What's the one thing is unavoidable with cloth diapers that has as many as answers as cloth diaper users?
Washing and wash routines.

I did a post back in March in which I compared detergents based on two popular sites. I selected detergents that were easily found in stores, or which I thought were carried the nearest Whole Foods.



Everyone has a routine that works best for them.
Some variables include water conditions, age, type and size of machines, detergents, additives used in other laundry. Some people use a dry pail, some a wet one. Some people rinse diapers meticulously, others are lax.
Some people use essential oils, baking soda and/or vinegar. There are people who only use hot water.
Some people wash every other day, others once a week.

I prefer the KISS method. If there are less variables, the easier things are to me.
At this point in time, I am using a laundromat. That is evil.
With cloth diapers, it is usually recommended that you use less detergent. I have come to realize that people tend to over use detergent. My mother in law is a good example of the "unless there's suds your clothes aren't clean" school of thought. She still doesn't like Charlie's. She also likes to tell me that cornmeal and flour come in sacks, not detergent.
Back to the laundromat, people over use detergent and fabric softeners. I am surprised by the amount of people who mess us the bleach dispensers. I avoid the problem by doing a few loads of towels in the machine I select (and sometimes clean out) before I do diapers. (Paranoid? Maybe) That way I know that I've used the correct amount of detergents and that at least a few loads went through without any additives. I have seen people who use fabric softener AND dryer sheets (overkill?) Thankfully our dryer still works. I bring them home and hang them up on the nice days. More often than not, they find their way into the dryer.

My routine? Glad you asked.
-Cold Rinse
-Hot Wash with a scoop of Charlie's. I have learned how to adjust based on the size of the load over the last 4 years.
-Cold Rinse
-Hot Wash/ Cold Rinse based on the amount of detergent bubbles. Sometimes I'm just good and the first cycle gets it all.

I have recently come across a cloth diaper detergent which is made by Bum Genius. It's supposedly measured into cloth diaper sized loads. I've been waiting to try it. I've also heard lots of buzz online about Rocking Green Soap and they have lots of yummy scents.

At this point in time, I really don't know which to try. It might come down to a matter of price and who has the cheapest shipping.