A Word About Stripping

As you know I've been cloth diapering for 19 years.  A lot has changed.  Some changes are good and some are not. 

Nowadays the question of stripping diapers is a daily occurrence on CD (cloth diaper) boards.  People openly and frequently talk about how they do it, how often they've had to etc. 

Back in my day (lol) stripping was mentioned behind hands in hushed tonnes (much like the other kind of stripping lol).
- "Psst, did you hear she had to strip last week" . 
- "did she have thrush?"
- "Nope"
- "eww"

Yeah, that's how it went.  Now I realize some modern diapers are harder to clean and that is part of the problem.  The other part is bad advice.  So here is some good advice.  SUDS:
S: simple wash routine.
U: use enough detergent.
D: duration
S: skip the additives. 

Simple Wash Routine:
Rinse used diapers.  Wash every two days on a regular and full wash cycle (no promises for MF, zorb or highly synthetic diapers). You don't need to spend 3 hours checking for bubbles etc. 
Use Enough Detergent:
Detergent.  Not soap.  Not "CD safe".  Regular detergent, full amount.  You wouldn't use half detergent in your clothes, why would you on something that was peed and pooped in?.  Tide, gain and xtra are well known for their good performance
Duration:
Full cycle.  Not a tonne of extra rinses and soaks.  You want to wash but not add extra minerals in or wear out those diapers.  And not some quick wash cycle either. 
Skip The Additives:
Coconut, orange, tea tree and other oils.  These will build up oils on your diapers.  Check detergent for these too (country save liquid has coconut for example).  Skip brighteners and softeners.  Especially softeners, they cause repelling.  Skip the fragrances.
*Do add a water softener if needed.  And feel free to use vinegar if you like. 

Now should you need to strip cuz you got some 2nd hand diapers, had yeast or fell pray to crazy advice and have ammonia or "stink"  do strip with bleach and re-prep those diapers.  You do not need to add bleach to your regular wash routine.  This will wear out the fabric (just like if you bleached your favorite shirt every 2 days), nor do you need to do it monthly.  If hand washing flats or prefolds, feel free to add a wee bit.  Although it will add wear. 

If you have repelling or dingy looking diapers from hard water then use RLR.  That's what it is for: mineral removal, not stripping. 

Boiling can only be done to flats and prefolds.  It will brighten, clean and remove oils.  It won't replace stripping. 

Do not use Dawn.  Seriously, it's for dishes.  Use it on your dishes. 

Sun your diapers for great stain removal, air freshness and brightening.  Again sunning doesn't replace stripping. 

How to strip:
In a bath tub use hot water and 1/4 cup if bleach.  Mix.  Add diapers.  Soak several hours stirring with wooden spoon occasionally.  Then rinse.  Finally wash in machine, dry, wash 2-3 more times (re prep),