I recently had a reader ask if she could use Bac-Out on her Grasshopper and bumGenius Elemental cloth diapers.
Since I am always promoting the use of Bac-Out I feel it is my duty to put in some time researching the warranty information of several cloth diaper brands.
My rating of Okay or Not Okay is based on whether or not the manufacturer’s site explicitly states NOT to use enzyme cleaners. The manufacturer may feel the need to revise their care instructions over time so please click the link before using to confirm.
Please feel free to join the search and offer your findings in the comments.
AppleCheeks: Okay. Doesn’t state not to use but not clear on what you can use. Warranty period is pretty short.
Best Bottoms: Not Okay ?
***No fabric softeners, dryer sheets or additives such as vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, borax, oxyclean, etc. should be used.
Blueberry/Swaddlebees: Not Okay
The warranty is also void when washing instructions haven’t been followed; when bleach, fabric softeners, vinegar, or any other caustic substances and laundry additives have been used;
Bottombumpers: Okay
bumGenius Elemental(all bumGenius cloth diaper products): Not okay
Warranty is void when: Any of the following has been used in conjunction with the use/care of the product:
A detergent containing additives (enzymes, brighteners, whiteners, dyes, perfumes, essential oils) or natural soap
Charlie Banana: Not Okay
Chelory: Okay
FuzziBunz: Okay
Grasshopper Diapers: Okay
Do not use natural soap, bleach or fabric softener.
GroVia: Not Okay
Happy Heinys: Okay
Oh Katy: Okay
Kawaii Baby: Not Okay
Things that you cannot do:
Don’t use bleach, it can ruin the elastic and damage the water-proofing of your outer shells or covers. Also avoid borax, whitening additives, detergents with chlorine bleach, liquid concentrates and stain removers.
Kissaluvs: Okay
Mother-Ease: Okay
Pooters: Okay – as per Facebook conversation with owner Majaliwa Bass
Ragababe: Okay
Rumparooz: Not Okay (okay for inserts)
Please do not use the following to try and treat stains on your pockets:
Bleach, Stain Remover, Borax, Bac-Out, Biokleen, Oxy-Clean. (If needed, you can use these products on your INSERTS ONLY.)
The care information on Kanga Care can be confusing as it does state that using detergents with enzymes is a good thing. However, it seems that they are promoting the use with inserts only.
Sustainablebabyish: Okay
Thirsties: Not Okay
Tiny Tush: Okay
Nickie Frausto says
For those that are contemplating a wash routine with Bac Out, but are concerned with your covers, my routine might be an option for you. I have a front load he machine with a speed wash option. I use workhorse diapers (green mountain diapers) with Thirsties covers. I wash the diapers on speed wash; extra high spin, heavy soil, max detergent. Then I throw all the covers and baby clothes in with them for a second wash on the bright whites cycle, max detergent. I wash almost every night since I have 2 in diapers.
I have had some issues with smells mostly in the pail and sometimes upon the kids peeing in the diapers. This is why I want to try the bac-out. Green mountain actually listed bac-out as ok on their website. I was thinking that using it on the diapers only before they go in the pail shouldn’t affect the covers when washed in the second cycle. I did use 2 Tbsp of bleach in the speed wash cycle for about a month and it ate my diapers up. So I wouldn’t recommend bleach regularly. I am hoping the bac-out is not as harsh on the diapers.
Lisa says
Hi I’m pregnant and my husband and I are discussing using cloth diapers but we are on the fence. As a health care aide I know that to disinfect laundry properly is to use bleach on fecal and urine type items. In the old days our mothers just took a cloth sheet and pinned it then when it got soiled they would soak it in bleach and water. Most of these new cloth diapers not only warn against soaking but also bleaching. They recommend washing them every 2-3 days instead of everyday. Now I can understand that bleach is harmful to baby and the fabric but I don’t think leaving them to dry out then only awaking them in a tablespoon of mild soap without any thing else can possibly disinfect these diapers. How much bacteria is left on these diapers. In addition is recommends you leave them out I the sun to disinfect. Where I live it’s grey sky’s everyday with -30 temps right now. It would be ok if I lived in some hot sunny place like Florida, but I don’t. So my question is… What research has been done on these new mild methods of cleaning these delicate care diapers? I would hate to think we are saving money at the expense of baby’s health coming into contact with bacteria in these diapers after washing. I’ve read also vineagar, baking soda and baby creams are a no no, so how can this be better for baby over disposable?
Autumn Beck says
Tea Tree Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract and others can be used to disinfect…https://www.allaboutclothdiapers.com/simple-effective-ways-to-disinfect-cloth-diapers/
Chris says
How would the manufacturer be able to tell if you’ve used bac-out anyway?
Autumn Beck says
they would ask. how you answer is all they have to go off of.
Bishop Rienholdt says
My wife loves Bac-Out. And, we were not aware of this information at all. My wife puts a little lemon juice to get rid of the smell. But avoiding Bac-Out for washing is going to be difficult for us. We are so used to it. Thanks for sharing the information with us and appreciate the research you have done.
Kristen says
What i find funny is the cloth diapers that say you can NOT use natural detergents. One of the many reasons I cloth diaper is to stay away from chemicals so why would I go and wash my chemical free cloth diapers in chemical filled detergent??? just a thought lol
janise says
Oh my goodness. I literally just bought Bac Out for the first time from my local farmers market and as I’m reading this all of my diapers are in the washer soaking in Bac out. This posting came out at the right time. I was hoping Bac out would help in my stripping process but not to this degree. Guess I’ll only use it on my flats and inserts.
Marcela says
I just purchased and used Bac-out for the first time, it was after i dried my diapers that I realized it was Bac-out Drain care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell me I am not the only one who has done that and will it ruin diapers? Should I re wash them??
Brandi Elam says
All the diapers I have purchased were purchased more than a year ago, which I guess is a good thing since I use Bac-Out regularly. I’ve won lots of other diapers, but I don’t think wins get a warranty since I can’t prove that I was the original purchaser. I’m not sure I’d make a warranty claim anyway, so I guess it really doesn’t matter.
Like a previous poster said, I’m not going to wash everything separately each time. I started out doing this so as not to void the warranty on my Rumparooz diapers, which required a different detergent than my other diapers. But after a month or so it was just too time consuming and I felt like it was also a waste of water, so I started throwing them in with everything else.
Krista says
This is a great list – not only because of the Bac-Out/warranty info – but also because it is a good list of some cloth diaper brands.
I have been getting frustrated lately because I just want to see a laundry list (pardon the pun) of different brands and what type of diapers they are – at least of the more popularly known brands. (Maybe that could be a good future blog post – if you haven’t already compiled such a list!)
I am curious to try different types/brands and just from your short list, I’ve got my eye on a couple of new brands that I had not heard of before.
Thanks!
Autumn Beck says
Have you checked out the My Recommendations page? It has my favorite brands by style.
Charmaine says
I wonder why some are OK and others are not OK. Do the companies that you’ve said is OK to use Bio-Kleen on know what it can do to elastic? Or are they using a superior elastic than the companies that say not to use it?
I was sad about Thirsties and their warranty policy. My DD grew out of her size 1 duo covers when she was 4 months old. I wish I would have known of your site much sooner so I could have made a begger yet choice about her next covers. But that was almost a year ago. Now I can reccomend that new to cloth diapering parents visit your site for advice. (:
Anne says
I know it might void my warranty but I was wondering if you’ve ever used a detergent with enzymes on your Flip covers. I have used Country Save since we started cloth diapering my daughter 10 months ago but recently have had a really hard time finding it in stores around here so I bought BioKleen detergent yesterday thinking it would work. The Country Save has done a decent job so far (though my covers do have some staining on the inside near the snaps) but we use prefolds instead of Flip inserts, so I think pretty much any detergent could clean a prefold well. Do detergents with enzymes disintegrate your Flip covers or what? Thanks! I don’t want to ruin them. Also, is there a way that I can get rid of the stains on my Flip covers. I know they’re clean but they look kind of gross. :)
Autumn Beck says
Have you laid them in the sun? The sun bleaches out lots of stains!
Enzymes are enzymes, so if a brand says no to bac-out they mean no to any enzymes.
cara says
I use Bac-out on poopy dipes and Rockn Green ammonia bouncer in the wash. I have lots of different dipes. Guess I never bothered keeping receipts or paying attention to warranties anyway. I am not going to wash all my diapers seperately because every brand has different instructions. If they fall apart or leak I just have an excuse to buy a new cute dipe. I have had problems with a couple softbum diapers I just ended up gettind rid of, maybe I should have checked warranty.
judi says
I got a few Kawaiis used so I suppose the warranty is already expired. I guess that’s another plus to buying used. I think I’m going to use the bio-kleen in spite of their warning.
Sonya says
Thirsties does not recommend the use of Bac Out on any diaper or cover with components. It does contain vinegar, which we warn against.
“For diapers or covers with components such as Aplix, elastic, and lamination, please avoid:
Sanitize cycles
Vinegar
Washing Soda”
Thought you would want to know!
Autumn Beck says
Thank you for the information. I have contacted Biokleen for an official statement as it doesn’t state any presence of vinegar on the bottle or their website. I did mark Thirsties as Not Okay for the use of Bac-out but I feel the site should be more clear on what is allowed and not allowed. Bac-out is commonly used and parents need to be able to clearly assess that Bac-out violates policy.
EBarrett says
That’s really interesting. Until I started using Bac-Out I could not kick the icky smells with my regular BGs. I almost gave up on cloth diapering because the consistently smelled like wet dog. Since my warranty is void, I guess it doesn’t matter now, but I’m not sure what I would do with any future purchases. I LOVE Bac-Out!