Posted by KarenC on March 04, 2004 at 19:12:17:
In Reply to: Stinky diapers posted by ejmom on March 04, 2004 at 18:45:10:
I think you may well have a detergent build-up. It's more difficult for me to give advice about this to someone who uses a front loader but I'll give it a shot (hopefully someone with experience specific to a front loader can help as well).
First I'd recomend lowering the amount of detergent you use. I know that front loaders usually require *much* less detergent than top loaders and 1/4 c sounds like a lot for a front loader (I've heard amounts in the tablespoons quoted by other front loader users).
I would recomend putting your clean diapers through a whole cycle (or more) with no detergent to see if that helps. I don't know if it's possible with a front loader but try to check if there are suds in the final rinse and just keep rinsing until there are none. Be warned that if you do have a bad detergent build-up this could actually take a few entire cycles to clear up!! It could be that the detergent wasn't an issue an issue before but now that she's older (more on solids, more concentrated urine etc...) it's become more of an issue. Before I knew about detergent build-up I had odor issues with the diapers I used for nighttime diapering (see below for how I solved the problem) so I definetly think that concentration can be a factor.
Have you lowered your hot water heater temp recently? That could also be an issue.
Just know that although it's a common problem, it's definetly not something you have to live with...
A couple other ideas... Try using an enzyme cleaner to give them a really good deep clean. I've used a product called Mother's Little Miracle in the past (I think my problem was build-up but I didn't know about it and this did work well) but I'm not sure where it's available (I got mine at a store that's now closed). You can also use enzymatic pet mess cleaners (available at pet stores). They're basically the same except aimed to a different market. It's just a clear liquid that's *fabulous* for removing organic odors like urine.
Karen.