The power of sun

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Did you know that the sun is one of the most powerful and popular items mentioned on cloth diapering forums? It often comes up on a daily basis (yes, I know I am a dork for reading cloth diapering boards). Every couple of days or so someone complains again about getting all the stains out, or a particularly stubborn stain. Time and time again, others chirp in about the sun.

Not only does the sun have powerful bleaching properties, it also has powerful antibacterial properties. On the off chance your baby gets a diaper rash (esp bacterial or yeast), the sun is often all you need to rid your diapers of any culprits. It really takes first hand experience to be quite amazed. I had diapers that I knew the sun would not turn white, but it did!! I had diapers that just had little smudges that I didn’t even care about, but they were absolutely pristine after leaving them in the sun (yes, I described a diaper as possibly being pristine).

Cloth diapers have a pretty high resale value (50-80%) and often times moms will carefully describe if the diapers have been sunned or not before selling. It’s widely accepted that the sun is one of the most powerful cleaning tools. It is best to lay the diapers out wet and let them fully dry in the sun. If you have a particularly stubborn stain you can also use a little lemon juice (wash the diapers again afterwards). However, the sun has always taken care of every stain by itself for me. It also works in as little as 1-2 hours if you’re in a hurry, and it works on cloudy days, too

In summary, some of the benefits are:

--NO energy (but your own)

--gets rid of odor

--gets rid of stains

--gets rid of bacteria

--conversation starter