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I have been using mother-ease and some prefold cloth diapers for 2 years with no problems. Now they have begun to smell so awful that I switched to disposables until I solve the problem. My normal routine was to use a dry pale, always rinse out poopy diapers in the toliet, and wash every other day. First I do a cold rinse and then I wash in hot with detergent and a hot rinse. Sometimes I add vinegar to the cold rinse.
After reading other discussions on the topic I have tried boiling all my diapers, striping them in case of soap build up, and using baking soda. Nothing has helped the smell so far. I'd really like to get back to just using cloth diapers soon and would appreciate any further suggestions.
Thank you,
Lizzie |
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What happened when you stripped and boiled them? Nothing at all? Didn't help even temporarily? What did you do exactly when you stripped them? Did you check if there were lots of suds?
What kind of smell are we talking about exactly? Ammonia type smell or just 'icky' pee/poop type smell? Do they smell right out of the wash or only when dirty? Just at night or during the day as well? Did the smell come on gradually or was it sudden?
What kind of detergent are you using and how much? Do you have a front loader or top loader? Have you moved recently? Any major change in diet or maybe a new medication?
Sorry for so many questions, it's just that based on what you've said so far I can't really see any obvious problem so I'm trying to dig deeper...
Karen.
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Thank you for your help!
Nothing happened when I boiled them or stripped them. When I stripped them I washed them with out soap and used hot water. Is this right? I did not see a lot of suds. It is quite a mystery because it seemed to happen so fast with out a lot of changes to our life or our sons life. My son is two and is drinking less breast milk but other than that has had no diet or medication changes. We have had a top loading washer and recently have switched to a front loader. I have heard of problems washing diapers in front loaders. However, the problem started before the switch. I have been using dye/scent free arm and hammer liquid or powdered detergent. I use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Have you heard of powdered or liquid working differently? We've been using the powdered more often. Perhaps I should try liquid again.
I'd say the smell is more ammonia like than pee/poop like. They smell a little when they come out of the dryer and as soon as he wets them they start to smell really bad, either night or day. We use felt liners,mother ease or prefold diapers, and mother ease covers. All smell equally bad.
Thanks again,
Lizzie |
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That sounds like classic detergent build-up. I'd definetly try stripping them again.
For stripping usually you'd avoid any and all detergent as you're trying to rid the diapers of possible detergent build-up so you don't want to add more in the process. Start with 'clean' diapers then, try just putting them through at least one or more hot cycles with just water and maybe a few cups of vinegar (soak them a few hours in that if you can, the acidity in the vinegar will help breakdown build-up). If you have some kind of 'sanitation' cycle, maybe try that as it will heat the water up even more...
The fact that you changed to a front-loader may have just been the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak. You may have had a small build-up problem before and the FL really aggravated it. They use a lot less water so you need to use a LOT less detergent than with top loaders. Not sure if you absolutly have to switch to an HE detergent (I know manufacturers say you do but I'm not sure if that's totally necessary) but I know you need way way way less detergent than with a top loader. So if 1/4-1/2 a cup was what you used with the top loader, you should cut that at least in half... And that amount may have even been a lot for a top loader. 1/4 cup sounds ok, but 1/2 cup sounds like a lot. Although really that depends on how much they 'recomend', you'd usually need about 1/4 - 1/3 of the 'recomended' amount.
One trick for a front loader I recently heard (think aavt first mentioned it) is to wet your diapers really well before putting them in the washer. That way they weigh more so the washer will put in more water. That's probably a bit of a pain to do on a regular basis with dirty diapers but maybe you could try it with your clean diapers before you strip them? Another trick is instead of using one long cycle on your front loader, try using two shorter cycles. That way you're getting more clean/fresh water in there to probably rinse out the detergent. You're using more water it's true, but still probably less than those of us with top loaders...
Not sure about the powder vs liquid. Instinctively I'd say that liquid might dissolve better but in reality I don't know if it really makes any difference. I wouldn't think this would be a major factor but there's no harm in trying...
Maybe check to see if your detergent is on this list. There's a few different A&H, some good, some not so good... I would expect that it would have caused problems sooner than after 2 years of use but then again, maybe the FL just pushed it over the edge...
<A href="http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm">http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm</A>
Oh, and for the covers do you put them in the pail with the diapers? If so, maybe try leaving them out and see if that helps with the smell. To remove sunk-in odors try soaking the covers in hot/warm water and baking soda. Then avoiding the pail and using less detergent should help. You could also try washing them with regular clothing if you don't already...
HTH,
Karen.
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Yesterday I did four washes with hot water to strip the diapers again. The first time I did a presoak with vinegar. The smell is getting better which is great but is not completely gone. Do you think I should keep stripping them?
Do you recommend stripping on a regular basis to prevent detergent build up? Thanks for the tips on the front loader washer. I had no idea it would be any different from a top loader.
Thank you,
Lizzie |
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| I just skimed the above posts....in my experience, a front loader needs HE detergent or there will be way too many bubbles. If I use the rec. amount of regular detergent in my FL I need to do an extra rinse...if I use HE, no extra rinse needed, therefore less water, energy, and time. Also, if you find a good washing system you probably won't need to strip the diapers. With my FL, I do a prewash, normal wash, and extra rinse, all on hot/cold, but I've been experiementing with warm/cold and cold/cold to save energy. I figure if I alternate, it's better than all hot all the time b/c I like the idea of a hot wash. Whatever works! |
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Yeah, I'd say keep stripping them till they don't stink anymore. I remember one mom that had to put her diapers through 10 cycles before she got rid of all the build-up! Maybe try the vinegar soak again, that might help minimze the number of cycles you have to go through.
Ideally you should be able to find a routine/amount of detergent/brand of detergent that would work well without having to strip on a regular basis, even using a front loader. Better to experiment a little now with the amount of detergent you use and avoid having to continually strip them in the future. Consider switching brands to an HE one, like the previous poster mentioned. Or maybe consider trying soap nuts. They're essentially the dried fruit of a tree and release a chemical called saponin when in hot water. This is like a natural soap/detergent and rinses very very clean (no build-up!). It's quite economical as well. I don't have the link handy but you can search past threads for more info and for the name of a website that offers a trial pack for something like $3-$4 including shipping.
But if you do need to strip them every once in a while, remember that you're still using less water than those of us with top loaders! It's not ideal but if it's the only thing that works for you, it's not the end of the world...
Karen.
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