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Hi; I have a 1 year old and his meos smell poopy even after washing. I have stripped them and tried baking soda in the wash with vinegar in the rinse, bac-out in the wash (but not directly on the diapers undiluted), tea tree oil in the wash, and sunning. I have tried both a wet pail with plain cold water and a dry pail. I have a potty pail diaper sprayer and I spray the poopy diapers with cold water right after changing until all the poop is gone. I use Country Save detergent, 1/2 the recommended amount. I am starting to suspect the small amount of polyester in the fabric of holding the odor because my cotton prefolds don't have the same issue. Any suggestions? Thanks!  |
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First thought that occured to me is not enough detergent. Usually an ammonia smell means detergent buildup, while a not-clean or poopy smell would mean not enough detergent. Poop has oils in it that need enough surfactant (an agent in the detergent that essentially breaks up oils and allows them to be washed away) to be properly cleaned so it's a reasonable possibility... Everything else you mention wouldn't really do much for this specific problem if it is indeed not enough detergent.
The polyester could be a possibility in terms that perhaps it's more vulnerable to stink and maybe requires a little more 'umph' to get clean. It could also be that the OS might have more layers sewn together than the prefold so again it takes a little more to get them totally clean... But it's still not normal for diapers to smell poopy when they should be clean, no matter how much polyester is in the fabric and even if the diaper is thicker than others.
Karen. |
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I have experienced a poopy smell when the diaper is peed on(but not simply wet) when I've had build-up, but this has also been accompanied by ammonia smells, too, and a little but of a rash--clear red flags.
Country Save is supposed to be pretty good at rinsing out well, so I second Karen's thought of trying a little more before moving on to something else. The magic amount and type of detergent to use can really depend on water type (and even washing machine sometimes). |
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| Also, one thought--are you doing a rinse cycle on the diapers before your normal wash cycle? Some people get away without this, but most of us find it pretty useful. I tried to skip it when I was making the transition between wet and dry pail, but didn't care for how the diapers smelled (a bit poopy, esp. when wet). Once I added in that pre-rinse all was good. I would guess this would be more important with a front-loader, and maybe you're already doing it, but just in case . . . |
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| Also, one thought--are you doing a rinse cycle on the diapers before your normal wash cycle? Some people get away without this, but most of us find it pretty useful. I tried to skip it when I was making the transition between wet and dry pail, but didn't care for how the diapers smelled (a bit poopy, esp. when wet). Once I added in that pre-rinse all was good. I would guess this would be more important with a front-loader, and maybe you're already doing it, but just in case . . . |
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| I do a cold rinse before the hot wash- I actually clean all the poop off the diapers with the sprayer but I still also do a cold rinse before the wash- and yesterday I tried a full cup of Country Save which is twice the recommended amount (4X the recommended amount for diapers) and the poop smell is still there. My pooped on prefolds are fine though. I remember though, before I sold my Bumgenius dipes they had the same issue. I am going to try a water softener but if that doesn't help I think I'll just go back to 100% cotton. |
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Hmmm, I'm at a loss. Is the smell really strong or just when you literally smell the diaper? Does it smell that way straight out of the washer/dryer?
I really don't know what else to suggest, only thing that comes to mind is that your water isn't hot enough??? I think I'm reaching a little here (unless you're literally using cold water but that's not what I expect you're doing) but it's the only thing I can think of.
Anyway, if you do find that you have to only use cotton you could perhaps try the organic cotton ME diapers, they have no polyester at all. Not that you want to redo your whole stash but maybe if you want a couple or something...
Karen. |
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| The smell isn't strong at all; I have to put my nose right up to the fabric to smell it- and my husband can't smell it at all. Also I'm 3 months pregnant so maybe my sense of smell is super sensitive? |
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Could be. Honestly if it's not a problem in any other way (ie you can't smell it unless your nose is buried in the diaper, no one else can smell it and it's not causing any irritations) then maybe just stop sniffing the diapers? It's not a perfect solution and I'm personally way guilty of almost obsessive diaper sniffing but sometimes maybe we're looking for issues and find them kwim? I know I was mega sensitive to smells when I was pregnant too, stuff that no one else could even detect made me feel nauseous!!
Or maybe, and yes I hear the gasps, maybe try a smidge of bleach just this once? Just like 1/4 cup in a full machine might help. I'm not a big believer in bleach but if it saves having to buy new diapers then maybe it's worth it. Buying new diapers (even simple & relatively inexpensive prefolds) has an effect on the environment as well (transport, manufacturing etc...) so in that perspective a little bleach just this once may actually be the better option kwim?
Karen. |
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