Babies have such incredibly soft and delicate skin.  We go through all the trouble of finding a wonderful cloth diaper to wrap them up in and keep them soft and comfortable.  But what do we do when we go to wash those wonderful cloth diapers that are so wonderful for us and baby?  Do we take care of them properly?  Or do we throw them in a stinky bucket and wash them a few days later? 

     What we should do is look for the best detergent we can find that doesn't have bleachers, enzymens, or other over-the-top chemicals in them.  The chemicals in the detergent may leave the diaper looking bright and clean, but it may be doing all sorts of damage that we cannot see. First, the chemicals will break down the memory in the elastic of the diaper.  Pretty soon your diapers won't spring back to fit baby correctly and you will start having blow-outs and leaking.  Second, you could be leaving trace chemicals in the diaper that will cause rashes on baby's delicate bottom!  OUCH!  Third, bleach in the detergent will chemically react with the urine and your diapers could shortly start smelling like mustard gas!  YIKES! 

     The Cloth Diaper Jungle as a cloth diaper detergent chart.  The rate the different types of detergents available and offer some great alternatives on what detergents to use for your cloth diapering adventures!  Check out their site for all you ever wanted to know about detergents and washing you cloth diaper stash.

     Still not enough?  Try the RDIA's association website!  You can type in just what qualities you want in your detergent and they will search their database for you with those parameters in mind!  Who knew!?!