the little hedgehog: The Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Day 5 and a Rockin' Green Review (UPDATE: GIVEAWAY!)

The Flats and Handwashing Challenge continues! Day 5 just seemed to fly by! If you're new and just coming in on this challenge, you can head over to Dirty Diaper Laundry and read the Rules to find out more about what's going on.

Friday was an uneventful day - nothing dramatic or overly exciting happened. (I'm ok with that) I feel like I have gotten into a good groove with the flats and covers. I have found folds that work well for little man and I love practicing them. It has been really rewarding to see how I have gotten quicker and better at folding the flats. I was so happy that the sun was shining today and that I got another batch of flats and covers washed and hung out in the sunshine!

I am so thankful that washing the flats and covers has gone so smoothly. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get them clean enough or get the soap rinsed out. The last thing I wanted was a rash on little man's tushy or diapers that had to get re-washed multiple times because they hadn't gotten clean the first go-around.

Before the Flats and Handwashing Challenge started, I had contacted Rockin' Green about the Challenge and was so happy when they agreed to be one of my sponsors and sent me 4 different Hard Rock samples!

Scent Descriptions from the Rockin' Green Website:

Smashing Watermelons- this juicy watermelon blend is like a kick to your senses.
Rage against the Raspberry- this raspberry and honey blend will have you running around the laundry room looking for the mosh pit!
Mötley Cleän - there's clean and then there's Mötley Cleän. This fresh blend has hints of ocean, fresh linen, and sunshine.
Lavender Mint Revival- this medley of lavender and mint is like nothing you have heard or smelled before!

I broke in my flats by boiling them on the stove and I used Rockin' Green to help me pull out all of the natural oils and whatever "funk" was in the diapers before I used them on little man. I decided to start with Lavender Mint Revival and it was wonderful! I loved the natural minty/lavender-y scent - it smelled so relaxing! When I scooped some in to the pots of boiling water, it almost felt like I was getting a mini facial with all of the steam rising and the scent in the air.

Once the pots of water were boiling, I added a small scoop of Rockin' Green and then added 2 flats per pot. I let them boil for about 30 minutes, making sure to keep a close eye of my boiling diapers. When they were done, I pulled the flats out and rinsed, rinsed, rinsed with cold water to make sure that all of the detergent was out. I was really quite impressed with what Rockin' Green was able to pull out of the flats. The water was noticeably dingy. Ewww... I'm so glad I chose to boil my flats in Rockin' Green!

I also have been using Rockin' Green to wash my flats and covers for the first half of the challenge. My general routine is fairly simple. First I rinse the diapers with cool water. Then I fill the tub about 1/3 of the way up with hot water and added about 1Tbs of Rockin' Green. I swished the diapers and then let them soak for about an hour and finished by swishing and agitating again. Then, I drained the tub and rinsed the diapers thoroughly with cold water and wrung them out before hanging them outside on my portable drying rack. I was really pleased that the Rockin' Green rinsed out so easily. I didn't have a hard time getting the diapers to be clean rinsing at all. I was also really happy that after I brought them in from hanging outside, they smelled like...nothing! They smelled like clean, fresh flat diapers. There wasn't a hint of dirty diaper smell to them at all!

Getting their initial swish/agitation

About an hour later after a mini-soak and some more swishing/agitation. ...Is that some funk I see? Yay for Rockin' Green for getting the "yuck" out of the flats!

I felt like Rockin' Green was constantly hard at work on my diapers. I was really surprised that after the first wash, it still managed to pull out some more natural oils and "funk" from the flats. Rockin' Green was great to use with my flats and covers - it got my diapers clean and smelled so good while I was washing them too! Rockin' Green has some great scents (Lavender Mint Revival and Rage Against the Raspberries are my fave!). Initially, I was a little worried that Rockin' Green might not dissolve as well in the tub as it would in a washing machine. But, i didn't have any trouble and was impressed by how quickly it dissolved in the hot water - the Hard Rock formula was perfect to battle our hard water here in Southern CA! I also love that Rockin' Green uses natural ingredients - that helps me feel good about using it for little man and his cloth diapers. But most importantly, Rockin' Green helped to get my diapers CLEAN for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge!

Interested in getting some Rockin' Green for your diaper laundry? You can SHOP their website for Soft Rock, Classic Rock or Hard Rock to take on whatever water type you have. You can also connect with Rockin' Green on Facebook or Twitter.

-UPDATE- CLOSED -

Funny thing happened to me the other day... I got a mystery package of 4 sample size Rockin' Green Classic Rock Bare Naked Babies in the mail! I contacted Rockin' Green and they weren't sure why I had gotten it and told me that I could either keep it or do a giveaway! So, what am I doing...a GIVEAWAY for my lovely readers!

TWO of my very lucky readers will each WIN 2 sample size packages of Rockin' Green Classic Rock Bare Naked Babies! Each sample size bag will do 2 loads in a Toploader and 4 in an HE machine!

Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry:

Leave me a comment letting me know your favorite cloth diaper detergent!Easy Peasy!

*This mandatory entry must be completed for the rest of your entries to be valid. I will be checking/verifying your comments, if you say you signed up for something or did something, you do need to actually do it for it to count as an entry*

Extra Entries:

Follow Rockin' Green on Facebook, please leave your Facebook name in your comment (1 entry)

Follow Rockin' Green on Twitter, please leave your Twitter ID in your comment. (1 entry)

Publicly follow my blog via GFC and leave me a comment here letting me know (2 entries)
Add my button to your blog and leave me a link (2 entries)

Follow The Little Hedgehog on Facebook. (1 entry)

Follow me on Twitter: @lttlehedgehog then, comment here with your Twitter ID to get your entry. (1 entry)

Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with a direct link to your tweet so I can see it to get your entry! You may use this tweet or make up your own: #Win 2 Samples of Rockin Green on the @lttlehedgehog blog! 2 winners! Safe for #clothdiapers! http://bit.ly/igfKVo {Ends 5/10} #giveaway (1 entry per day)

Blog about this review/giveaway. Be sure to include a link to this review/giveaway. Comment with a link to your blog post to get your entry! (2 entries)

*Don't forget to put your email address in each comment so I can get a hold of you if you are the lucky winner! If I cannot get a hold of you, I will have to draw another winner! Also, I will check to make sure that the winner filled out the mandatory entry.

*I will be sending the winner’s prize item to them directly.*
***Open to the US with shipping included.***

I'll accept entries until Thursday, June 9, 2011 at Midnight PST. I'll select a winner using random.org's random number generator, then email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email and if I don't get a response, I will have to choose another winner. Again, make sure you leave your email address in your comment!

Thank you to Rockin' Green who provided me with samples of their detergent to use during the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. These samples were sent to me free of charge for review and has not influenced my opinion of the product. I have sought to give my honest review and experience with this product. Special thanks to Rockin' Green for sponsoring me with Hard Rock samples to use for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and for also sending me samples free of charge to use for a giveaway!