What Does It Mean To 'Strip' A Diaper?

Stripping diapers is a phrase that people toss around an awful lot in cloth diapering circles.  Any time your diapers smell and you change detergents, or you 'prep' a new diaper for use, someone will refer to it as 'stripping' your diapers.  Sometimes they're right, but often this is just a catch all phrase.

Here's what it actually means to strip your diapers and how and why you may like to do it.

'Stripping' a diaper means to bring that diaper back to its original fabric state, or as close as you can get it.  When you strip a diaper you are removing any residue and buildup from the fabric in order to start fresh, with a clean diaper.  Why would you want to do this?  If your diapers have begun to leak they might have too much residue on them to function properly, or if they are smelling they may have organic matter buildup that needs to be 'deep cleaned' out of the fabric.  When diapers are newly purchased it's also a good idea to strip them to remove any chemical residue left behind from the manufacturing process, or fabric starching used to make the diaper look new.

If this sounds heavy duty, that's because it is.  You don't strip your diapers by hanging them in the sun, or tossing some Oxyclean in the wash cycle; stripping is labour intensive, and really should be avoided by keeping up with your wash routine on a frequent basis.

You can often delay stripping your diapers by using a good detergent (and the correct amount of it) in the first place.  At the first sign of trouble, re-evaluate your wash routine.  Periodically washing diapers in a different detergent may help to remove residue (remember how switching shampoos helped clean your hair better?) as will pre-rinsing your diapers, washing smaller loads at a time, using more water or adding an extra rinse cycle.  Checking to make sure your diapers are made of fabrics that aren't prone to ammonia build-up, adding baking soda to your wash cycle and vinegar to your rinse and laying your diapers in the sun will also help prevent a need to strip.

At some point, though, you may need to.  Especially if you've used anything on your baby's bottom (such as baby oil, bum cream or lotion) that may have 'stuck' to the fabric and not come off during a wash.  Start by washing your diapers with a good detergent and adding an extra rinse.  When your diapers come out of the washer you'll want to use very hot water, boiling hot if you can manage it.  Boil them on the stove with a bit of dish detergent.  Dish soap is formulated to remove grease, and chances are it's an oil-based buildup you're dealing with.  Just a drop, though, because it isn't great for your skin.  Boil your diapers (not PUL covers, though, just fabric), drain, rinse, and dry.

Stripping diapers, as I mentioned, is really something that shouldn't be done frequently.  Fabric isn't meant to be boiled!  If your diapers frequently suffer from 'diaper stink', or leaking issues, or serious staining, then stripping isn't your go-to solution.  Try altering how you care for them on a daily basis before resorting to stripping.

Here's a good video describing methods of stripping cloth diapers that's a bit more all-inclusive than the option I gave above.

Happy Stripping!