GroVia Mighty Bubbles: A Review!

So I have been trying different things for a while, and I honestly have been meaning to review a bunch of the things I have tried but I've got so caught up with trying awesome stuff, work, family, and much more, that I haven't gotten a chance. I wanted to review BacOut next but I recently tried these and love them so much I just HAVE to gush about them!

 

I'll start off by saying we have hard water so we strip frequently anyway, usually about twice a month. We have also been struggling with ammonia lately so we have been stripping more often. The methods of stripping vary, as discussed in a previous post of mine. I have used a few different methods to strip and for the longest time my go to was RLR. RLR powder is $1.74 a packet making it affordable, but a little pricey if you are doing it often. You use one packet per strip unless you have an HE washer, then you only use half a packet. However, at Mama's Emporium you can buy GroVia Mighty Bubbles for $8 for a pack of 10 packs or $14 for 20. That makes them $.80 a pack for 10 or $.70 a pack for 20. This is a super great deal because one pack does it all. It is HE safe, neutral, has no alcohol or ethers, no ammonia, and is phosphate free. Unlike RLR, the ingredients aren't top secret, they are printed right there on the back of the package. All you have to do is pop it in your washer with your diapers, wash on hot with no detergent, and do an extra rinse. No other detergent is needed, although I prefer to wash my diapers with detergent before I do it.
If you are using an enzyme free detergent like most cloth diaper safe detergents, Rockin Green and EcoSprout (my favorite!) come to mind, you will need to use them regularly, because of the enzymes, and it's a good idea to use them every 6-8 weeks anyway just to make sure your diapers are at their freshest and most absorbent.

 

 

Here I took a picture of it next to the bag and the cup holder of the high chair to show it's size.

Where can I buy GroVia Mighty Bubbles?

You can buy GroVia Mighty Bubbles at Mama's Emporium A delightful store in Aurora, CO ran by a fellow mom who is dedicated to bringing you the best products at the best price. She even has an online store that I frequent! She offers layaway, wish lists (with 10% back on all completed wish lists!), and registries.

Bottom Line

Love them! They are more affordable than RLR and strip better. So far it's really helped with our ammonia issues, as well as our hard water build up. I plan on using them occasionally to keep my diapers at their freshest and most absorbent. They can be purchased at Mama's Emporium online or in Aurora, CO. I give it a 5/5 for functionality, affordability, and ease of use.

This review has been done in partnership with Mama's Emporium. If you are interested in helping me bring a review or giveaway to my blog, please email me at blueturtlesweetie@gmail.com!  

Something You Should Know: Stripping

Something you should know about with cloth diapers, you may need to strip. Stripping is a process to get rid of buildup caused by hard water, detergent buildup, using non safe rash creams, ammonia, stink issues, and just to make sure your diapers are at their freshest and most absorbent.

 

Why Strip?

 

Stripping can solve multiple problems. One such problem is repelling, when your diaper is having leaks because the fabric is not at it's most absorbent. This is usually caused by hard water mineral buildup or detergent buildup from using too much detergent and/or not rinsing enough. Another reason to strip is if you are having stink issues. Stink issues can be caused by not using enough detergent, detergent buildup, hard water buildup, ammonia, and other causes. Usually if your diapers smell like a barn, you aren't using enough detergent and you should play with how much you use. If they smell like pee or burn your eyes and nose after they are dirty, then it's ammonia buildup. Another culprit of stink is not using the right detergent. Some people have problems with some detergents that others find amazing. You have to find the right detergent for your diapers, water, and washing machine. Also, make sure you aren't using dryer sheets or fabric softener, as well as detergents that contain dyes or optical brighteners. It may also help to switch from a liquid detergent to a powder detergent. Liquid detergent has been known to cause buildup.

 

So you think you have to strip, now what?

 

Now you decide what kind of strip you want to do! There are multiple ways to strip your diapers and each has their benefits. I suggest you play with it and decide what way is best for you. I also think stripping can fix the symptoms, but you have to also find the cause of the problem and cure the disease so to speak. If you find yourself stripping often, you should tinker with your wash routine and try to adjust it so you can find the perfect routine and products for you! You may simply need to switch to a new detergent, you may also need to adjust how much detergent you are using, or you may need to add an extra rinse or adjust the temperatures of your washes. Whatever it is finding it is key and may take some Patience, trial, and error. Eventually though you will get it and you will be one happy cloth diaperer! I however live in an area that has VERY hard water and because I'm renting I'm not allowed to have a water softener. Plus on top of that our pipes are very old and my washer isn't the greatest. So I have settled for stripping every couple of weeks, especially now that we are fighting ammonia. One day I'll get a better machine and live somewhere with a water softener and all will be well, but stripping isn't hard to do so for now it's a good system we have worked out.

 

Different ways to strip

 

1. RLR - RLR is my go to stripping method. It's ingredients list is super secret so we don't know exactly what is in it but we know it is safe for cloth diapers and we know there is washing soda. I have heard people swear by adding washing soda to their wash and it stripping just like RLR but I have also heard of people's diapers being ruined because plain washing soda makes them rough and nothing gets the diapers soft after that has happened. So if you want to try that use caution and do so at your own risk, I won't risk it. Anyway back to RLR. It's very simple to use, you just put your clean diapers, weather dry or wet, into the washer with a packet of it (half a packet if you are using a HE washer) and wash on hot with a couple extra rinses and then voila, you're done! You should notice a difference right away.

 

2. GroVia Mighty Bubbles - GroVia Mighty Bubbles comes to us from the makers of GroVia diapers. It's a newer laundry treatment and is super convenient. It comes in a little packet that you just toss into the wash, kind of like a tide pod.The ingredients are Sodium Carbonate (washing soda), Sodium percarbonate, Sodium Polyitaconate, surfactants, Enzymes, Oxygen bleach activator, and Sodia sillicate. To use you place in the washer with diapers (clean or dirty, doesn't matter, but I always put them in clean), No other detergent is needed. You wash on hot and do a hot rinse and voila, you should notice the difference as soon as they are dry.

 

3. Bleach - Bleach is controversial. Some people say don't use bleach because it can damage your diapers. Some diaper companies recommend you use bleach. I personally use bleach on all my diapers that I buy used or am given, and occasionally to do a really deep strip. You KNOW they are clean and nothing is going to be wrong with them once you strip with bleach. It's kind of like starting over! I use 1/4 cup of bleach. How I do it without bleaching the color from my diapers is I fill my washer up [maximum water level] with hot water and 1/4 cup of bleach. It will bubble a little. Then I let the washer run a minute or two so the agitator mixes the bleach in, then put my diapers, inserts, wipes, etc in. The general consensus is this should be done no more than once a month. I recommend doing this to all your diapers after thrush, yeast, sickness, or if you get used diapers.

 

4. Blue Dawn - Blue dawn! This should be used with caution. I have heard you can also use Dapple Baby Bottle and Dish Liquid sold here. The Key to stripping with dish soap is to only use a little as it's very hard to rinse out. Some people just put a few drops in a bath tub and soak overnight then do a bunch of rinses until there are NO bubbles. Or you can do the same thing in your washer. Fill your washer with hot water and about 5 drops of the soap. Then put the diapers in and wash on hot, and keep rinsing until it's all out and there are no bubbles. I've heard this is better for oil buildup, not mineral buildup, such as if you use the wrong diaper rash cream with your cloth diapers. I have never used it, so I can only tell you what I've heard, such as it is very difficult to get them completely rinsed when using this method.

 

Bottom Line

 

The bottom line is, if you need to strip, I suggest RLR or GroVia Mighty Bubbles which are sold here. We are battling Amonia and the only thing that has worked is the bleach strip and the Grovia Mighty Bubbles, not RLR.