I was recently presented with the opportunity to review a new product from my favorite cloth diaper detergent company,
Rockin' Green! They're known for having the perfect detergent for cloth diapers, no matter what your water conditions (hard v. soft)! Many cloth diapering parents will
"Rock the Soak" when diapers are not absorbing as well as they have. When we were using another detergent and couldn't get rid of the smells, we used this technique and it helped immensely... we had gotten to the point where we were stripping diapers every time we were washing! They recently came out with a new product "Funk Rock" that is meant for when your cloth diapers start smelling funky! I haven't tried it, but people say it works wonders!
Well, the latest new product from Rockin' Green (RnG) is their Remix formula! I received 3
samples of the remixed Classic Rock formula in the scents: Rage Against the Raspberries, Lavender Mint Revival, and Bare Naked Babies (unscented, this is what we currently use in the "old" formula). I wanted to try some of their scents, because I am always so paranoid of how Jack will react to using scented detergents. Here's an overview of how they've changed the formula (information in black summarized from
Rockin' Green's website; I've added my own thoughts & opinions in
green):
- Remix has a lower pH to be gentler on your diapers in the long run! Let's be honest, all clothing wears out eventually after repeated washing! Diapers are the part of baby clothes that are washed more often... in my house a diaper will be washed about 2 times a week due to the size of our stash! I want these diapers to last through baby #2 and beyond if I can keep them in good shape.
- Safer for sensitive skin; this formula underwent cosmetic testing to see if it caused any irritation (this was done with the Bare Naked Babies, unscented, version). My guess as to the reason why testing wasn't done on the scented versions is because there's going to be more variation due to different perfumes used (this is pretty typical of any scented product: deodorant, detergent, baby wipes). I know Jack has sensitive skin, so we've always gone the safe route with unscented products!
- Better cleaning power per scoop to take care of stains with less detergent! Due to all of the rain in the Midwest this spring I haven't been able to sun my diapers to try and reduce stains. Jack was on antibiotics a week ago, the effects caused a decent poo stain that I really wanted to get out (see below) because its on one of my favorite diapers!
The first sample I tried is Rage Against the Raspberries Remixed Classic Rock, and I love it! I love the fruity scent... you need something pleasant smelling when dealing with dirty diapers. Its a very subtle scent, at least with my allergy stuffed nose, but that's good in my opinion! My first load of diapers, I decided to change up my wash routine and see how the diapers fared. Instead of doing my normal routine (cold-cold rinse, warm-warm wash with 1-2 tbsp. of RnG, and
at least 2 warm-cold rinses) I chose to shorten the routine and use the approximate same amount of detergent (this amount varies based on the number of diapers I'm washing). I did one cold-cold rinse followed by my warm-warm wash with 1.5 tablespoons of the remixed formula, then only one warm-cold rinse.... in my high efficiency front loader. Duh, duh, duh... I took a rinse cycle out
and I use a front loader. I must have felt like living on the edge that day! Well, my diapers got the sniff test after I took them out of the washer to be dried and hey, no scent! As opposed to when you're washing clothes or something with a scented fabric softener, this is a
good thing when using a scented cloth diaper detergent. This led me to believe that there was no (or at least very little) detergent residue after my wash routine!
I went to wash my 2nd load of cloth diapers a couple days later (we typically wash every other day) and expected to smell the large scent of ammonia I typically smell after diapers have set in my wetbag for over 36 hours. Well, this pregnant mama's nose was not overwhelmed by ammonia as is the usual situation (and I'm a chemist, so for chemical smells to bug me, it must be pretty strong). I did smell some, but I don't know how many diapers were actually washed with the remix formula in the load before (we've got 3 people changing diapers around here, just one variable of which I wasn't going to keep track.) I'm hoping that the reduced ammonia smell keeps up (and maybe even gets better) because that would really be a sign of the increased cleaning power of the new formula!
For my second load of diapers using the same scent and wash routine as above, I wanted to see how one of my favorite diapers fared. This diaper was stained by my son's pretty nasty poo brought on by antibiotics last week. This stained diaper had already been washed once, maybe twice before the pictures I'm going to show next.
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| You can see the darker stain right in the middle. This is before I put it in the wash, it was slightly damp with pee and my laundry area is on the darker side & I left the flash off, so there is very little "bleaching" of the photo due to light. |
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| This is after one cycle with the remixed formula, the stain has already been reduced pretty significantly. This picture was taken on our drying rack (the diaper was slightly damp) and the light was more plentiful than in our shadowy laundry area (I still left the flash off) so that might attribute to the diaper looking as great in this picture, but when I am looking at this diaper in darker conditions I can tell the difference! Since the weather is nice this weekend, I'm going to stick the diapers outside in the sun to dry to see if that takes care of the stain even more! |
Rockin' Green is also currently running a series called
"52 Weeks of Clean" where you can receive a tip a week on other ways to use Rockin' Green detergent! This detergent doesn't have to be just be used for clothes or cloth diapers. You can get a tip a week via text or via email for one year.
So, on to the fun part... a giveaway!! Rockin' Green has allowed me to offer one lucky reader a 45/90 load bag of remixed formula in their choice of scent and appropriate formula (Hard, Classic, or Soft). Here are the details!
Giveaway will end July 3rd, 2011 at 11:00 p.m. EST.
Mandatory entry: You must leave a comment below with what scent you would like to try... and there are certainly some great options: Smashing Watermelons, Rage Against the Raspberries, Motley Clean, Earth, Wind & Orchids, Lavender Mint Revival, Mighty Marshmallow, and Bare Naked Babies (unscented)!
**Note: All comments must be made with a Blogger account, not anonymously
**
Additional entries (leave an additional comment per extra entry)
:
- Leave a comment (not anonymous) stating which formula you need (Classic, Soft, or Hard); you can use the excellent map from RnG for help if you don't know your water quality. (1 extra entry per giveaway, not per day)
- Be a fan of Rockin' Green Cloth Diaper Detergent on Facebook; leave a comment with your Facebook ID (1 extra entry per giveaway, not per day).
- Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect and make a comment stating this fact. (1 extra entry per giveaway, not per day)
- Follow my blog on Facebook via Networked Blogs; leave your Facebook ID in your comment. (1 extra entry per giveaway, not per day)
- Follow my blog via email subscription (right-hand side) and leave a comment with your email address. (1 extra entry per giveaway, not per day)
- Promote this giveaway via Twitter or your own blog, leave a link to the post or your Twitter ID and the contents of the Tweet below. (1 extra entry per day)
Winner will chosen via Random.org and be announced by 12:00 a.m. EST on July 5th and will have 48 hours to contact me via email.
Disclaimer: I contacted Rockin' Green after seeing a request from Rockin' Green for bloggers to test and host a giveaway for the new Remix formula. I received 3 samples of the remixed formula and asked to provide a review on my blog; I was not otherwise compensated in any way for this post. All comments and observations are my own and based off of my own experiences, your experience may differ. If the first winner does not contact me within 48 hours of the announcement, a runner-up will be chosen and so-on. Only the winner's contact information will shared with Rockin' Green so they can ship the prize. The prize of a 45/90 load of detergent is solely the responsibility of Rockin' Green.
