Stripping & the Swish Test: What It Is & When to Do It
Stripping is like hitting the reset button on your diapers and laundry. It removes buildup from minerals, detergent, or oils and crud that regular washing hasn’t cleared. Remember! Always strip clean diapers, never dirty ones.
When to Strip:
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Diapers still stink right after washing
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Inserts feel greasy or repelling
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Persistent leaks, even with good fit
Your wash routine changed, and things haven’t been working since
Swish Test (Always start here!)
So, what is a swish test? The swish test can help you diagnose problems your diapers may be having. It’s a useful tool for your problem-solving belt.
How to Do It:
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Fill a clean clear bowl with WARM water. Glass is best but plastic will work fine.
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Swish a freshly washed diaper (preferably an insert) around in the water squeezing it a few times white its submerged.
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Look for bubbles, suds, cloudiness, or an ammonia smell.
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Bubbly or sudsy water? That could mean detergent buildup. This means you either don't have enough water in your cycle to wash out detergent, you're using too much detergent, or your water is soft and you're not using the right amount or have enough rinses.
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Smelly or cloudy water? Bacteria might still be lingering — time to tweak your routine. You may need to add an addition to your wash routine like a softener or more detergent.
- Clear and odorless? That's good! Your issue could likely be due to some other part of your wash routine that can be tweaked.
Fixing the Problem
Detergent Buildup
- Detergent free hot washes. Run 2–3 hot/warm washes with no detergent until there are no more suds or film in the water. This may only work for mild detergent buildup.
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Throwing in a few towels may help with agitation.
- For a more severe build-up problem, you will have to manually rinse, wrong, and grape stomp in a tub or bin using old-fashioned elbow grease. Some people also choose to use the water hose or a pressure washer to blast their sudsy inserts on the driveway. Please use caution if you choose to use this.
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Option to add ½-1 Cup Vinegar based off of load size to a normal warm wash cycle, or to tub. Vinegar neutralizes detergent and helps it rinse out. Please use caution when using vinegar with your diapers as it can cause breakdown of the elastics and PUL.
Barnyard Stink
Stripping Soak with GroVia Mighty Bubbles or RLR (both can be bought in some stores or online)
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Fill your tub or top loader with hot water.
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Add 1-2 packets of RLR or Mighty Bubbles per load.
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Soak for 4–6 hours, or overnight, then rinse thoroughly.
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Always sanitize after stripping. Stripping loosens and brings all the gunk from the fibers to the surface, and sanitizing helps to eliminate any remaining bacteria causing issues.
- Wash with normal routine afterwards.
Mineral Buildup
- Use RLR packets, enough for your load size (1-2) Follow directions on back of packet
- Add to your normal wash routine in first wash
- Ensure your first wash has a soak feature for about 30 min
- Sanitize in second wash. You can add bleach or Lysol laundry sanitizer to washer dispenser. Make sure to use correct dilution and concentration of bleach.
Option 3: DIY Strip in tub (for Heavy Buildup)
This option isn't often necessary for many people with a normal wash routine.
Mix the following in a large bucket or bathtub filled with HOT water:
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3 tbsp washing soda
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3 tbsp Borax
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3 tbsp Calgon
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Soak clean diapers for 4–6 hours, then rinse and wash as normal.
- Don't forget to sanitize after!
How to Sanitize Cloth Diapers (Bleach & Vinegar Methods)
Sanitizing is occasionally necessary — like after illness, yeast infections, mold or stripping. Here’s how to do it safely.
Bleach Soak (useful for yeast*, ammonia, used diapers)
Always sanitize used diapers to make sure there is no cross contamination from one family to another. For yeast, treating this way is useful for when you want to treat once and be done and use disposables until the rash is treated and cleared up. See below for additional instructions on how to sanitize if using cloth concurrently while treating a yeast diaper rash.
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Fill a tub, washing machine or sink with cold water.
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Add 1 tbsp bleach per gallon of water (When using bleach make sure it is regular chlorine bleach with a hypochlorite concentration of at least 5.25%. And always follow instructions on the label).
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Soak clean diapers 30–45 min.
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Rinse, then run a full hot/warm wash with detergent.
- When treating for a yeast diaper rash and you want to use cloth diapers during treatment, you will need to make sure you are using a medicated cream (anti fungal), and a liner if using one not cloth-safe. You will want to treat all diapers by sanitizing every wash and then continuing for an additional two weeks once the rash has resolved on the baby's skin. Yeast is a spore and not the same as a virus or bacteria, and must be treated differently when it comes to disinfection.
Vinegar Rinse (hard‑water residue, mild mold)
*Vinegar should not be used for yeast problems! It does not adequately kill spores.*
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Add ¼–½ cup white vinegar to rinse cycle.
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Rinse, then wash as normal.
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For Mold -
-Use 1 part vinegar 3 parts water
-Soak 1-2 hours
- Normal warm wash
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Don’t use vinegar regularly on PUL or elastics and this will degrade the material over time.
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer can be a helpful tool when you're looking for a bleach-free option and to kill lingering bacteria—especially after illness, yeast, or stubborn smells—but it’s important to use it the right way so you don’t damage your diapers.
- Start with clean diapers. This product is meant to sanitize—not replace your regular wash routine—so make sure your diapers have already been washed before using Lysol.
- Add Lysol Laundry Sanitizer to the rinse cycle. For most machines, that’s in the fabric softener compartment. Use the amount recommended on the bottle (typically 2 capfuls for a standard load).
- Use the rinse or sanitize setting if your machine has one. If not, run an extra rinse with warm or cool water after adding Lysol.
- Skip it on every wash. Lysol is best used occasionally, not as part of your daily diaper routine. Overuse can cause fabric wear over time—especially on elastics and waterproof layers (PUL).
- Adding a sanitizer after illness is mainly for peace of mind. For most bacterias and viral illnesses, regular washing with detergent and water is sufficient to break down the cell wall and kill the cell.
️ Do not use Lysol sanitizer or bleach or and stripping agent on WOOL covers or any diapers made with natural rubber or silk. It’s too harsh for those materials. Please check with your manufacturer if you have diapers from those materials and need help with them.