*Skip to the end of the post for my quick rundown on this detergent*
Most people that have cloth diapered have experienced the stinkies. You know, those loads of 'clean' diapers that seem to have a never dissipating smell of ammonia? Fortunately, for most people it doesnt have to stay an ongoing problem. Its often an issue of getting your laundry routine right, but that being said, different detergents work for different people, often due to the type of water you have and what types of material you are washing.
Just so you know the conditions we are washing in... We are in Knoxville, Tennessee. We have hard water. I use a non HE top loader. Most of our diapers have microfiber inserts.
So far we have used Tide Original powder, Rockin Green Classic, Charlie's Soap, and now Eco Sprout.
We quickly discontinued the use of the Tide at the beginning of our cloth diapering journey, due to many bad reviews regarding detergent buildup. We then moved onto Rockin Green Classic (Rng). We did a soak with some Rockin Green Funk Rock (their Ammonia Bouncer), and washed with the RnG. It took a couple of weeks of stink issues for us to get what RnG told us was the Tide buildup out of the diapers. But even towards the end of the bag, months later, we were still having ammonia issues every few weeks. We then switched to Charlie's soap. I have to say, we have not had any problems with Charlie's soap. It did its job, it got the diapers clean. We did add a very small amount of Sun Oxycleaner to each load, due to Charlie's not being a disinfectant. But I felt they could be a little bit cleaner, so when we got to the bottom of our bag, We again had to decide what detergent we were going to use. I had tried a couple of samples of EcoSprout, but we hadnt used it continuously. I have read some amazing reviews on the stuff. So we headed over to
Cutie Tooties and picked up a 48 oz bag of Eco Sprout.
Eco Sprout is
$1.75 for 2oz samples,
$7.98 for 24oz bags,
$13.98 for 48oz bags and
$24.98 for 96oz bags.
It comes in a cute little drawstring canvas bag, with a zippered plastic bag inside.
Here are some pictures of the ingredients and instrustions.
Eco Sprout is environmentally friendly, biodegradable and 100% natural. The formula was created by a work at home dad.
Our seasonal scent is Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Now here is the part you MUST MUST follow!!!
You need to do the presoak, to get any residue out of your diapers.
I filled the washer with HOT water, added the 3 tbsp of detergent, and let the diapers soak all night, for 11 hours,then drained. Then I did the recommend 2 hot washes with cold rinses.
The backside of the above paper had a chart for how much detergent you should use, for some reason my picture is missing. But here is what the chart says:
Type of Machine Water Type Amount of Detergent
HE front loader Soft water 1-2 TBSP
HE front loader Regular Water 2-3 TBSP
HE front loader Hard water 2-4 TBSP
Top Loader Soft Water 2 TBSP
Top Loader Regular Water 2-4 TBSP
Top Loader Hard Water 3-4 TBSP
Now I have read that many people are able to see their water change from clear to murky during the first soak. I however didn't have that experience. (Hopefully that means mine weren't too bad to begin with!!) Here is the before and after pictures of the water:
Our inserts came out with absolutely no smell at all. The desired product.
EDITED:
We have been using the detergent for about 3 1/2 months now.
We have had no ammonia issues or build up issues.
For an extra large load, we use 3 tbsp, for a slightly smaller load I use 2 tbsp. We do a cold rinse, Hot wash with the detergent and a regular rinse, than a cold extra rinse. *For a particularly poopy load I will put a couple of sprays of biokleen BacOut in the prerinse*
It is a bit pricy, since I have very hard water I have to use more than some people. My 48 oz bag lasted about 3 months, washing every other day. But well worth it when I have no worries about the stinkies showing up.
I can not stress enough, if you have hard water, or have had ammonia issues, Try this Detergent!!!
*Remember to do the overnight soak before you switch!!*
Have YOU tried Eco Sprout? What were your results? (Include your washing conditions!)
Disclaimer:
All opinions are my own, I was not compensated for this review, all products used were bought myself.
