOT to get support for using disposables, but to get support and help to avoid using them. But I know from experience with my older son, who had terrible eczematous rashes, that sometimes disposables are necessary. I tried diapers of every fabric, every cd-safe cream I could find on the market at the time, MANY different detergents and wash routines, changing his diet, and lots of air time. Air time made it WORSE (I think because it was winter and we have a wood stove so the air was really dry) and although stay-dry diapers helped (especially suedecloth), the only thing to really heal the rash was when I kept him in disposables until it was completely healed. I kept putting him in disposables, seeing it get better, going back to cloth only to have it flare up again. So I kept him in sposies for about a month, until there was no sign of any rash, then he was fine in cloth for the rest of his time in diapers. I had to make the decision that even though cd’ing was a big part of my self-image, my son’s comfort was my priority.
Janise says
The best post so far. :-)
Jenny B. says
A friend of mine had this problem with her son who wears disposable diapers. She took him in and it was a staph infection. MIght need to take your little guy in, as it might not be the diapers that are keeping the sore from going away. Keep us updated, mama! So sorry to hear this! Hope it heals soon!
Melissa says
I’ve only been CDing a month or so and I’ve been battling the stink too. It smelling like a barnyard!!! I too have a front loader :( I was going to sell it and buy a used top loader but I think the stink is gone (for now, fingers crossed). I was using Nellies but I switched to Tide powder HE. Plus I started running more of a rinse, plus I run the sink tap to get hot water before I start the load. Then I ran an extra rinse at the end.
tarintarin says
I’ve always added extra water to my pre-rinse and wash cycle using a jug I throw it in via the detergent drawer while the machine is filling up and my diapers have always come out super clean. After 3 years and two kiddos I have never had to strip, had smell issues nor have I had any rashes on either of my boys ever. Granted, I do have a little secret. You know those water purification tablets that you put in your drinking water when camping or hiking, well, I use that in my wash cycle with my detergent and it completely gets rid of any bacteria. About two tablets is enough
Molli says
I’ve had the same problems! I solved the ammonia issue with fish tank ammonia remover and spraying every single diaper before it goes in the pail. And I’ve been using a healing gel from a WAHM that seems to do the trick. Earth Mama Angel Baby was helping too.
Rachel says
I know the heartache of the HE washing machine.
I was so fed up with my cloth diaper issues that I bought a new non-HE top loader.
I’m finally satisfied with the cleanliness of my cloth diapers.
And I don’t have near as many problems now.
I hope you can work through it. You are an inspiration to us all!
Sarah Bradley says
I don’t know about ammonia, but my daughter had similar pea-sized open sores that took FOREVER to heal. I tried a variety of diaper creams and California Baby was the only one that healed it. Took several days to heal it completely, though.
Nicole says
I know how you feel I too feel guilty when I use disposables. Keep in mind you have to do what is in the best interest of your lo. I now have to use disposable dipes overnight because my 2year old pees so much. He had an ongoing rash problem and I tried everything extra stuffing, bamboo, cotton, pockets, wool. To no avail disposables are the only thing that really kept him comfortable. Just do what you gotta do mama and keep that baby dry healthy and happy!
Janise says
Totally agree!
megan says
I have had the same issues with rash with our little guy too. Shea butter worked well and coconut oil seems to work nicely too. I hope that you get this all situated quickly. It is never fun to have one of your babies hurting :(
Linda says
Hiya Autumn,
I had the same problem with one of my little guys. The first time it happened I switched him out to disposables and it got way worst. Usually when this happens I will use some Vaseline on his bottom. And I will do a strip that I found on the BumGenius site (we use BG OS) which is a a hot was with a teaspoon blue dawn and a 1/4 cup – 1/2 bleach followed by two hot washes with nothing added. I am not a fan of bleach but this really works and within a day to two the spot is healed. Hope this helps
Linda says
Not sure how that would work with a FL. Perhaps you could use a coin op old style top loader with the BG strip method just to get things cleared up
Jamie says
I wouldn’t use Dawn in my own machine. I’ve boiled with a little Dawn when I bought used diapers, but I won’t use it in my machine. Especially in a front-loader. It suds way too much and there’s a possibility of it breaking the pump. I use gmd prefolds and when I had the beginning of a smell issue, I just added 1/3 cup of bleach to a full load of 24 prefolds. Then ran 2 cycles with detergent on hot, then one full cycle on hot with no detergent. I have a very basic machine with few options. It always rinses in cold, so I have to do a whole cycle to really rinse them. The one time running them through that way worked like a charm!
I have very hard water – I have to run vinegar through all my appliances (coffee pot, dishwasher, etc.) every 6 weeks or so to keep the water from ruining it all. I use Borax in my wash cycles for all laundry to help soften the water in each load and it disinfects. Since I can’t afford a water softener, this is how I deal with it.
I would DEFINITELY take my LO to the doctor for anything that won’t heal. And especially after reading some of these comments about the possibility of it being staph.
Good luck! You are such a help to others and we all want to help you, too!
Praying for you and your family!
alaina says
I have hard water and the same problems with the burned bums (and other private areas) and I just need to tell myself that if it is in the name of better health, a burned bum is not healthy. So until further notice that my diapers are cleared for night time use, I can’t justify to myself not using something disposable. During the day it is not a problem, or cream will cut it but if I don’t put up with other harsh chemicals on my kid, why would I put up with an overtly harsh ammonia burn?
ExpectingEaster says
Try a quarter cup of coconut oil mixed with 3 drops of tea tree oil. Both oils are antibacterial. And air dry his little behind as much as you can between diaper changes.
We love your honesty, Autumn! It helps to know there’s a fallible human on the other side of the screen, behind the amazing blog you generate.
And do let us know what works for you when you get this resolved, please?
Brandy says
For nights, have you thought about getting some soakers made of zorb? They really wick all moisture and don’t feel wet.
Julie Kanter says
We just finished dealing with the same persistent hole on my LO’s left butt cheek. Uggg! You are right, it’s the good thick barrier cream that finally worked. My CJ’s and other cloth diapering safe creams did not help the hole. We used the Grovia biosoakers inside a fitted with a thick barrier cream like desitin, alternating with a cream from the doctor with anti fungal and steroid in it. It too about a week and now it’s healed for good and we are back in cloth. We still use a biosoaker once a day with silvedene cream to help with the little scar he now has from that hole.
Natalie says
Have you tried coconut oil for the rash? My daughter had a yeast rash that felt like I would never get rid of until I started using coconut oil at each diaper change and that worked miracles. I treated the diapers too, but until I started the coconut oil on her, I couldn’t get her comfortable. The coconut oil is like a miracle worker!
Jamie says
Where do you buy it? It’s not like the stuff in the cooking aisle is it? I’ve read other people suggesting this and am curious about it. Thanks!
Megan says
Jamie–yes, the stuff in the cooking aisle–that’s it :) $6 for a jar and it’s value far exceeds that!
Heather says
I feel your pain! We are having to do a complete overhaul of our laundry detergent, AGAIN. Baby Girl has a yeast infection rash (or so the doctor is 99% sure of, but it could be ANOTHER food allergy so Baby Girl is on an all liquid diet AGAIN); so we’ve had to play the bleach, sun, tea tree oil, game with our small, but loved, stash of cloth diapers until the rash is gone. The stupid rash is getting worse not better and we’re hitting week 3 (AHHH!) Finally after having to clean and sanitize and sun and treat the diapers for the millionth time, we put Baby Girl in sposies (which she is allergic to) so we could use stronger meds — she got a new rash in other areas. Its like, “for the love of!!!” …. So, I sit back, I breath, and I know I am doing ALL that I can to help Baby Girl and get her well and that’s all she ask of me. That’s all your baby will ask of you too. :-)
teresa peschke says
I feel your pain. My daughter had a rash from hell and I felt like her night time cloth diapers were causing it. It turned out she has really bad eczema. I put biodegradable liners in her pre folds and used the prescription cream and its clearing up. I would have a dr look at it. You may need prescription strength cream for it to go away.
Pam says
Hey Autumn! I feel like you were reading my mind with this post! My 15 mo old had the sores as well. The first time, I didn’t get it looked at and it spontaneously burst and she bled onto her diaper. DEFINITELY get it checked out. For my little one, it was an infection that she needed medication for. They also gave us diaper rash cream to treat a little redness as well. While using the cream, we switched to disposables temporarily. Once we went back to cloth, another blemish popped up. I was so disappointed because cloth diapering is so important to me! Not to mention the investment we put into it. However, I do what I have to do to make sure my daughter is healthy and to me, that means no sores on her bottom. We now use disposables at night and during the day, I use cloth but we change her every hour or 2. Don’t be upset if you have to turn to another solution to keep from the sores hurting your baby. I wish you the best of luck and hope your new methods work for you! I can’t wait to hear what works – maybe it will renew my commitment to cloth!
Tal says
My son had something like that recently while we were traveling! What really helped was the northern essence diaper rash balm. My son was in so much pain one day and when I checked he was red everywhere and had welts etc, it turns out the soap used for washing him was too strong, the detergent used for his diapers was also too strong.
Anyway, long story short..the welts disappeared after a couple days of applying the diaper rash balm and having him go commando most of the day–he’s almost 2 and is almost fully potty trained.
savannah says
I understand your frustration happens to the best of us. We use a spray bottle with lil bit of his baby wash and some coconut oil at every single diaper change. and dry him off with with a cloth wipe. it has worked really well because everything gives this boy a rash no matter what but the spray is like a mini bath.
Jamie says
I do the same thing, but with olive oil and a drop or 2 of Tea Tree Oil.
Jayme says
I agree, cut yourself some slack. My hubby and I went out tonight and for the sitters sake, I bought a pack of disposables. I stood in the aisle feeling really torn, like I was cheating the CD gods and taking the easy way out. But, when it comes to sores or problems that can be resolved (such as making it easier on someone else watching your kid…some people are funny about CDs) whats it hurting?
I have not had the issues with ammonia on my daughter. I use the Rockin’ Green detergent (and use best bottom CDs) in my front loader and have had fantastic results.(They also make a formula for hard and soft waters as well.) I throw in a couple of towels (sometimes saturated with water, sometimes not) to help weigh it down once it starts filling with water and wash it on the heavy duty cycle. Good luck!!
Kelly says
I agree with Janise. Your son’s health and comfort come first. I cloth diaper full time and would definitely try disposables for a few days if I had the kind of problem you are describing. A few days of sposies is not going to hurt him or the planet. No need to be perfect – let yourself and him off the hook.
andrea says
First, I have extremely hard water and it really made cloth diapering hard for me. My hubby attached a hose to the back of the washer so I could add extra water. I added water 3 times pcl cycle and did 3 cycles every wash. I literally had to babysit the washer for hours. After I flooded the house 3 times by walking away for a second and the door bursting open, we got rid of the front loader for a top loader instead. This made washing soooo much easier! However, we still had the hard water problem. Rocking Green gave us horrible buildup and stinky dipes. Tiny Bubbles worked really well with the front loader but not the top loader. Finally, we switched to Country Save and followed the Ragababe wash routine – cold prewash no detergent, warm cycle w/ only 2 teaspoons Country Save followed by full Hot cycle no detergent. I started adding 1/4 Calgon to the warm cycle and it has made all the difference (combined w/ using even less detergent). I did notice a lot of deterioration in my old Grobaby inserts with the use of calgon, but they were also used for 2 years so I’m sure that’s part of it. Cloth can be so frustrating at times, especially when it comes to washing and having huge factors working against you! It’s not the worst thing in the world if you use disposables here and there. We couldn’t find any diapers that didn’t leak at night and got so sick of it that we resorted to disposables at night for the last few months before my son was potty trained. we’re expecting baby #2 in a few weeks and I will definitely keep some on hand in the beginning while we get into a routine and figure out cloth with a newborn. Don’t beat yourself up!
andrea says
First, I have extremely hard water and it really made cloth diapering hard for me. My hubby attached a hose to the back of the washer so I could add extra water. I added water 3 times pcl cycle and did 3 cycles every wash. I literally had to babysit the washer for hours. After I flooded the house 3 times by walking away for a second and the door bursting open, we got rid of the front loader for a top loader instead. This made washing soooo much easier! However, we still had the hard water problem. Rocking Green gave us horrible buildup and stinky dipes. Tiny Bubbles worked really well with the front loader but not the top loader. Finally, we switched to Country Save and followed the Ragababe wash routine – cold prewash no detergent, warm cycle w/ only 2 teaspoons Country Save followed by full Hot cycle no detergent. I started adding 1/4 Calgon to the warm cycle and it has made all the difference (combined w/ using even less detergent). I did notice a lot of deterioration in my old Grobaby inserts with the use of calgon, but they were also used for 2 years so I’m sure that’s part of it. Cloth can be so frustrating at times, especially when it comes to washing and having huge factors working against you
Serena says
I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM with sores on my daughter’s butt. I ended up having to treat her for staph infection once I took her to the doc. I put off a Dr. visit because, as a CD mom, I have an “I can fix all problems” mindset and tried solution I could find.
Our solution: the antibiotic cream they prescribed and disposable diapers only at night. That cleared it up and kept away the sores and rashes on my daughter’s super sensitive skin.
Heidi Maxwell says
We are out of diapers in this house (finally) – but I have had these problems. The sore. Exactly as you describe with my first. Nothing made it heal properly until we got an antibiotic from our doctor. After it finally healed with the antibiotic, it never reappeared.
Ammonia. Pick some night diapers and keep them as just night diapers. If you launder every 3 days, pick 6-7 for nights and rotate them through so the same ones aren’t being used over and over day after day. When you take them off in the am – rinse them, by hand, in the sink until they are pee free. No matter what detergent I used, or how long I soaked or resoaked or rocked a soak, nothing worked for our ammonia unless I rinsed them first thing in the morning.
Hope you find some relief!! Go buns!
Heidi Maxwell says
It was an antibiotic cream: Mupirocin 2%
alaina says
good tip!
kristine says
I too have a front loader and have been on the ammonia roller coaster for a year. I have figured it out. I HAVE to set my washer to “delicate” for the warm pre-rinse/no soap. Delicate pumps much more water into the machine. Make sure you do a fast spin speed to get rid of all the dirty water. Then a long hot wash and another warm/delicate/fast spin cycle/no detergent. I frequently use soap nuts in my last rinse as they tend to strip any build up that may be forming.
I have actually had to switch from my pockets (fleece) to Baby Love (all cotton). I find the stink that synthetics hold is many times that of natural fibers. With Baby Love all you use is 1/4c. Borax and 1/4c. washing soda. It makes me sad as I love all the cute pockets I have :( and my Baby Love’s are PLAIN Jane. I was so tired of having to boil my inserts, it just wasn’t worth my time. But, another good thing I found with switching is that my “diaper fever” is over. I love looking at all the funky prints out there, but know how it will end up – STINKY….. and expensive. Good luck! And if you have to put him is disposables for awhile to give his bum a break, don’t feel bad! I do it too!
Andria says
Yes! Thank you! I have had the exact same experience with my CD, I could not get fleece or microfiber clean. They were always STINKY. I felt like I tried everything. Now we only use prefolds and thirsties covers, basic but it works, for the most part. Recently though even my prefolds are still stinky. Not ammonia, just a horrible musty funk. I can’t wait to try your washing method, especially the soap nuts in the final wash/rinse. I was using vinegar in the final rinse (which helped a little but I wasn’t sure how good it was for the diapers?)
Tasha says
Tide definitely did not cut it for us a few years ago when I was starting out. Hard water, no softener, different house, different baby, heck even different diapers now, but once I started using Costco’s Kirkland Signature big old bucket of laundry detergent there and it knocked out the ammonia burns and stinkyness I haven’t looked back. Ok, well, once to try out some Rockin Green, of which I liked the scent but it just didn’t seem to clean like the Costco powder. I hope his little bum heals up well and you can get your dipes keeping his bum happy again! (hugs!)
Jennifer Fierro says
I had the same issue with my son. It would heal and come back over and over again for about 2 months. The only thing I found that worked would be to use Bac Out and Funk Rock in my pre-wash, then use Rockin Green (Hard Rock) in the main wash. I also had to run it through with RLR to remove all the residue. You will have to run a full wash cycle with the pre-wash and wash 2-3 times in addition to the load with RLR to get rid of the offending problem. I have not had the problem in months since I did that. You may have to use Seventh Generation diapers in the mean time until you get them all clean though but it is worth it. I was ready to give up as well, but you can do this!! :)
Nellie says
I hate to say this but I was in the same boat. Getting really frustrated and started to wonder did mom’s have these issues when they used cloth diapers before disposables became popular?
What I realized though is that they did use bleach. So I tried that even though I really didn’t want To be using bleach. But guess what? It worked! No Problems after that. So now when I find the diapers arent working as well, or smelling I use bleach and I have been happily cloth diapering since. Please note that this is an individual decision I made and I am not advising others to do that. Realize that it can also void manufacturer warranties.
MarinaZar says
I love your honesty! This is a tough decision we all made to not just take on the work of CD’ing but to not use disposables for all the reasons that do not bare repeating.
Recently, my DS got a rash. It wasn’t horrible but it was there. Reminding me of his vulnerability, how he counts on ME to make sure his bottom is squeaky clean. The rash crept up to the top of his diaper on his belly. Now I was in panic mode. Of course a quick call to the pedi’s triage nurse only produced the standard reply around “new food”, “naked baby” and “it happens.” Not to my baby it doesn’t! I cloth diaper!!
I realized these red spots appeared simultaneously when I was prepping a new stack of Indian PFs I had just received. This was my first time prepping PFs which we use exclusively except when we leave the house then its pockets of various types. To prep I washed hot (water heater on max) twice with a smidgeon of Charlie’s each wash, dried, repeat. We use fleece covers during the day and wool shorties during the night. Was it the wool, Charlie’s, fleece, bath soap, did I prep wrong? So I stopped everything, including soap at bath time, went back to Planet powder. Re-prepped the PFs and got a jar of pure Coconut Oil for his bottom. Four days later … we are right with the world.
Take a deep breathe. Your love for CD will never go away. We are obsessed. We made the right choice over all the options. It will be right again. xoxo
Jennie says
While I never had a sore problem I was battling awful ammonia last summer and I was so frustrated that something I was so passionate about (cloth diapering) was burning my baby! My method to fix probably won’t work for you since you have an HE machine but maybe reading it will give you an idea since you do have so much experience with diapers! I have VERY hard water and tried Calgon with no changes.
I first used RLR on all my diapers and inserts and then ran a few extra rinses make sure they were really clear of any buildup. Then I started this new wash routine: Warm prewash with no detergent and a cold rinse then Hot wash with Rockin Green Hard Rock, then cold rinse. I use the smallest water level for the amount of diapers I’m washing (but remember I have a top loader). This new routine flushes more water through the diapers from multiple cycles and allows them to agitate against each other for a better clean.
Hopefully this helps you or someone else who is struggling!
Becky Gerson says
Aw, hang in there mama! All I could think to myself while reading this post is that you might want to let Camden go diaper-free as much as you can for a day or two and just watch very carefully for his cues so you don’t end up with messes all over the place. We buy disposables every once in a while, mostly for plane rides, but whenever I feel at a loss and like I need a break from the cloth for a day, I just let my daughter go diaper free. We do some EC’ing (but aren’t real consistent about it) so as long as I’m focused on my baby I can get her to pee or poop on the potty instead of the floor when she hangs out without a diaper. For us, nighttime was even easier than daytime because every time she woke up we just held her over the potty to pee real quick before nursing back to sleep. She got used to not peeing in her diaper during the night pretty quickly, so even well before she turned 1 she stopped having to pee in the middle of the night and still wakes up with a dry diaper most mornings. I know this idea might seem a little out of the box, but hey, a lot of people think cloth diapering is too crunchy for their comfort level too. Might be worth a try!
P.S. Love your blog. Thanks for all the great info!
Courtney Roybal says
Try using Lanolin on his spot, that’s my go to cure all. Also try looking up what the sore might be, it could be something more than a diaper irritation which would explain the coming back and that it’s a hole. Sounds very painful!
Melanie says
P.S. My pediatrician gave us a prescription for some cream–he said they were a type of yeast infection and that the area needed to be kept as dry as possible and she should be changed frequently. I didn’t know if the cream was CD compatible, which was another reason I switched to disposables for the week. And I’m not kidding about that little pink scar. It’s still there.
Janise says
Oh Autumn. Please cut your self some slack. Look I know you must have some pressure running a blog and such. But all that matters more than anything is that your child feels, safe comfortable and loved, no matter what anyone else thinks. Resolve the rash Now or you’ll kick your self in the butt later for not doing so. Its not the greenest thing to do, it may offend your EC or CD friends but Really? At whose expense? I CD full time but when there’s a problem, all bets are off she’s number 1. I doubt your child will disapprove. I’ll pray for his sore and for more motherly wisdom for you. God Bless.
Ashlee MacLeod Davis says
I wish i could give you an easy solution, but i’m quite the newbie compared to you! I’m having stink issues here. They are fine till i dry them, then they smell like poop. IDK what i’m doing wrong, but ahhhh! I kinda wanna give up on them for awhile too! (but i won’t/cant afford to!) Hopefully i’ll find someone with a good solution at the GCDC in Nashville tomorrow!!
But keep going! And get that rash checked out! There’s a slight chance it could be MRSA, or at least the non-healingness reminds me of it.
Melanie says
Don’t be so hard on yourself! My 2nd had the open wound issue. It started as a pea-sized sore that got bigger and multiplied into several nickel sized open sores. I tried every piece of advice I could find online, so determined not to cave in and buy a pack of disposables. I fought the problem for a month. Then I realized…one of the main reasons I use cloth in the first place is because I feel like it is better for my child. When did this become about me and my crusade? So I bought a small pack of disposables. Yeah, my husband and I both succumbed to their convenience…for a week. I bought a small pack, so that’s how long they lasted. Guess what? It took almost a full week to clear up that nasty thing, anyway. That was about 8-9 months ago and my daughter still has a light pink spot on her bum. My vote is to clear up that mess and then get back to cloth. I won’t judge you and I’ll bet no one else will, either.
Autumn Beck says
You’re right, Melanie. It isn’t about me. Thanks for the reminder.
Erin@TheHumbledhomemaker says
Have you taken him to a doctor to make sure the sore isn’t staph or anything? I know you’d HATE to do this, but using a prescription cream as a last straw may knock it out and enable you to use cloth again. :/ We had to do that with yeast finally. If you do use any sposies, just only let yourself buy one pack–and make a pact with yourself that you will have his bottom cleared up and ready for cloth by the time you finish the pack. I’ve done that with my girls. Our whole family just got over the awful norovirus, and there was no way I was putting them in cloth with it! I hope he heals soon!!
Crystal says
We have hard water, a front-loading HE and we use Country Save with Calgon with a warm pre-rinse, a hot wash, and a warm post-rinse with great results. Calgon is very important and so is the rinse being warm and not cold. My diapers have been cleaner since doing these 2 things.
Autumn Beck says
I’ll give your routine a try!
Elizabeth Sotiropoulos says
Youre an expert and I feel embarrassed to even think you didn’t try this…. But what about those flannel inserts? My daughter uses them. They wick all the moisture off the skin, no matter how wet the diaper. Good luck!!
Autumn Beck says
No suggestion is a dumb one ;) I forget the simple sometimes. I have tried Rumparooz liners and that did help a bit.
Jennif says
I did not read ALL 97 responses but thought I would add a little food for thought. instead of thinking from the outside -> in (ie. diapers are the problem) have you thought about the inside -> out (ie. a food allergy or diet causing a high acidity level). my son had excema on his face after giving him a teething biscuit at 6 months of age, 3 months later it hasn’t cleared up. then I used a health coach and did a cleanse on MY diet (still nursing full time and he only eats organic fruits and veggies) and low and behold he cleared up by the 3rd day. i am now going to be reintroducing food types one at a time to see what he is reacting to. probiotics in your son’s food at night before bedtime may also help his digestive track. ALL the BEST!
Autumn Beck says
I couldn’t agree more! I have been eating more sweets lately :( Not good for me or him.
Krista says
My little guy had severe diaper rash (and was colicy) until I eliminated all dairy from my diet. Cleared right up after that! He still gets rashes here and there, but they’re minor.
AlannaB says
Have you tried the A Happy Green Life or GenerationMe Detergents? These are the ONLY detergents that have not aided in rashes for my little ones. I have a hard water issue to and could not get my kids diapers to come out of the wash smelling clean before I started using these detergents. No more ammonia diapers for me! :-)
http://www.ahappygreenlife.com/
http://www.ilovegenerationme.com/default.html
Autumn Beck says
I’ll check those out! Thanks!