As many of you know, Thirsties Pre-Wash and Super Wash detergents were discontinued last year. We were sorry to see it go, as we know many of our customers were. Many of you are wondering when we will have a new detergent. We are not sure if we will come out with another detergent in the future, but we do have some recommendations for detergents to wash your Thirsties products.
Before I get to the list, I would like to address why it is so important to use a cloth diaper safe detergent.
Why do we say to use a cloth diaper safe detergent?
It is not simply to sell our own. From experience, we can see what some ingredients can do to cloth diapers, and what problems it creates for the users. Cloth diapers have unique washing needs compared to our clothing. They become heavily soiled yet need gentle care to keep them in good condition. The diapers need to stay absorbent, the elastic needs to stay stretchy, the Aplix needs to stay sticky, and the waterproofing needs to stay waterproof. Let’s take a look at standard detergents and why we don’t recommend using them:
- Mainstream detergents can cause leaking, odors, diaper rash, and may also damage your diapering products.
- Standard detergents can leave a residue on your diapers that will affect the absorbency. Result: Leaking, odors and/or diaper rash
- Many contain oxygen bleach, Borax, or other harsh ingredients. Although these ingredients do clean well, they can have ill effects on diapering items. When used on a regular basis, oxygen bleach can deteriorate certain components such as fleece, fold over elastic, PUL, or hook and loop fasteners. Borax can damage Aplix (hook and loop) fasteners.
- Many contain chemical fragrance and dyes. Result: Possible irritation to baby’s skin
- Brighteners are residues left intentionally on the fabric. These make the fabric appear to be brighter, but it is not actually cleaner. Result: Possible irritation to baby’s skin; possible leaking, odors, and diaper rash
- Please keep in mind, just because a detergent says it is cloth diaper safe, it does not mean it is approved by Thirsties to use on our products.
- Pure soaps can cause repelling, leaking, and diaper odor. We do not recommend the use of Fels Naptha, Castille soap, or other pure soaps on your absorbent diapers.
- Fabric softeners in detergent or added to the washer or dryer will coat the fibers of the diapers causing them to repel rather than absorb (causing leaks).
- Important! These ingredients or additives can void your warranty: Chlorine bleach; Oxygen bleach; pure soap; washing soda as an additive; and Borax. Also, sanitize cycles in HE washing machines for anything with components.
Below is a list of detergents recommended for use on Thirsties products. They have good reviews for cleaning, and the ingredients have been screened for harsh additives. If you see a * after the detergent name, it is HE safe.
Allens Naturally Liquid*
Country Save Liquid
Ecover Laundry Liquid
Ecover Powder*
Mountain Green Free and Clear Baby*
Mountain Green Ultra Baby*
Nature Clean Laundry Liquid
Nature Clean Powder*
Planet Delicate Laundry Wash*
Planet 2X Ultra Laundry Detergent HE*
Planet Ultra Powdered Laundry Detergent
Vaska*
For hard water, you may also use Calgon Water Softener as needed, along with your detergent.
For Thirsties recommendations on how to wash your diapers, please visit: http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/customer-center/cloth-diaper-care/
Our care and use instructions are in line with the RDA washing guidelines: http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/wash/
To find out how a specific detergent rates, please visit:
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html
Helpful tips:
-It is important not to use additives along with your detergent unless otherwise suggested by Thirsties. Detergents are PH balanced, and if you add something you can throw off the PH balance of the wash water. This can cause issues with rash or odor.
-Use the specified amount of detergent for your machine type. Hard water may need a bit more, but be careful not to add too much.
-Remember to always add an extra rinse after the wash cycle.
-Use an adequate water level. Diapering items should be soaked and covered with water in the washer to ensure proper cleanliness.
We know that cloth diapering is an investment. Following the manufacturer’s care and use instructions and using a recommended detergent will help avoid potential problems and additional cost. We recommend printing the care and use instructions and keeping them by the washer for reference. We are with you on this journey! Feel free to send any questions to support@thirstiesbaby.com!
~Sonya
I had already printed and laminated the washing instructions to keep next to the washer. Came in very handy when I first started cloth diapering. Also useful for anyone else helping out with the laundry.
I began using the Allens Naturally and it works great! I was going to try the Thristies detergents, but was disappointed to hear they were discontinued. I guess I will keep washing with Allens. If it ain’t broke…. 🙂
Ever try Ecosprout… is that approved? I love Ecosprout!
I see that Rockin’ Green is not on your list. Is there a specific reason why? What would make a cloth diaper detergent not recommended on Thirsties products? How does this vary from diaper to diaper. I have noticed that if I go by the manufacturers directions for washing my diapers I would have to wash each brand separately, which doesn’t sound economical and would take a long time!
Thanks for the list! We have very hard water and I was curious if I needed to add anything to my wash. Anyone know if calgon is safe for septic systems?
I agree with the other Melissa. I just started using Rockin Green, and I would like to know why it is not approved.
Thank you for the information! I don’t really recognize many of the detergent names on the list. I will have to look more into it. I have used rockin green for my son. Is there something about it that makes it not recommended?
Hmmm I’ve never really heard of those detergents. I typically use RockinGreen or Eco Sprout…
We use GroVia Tiny Bubbles and it works great in our washer! Our diapers (and all our other laundry) come clean, and it’s HE safe 🙂
Thank you for the recommendations! I am searching for a detergent and will have to give some of these a try.
Can’t you just use any of the highest rated detergents on the pinstripes & polka dots website? I’ve been using Nellie’s because I can get it locally & it’s rated 5 stars. Thanks!
We use Country Save powder…I see that it’s not on the list, but the liquid is? The liquid cuts all the savings out of the deal, as it’s a lot more expensive per load. Our water is a bit hard, so we have calgon liquid, which is easily findable at local retailers. For any extra whitening, we have Sun Oxy. Seems to be working so far.
Thank you for this list. I’ve been wondering what to use with Thirstie covers since that is what I have ordered.
I too use Country Save powder, which is HE safe as well. Not sure why that’s not on the list when Country Save liquid (non-HE) is. Maybe need to update the list a bit?
I’m switching to Charlie’s Soap. Any thoughts on why it’s not on the list? Thanks.
What? Your detergents are discontinued? Ahh, that’s what I wanted to try next. I’m using Country Save, but I’m not LOVING it. I just barely started using it with Calgon, and it’s working better. I have Hard Water (Utah), and I’ve been experiencing BAD repelling issues with fleece. I’ve wanted to try EcoSprout, Ruby Moon, Lulu’s Glamour Wash, or the Laundry Tarts, but I don’t see any of these on your list. Hmmm… 🙁
Also, stripping tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!
BTW, Thirsties are one of my favorite fitting diapers! 🙂
Okay, a couple questions. So should we not be use a wipe solution that has a bit of Dr. Bronner’s in it? Because it will cause repelling?
Next question. I just read that a 15 dryer cycle on my covers once per month is beneficial. How beneficial? I don’t really want to have to remember to do this, but I suppose I will if it will help the longevity of my diaper covers.
Final question. Why is Oxygen Bleach bad? I think it is added to a bunch of the new cloth diaper detergents.
Thanks for your help.
Tide is my friend 🙂
I love Tide Original Powder! True, it may not be as eco-friendly, but it’s the only detergent I’ve tried so far that hasn’t caused repelling, diaper rash, or major stink. Not sure if it’s because of our water, but several other popular CD detergents caused lots of problems for us.
It feels like I’m always searching for a different detergent. Thanks for this informative article on good detergents that are good with Thirsties! Cloth diapering is an investment, as well as a learning process!
Huh, interesting that two of the more popular detergents I see used (Rockin’ Green and Eco Sprout) aren’t listed. Any particular reason why? I started with Rockin’ Green Soft Rock and switched to Charlie Banana after they were on Zulily and my Rockin’ Green ran out. After my Charlie Banana is gone I plan to try Eco Sprout because my local retailer carries it.
Hi Robin,
We don’t recommend detergents with oxygen bleach, due to the fact that our suppliers said not to use it on microfiber fleece, laminate, or hook and loop fasteners. We have to list detergents that can be used on all of our products. Let me know if you have any other questions!
~Sonya
Thanks for all the info! This will help me prepare for my little one!
Thanks for the list of detergents!
Hi ladies, thanks for all the comments! If a detergent is not on the list, that probably means is has an ingredient that we don’t recommend for our diapers, or that it didn’t work well for us. Oxygen bleach is on ingredient in many detergents, and is great at cleaning, but can deteriorate components on diapers when used on a normal basis. Borax can weaken hook and loop fasteners. Please remember that we cannot answer questions on the thread efficiently, so please send all questions to support@thirstiesbaby.com. I am happy to address any questions! ~Sonya
I’m really bummed about no more pre-wash! 🙁 I just had my second baby and hadn’t needed any for a while. I started using it when nothing else seemed to get the stink out of my Fab Fitteds. I hope you’ll consider bringing it back! 😉
I’ve been using Nellie’s and so far it’s been working great! I’m new to CDing and was amazed at how clean my inserts were with the Nellie’s detergent 🙂
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