Simply washing your diapers on HOT (130 degrees Fahrenheit) with a good detergent, and putting them in the sun to dry will routinely help to disinfect diapers. Please make sure that you are not overloading your machine, and using our special washing instructions if you have an HE machine. Drying on high heat will also kill germs, but is not recommended as a routine for diapers with components. Yeast will effectively be killed at temperatures above 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you are following the recommended washing instructions and still have diaper odor, below are some remedies that may help:
Grapefruit Seed Extract- Tests have shown that GSE is dramatically more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach against five common microorganisms. In studies performed by Dr. John Mainarich of Bio-Research Laboratories in Redmond, WA, samples of each of the common antimicrobials or sanitizing agents were evaluated for effectiveness against Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus faecium and E. coli. The other antimicrobials tested were considerably less effective than the GSE. http://drjaygordon.com/breastfeeding/thrush.html
2 teaspoons added to the washer while filling should suffice. GSE is also an ingredient in our Thirsties Super Wash.
Tea Tree oil is another option. Add 2 Teaspoons to the washer while filling. Make sure you are using 100% tea tree oil and not a cheaper mixture.
You want to look at the Cineole and Terpinen-4-ol numbers.
Cineole: The lower the number the better. Tree oils with high cineole content are thought to be of poor quality and more likely to cause skin irritation.
Terpinen-4-ol: The higher the number the better. Terpinen-4-ol appears responsible for most of the antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil.
Vinegar is known to kill germs, although it does not kill yeast. Vinegar is also not recommended for diapers with components or lamination, or microfiber. You would use 1 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle after a hot wash with detergent. Follow with a high heat cycle in the dryer.
**Please be sure to check with manufacturer's washing instructions (and warranty information) before starting any disinfecting routine.