My daughters are 20 months and 8 months. We chose to cloth diaper when I was pregnant with our first because of financial reasons. They both have sensitive skin and eczema. But cloth diapers actually presented less issues than disposable diapers. And in fact the older girl has only ever had 2 rashes and the younger one has never had one at all. But we moved somewhere new a few weeks ago. Now they are both red a lot in the diaper area. The older girl especially. She is potty training and reacts to diapers and panties. She only wears a diaper now for sleeping or being away from home. I guess this issue is hard water. But I cannot afford a household water softener. Any suggestions? I am so frustrated by this I am about to drop cloth diapers altogether.
ETA: we use all free and clear for laundry and diapers. Tried arm and hammer. Loved it but had to switch because the girls had an allergic reaction to it. Thanks for the calgon suggestion. I will try that first.
No fabric softener. Bought a dryer bar. Been using it for months with no reactions.
Arm and Hammer Laundry Detergent. Sodium is a water softner. Arm and Hammer laundry detergent is sodium based. It will also help remove odor from cloth diapers. I would use the powdered form without the added oxiclean. Also, you might try a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle to level the ph. I used cloth diapers on my youngest 2 children I used these products.
Our water district provides very hard water. In order to combat this, I use 1/2 cup of Borax in the washing machine with every load of wash (along with the regular laundry detergent). I have extremely sensitive skin, as do both of my daughters, and we have never had a reaction to Borax. Apparently Borax is an all-natural product that somehow cuts through the hardness of the water, allowing you to use less soap and achieve the same result (or use the same amount of soap and your clothes actually get clean! ;)
We also use the free & clear type laundry detergents, like you do. I'm assuming that you're not using any fabric softeners, either? Those can be really hard on sensitive skin.
On the laundry aisle, get a bottle of Calgon water softener. That helped tremendously with my cloth diapering. What kind of detergent do you use? I ask, because I found that some (even the cloth diaper safe ones) just do NOT work with hard water. You might need to strip your diapers, as well. What worked for me, was turning the hot water heater up, and washing it with VERY hot water a couple of times. Remember to turn it back down, though!!
This is what the Calgon looks like, so you can spot it more easily!
http://www.homesolutionsnews.us/calgon/
ETA: I forgot to mention, do NOT use vinegar when you wash the diapers. Vinegar does not react well with hard water, in your diapers.
I am also going to suggest using vinegar to replace fabric softener. Both my husband and my daughter have multiple respiratory allergies, and I am always looking for a way to make their symptoms just a little better. Dropping fabric softener helped a little, and now I just pour straight vinegar in the liquid fabric softener dispenser in the washing machine. Works like a charm - no smell. It's also supposed to help with the build-up on the clothes - both from soap AND stuff in the water (which is really why I'm suggesting it - it's a happy side-effect in my case, but in your case, might be a main benefit!).
Incidentally, you might want to clean your washing machine, too. If for no other reason than the hard water can build up in there, too. You can use a vinegar/bleach solution in a super hot cycle (google it for the exact proportions), use NO SUGAR lemon koolaid or lemonaid packets(it's the citric acid that does it), or buy appliance cleaning packets (in our grocery store, it's in the dishwasher detergent aisle, but they work for washing machines, too). You can do the same for your dishwasher, too. (I prefer the cleaning packets, myself.)
