We may not make that goal.
Impetigo. It sprang up on R's privates earlier this year, and has lingered ever since. It would come and go with the help of prescription strength anti-bacterial ointment, but I am incredibly frustrated that it is not yet GONE. I made a last ditch effort in November to get rid of it once and for all. I bleached the tub and the bath toys, I bleached the changing table, I bleached the cloth wipes and diaper inserts, then, finally, I stripped all wipes, inserts, and covers with Dawn and Thieves cleaning solution. I line-dried everything for days in the cold outdoor air (that's gotta kill bacteria, right?). R was in disposable diapers being cleaned with disposable wipes for at least three weeks to get it fully off her body. Then. Then. We put her in the cloth diapers again, and surprise! The impetigo rash came back. GRRRRR!!!!
I walked into the Cotton Babies store today on a MISSION. The very helpful assistant there recommended I use color safe bleach on the diaper covers as well. In my laundry frenzy I would have loved to have bleached the covers, but I didn't think you could. They have, you know, colors and stuff. But this lady said it could be done; it will soften the colors a little, but bumGenius actually recommends doing it every month. I am so relieved: I have another step to try! I am not currently the owner of color safe bleach, so a trip to the store is in order, but I cannot wait to see if this works. Please work!
Cloth diapers are an investment. You put your money and your hopes into them and it's a damn shame if they let you down. I'd hate to stop short of being able to diaper another baby with these diapers, but I also wouldn't want to knowingly give another baby a bacterial infection. Because that's another thing: after diapering OUR two children, the goal was to then sell the diapers to other parents to recoup some of the cost. But how could I sell these diapers with this impetigo bacteria still on them???
So, one more round of diaper bleaching and stripping, and then... I don't know what. If the rash comes back, I hate to say it, but the diapers may just have to be thrown away. I sincerely hope not.
UPDATE:
R is three days back in cloth and the impetigo has not yet reared its ugly head (or blisters). The color safe bleach must have worked! W00T! Such a relief. Now I can prewash the additional hemp inserts I had bought on my Cotton Babies excursion. I didn't wash them right away out of fear that I would have to abandon cloth diapering. Why buy more inserts when they won't get used, right? But it looks like, happily, that these diapers will continue to work for us, so let's get more absorbent action!
