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| Help! I had been using Ivory Snow for the longest time on my diapers and was finding my baby was getting redness after awhile and the diapers were stinking. After stripping and so on the smell never seemed to come out, and I used vineagar every now and then as well. I had a friend who lent me some soap nuts to try and I have done about 3 diaper washed with them, they seem to have taken the initial smell away (I did not strip them first as I was told it wasn't needed) after one wash...but now I am finding that her night time diapers are smelling like ammonia, burn and clear your passage ways ammonia! What is going on???? I do a load every 2 days with approx 12-14 dipes, warm wash in a top loader. Is this common with soap nuts? Am I doing something wrong? Ive been told to try allens, never heard of it and not sure where to find it but Im getting frustrated because I so love cloth diapering but this stink and ammonia problem won't seem to go away...! Please any advice would be great! |
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| ok, I read prior posts and read to add washing soda to the laundry, so I am going to try this tonight and see how it works. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know...thanks! |
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| Sounds like you might have solved it yourself! Good luck! |
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| ok, so i did the washing soda with the soapnuts hoping the problem would be fixed...and this morning her diaper still had that ammonia smell to it...made my eyes water. (and a bit of a red irritation, not sure if it could be from the washing soda??). AAHHHH....help! Do I need to wash them more time with the washing soda or what? Also, I put in approx. 3 spoon fulls in a large load...is that enough? (about 12 dipes) Thats the 3 time I used the soapnuts...what is the exact way to know when they are done? they have been fairly soft since the first wash....? I am also wondering if the washing soda is a harsh chemical...I only ask because my lil one wasn't getting redness from the soapnuts (which was a major problem with the ivory snow) but now has a bit of red since the washing soda? Does this make sense? The whole point of using soapnuts was environmentally friendly and didn't cause irritation...and i going against both of those by adding washing soda? Ok, lots of questions I know...but helps me as best as you can please! |
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You have discovered the wonderfully frustrating detergent buggies! In my very limited CD experience(20 months and counting....), there is one thing I DO know. What works for one might not work for another. But don't give up just yet!
You might try adding vinegar to the rinse and see if that gives your diapers an adjustment in the PH department which may/may not help with the ammonia issue for overnight dipes.
If you want to know more about what exactly you are using & if it's safe or not, I suggest just a quick google search for "washing soda" & the like. That way, you know everything there is to know about a product. What might be acceptable in one person's view may not be for another. Just be informed, I suppose.
You will find that some people love a certain detergent or routine, while others do not find it works. Some people love soapnuts(ME!) and others find they don't work well. Tide, Charlie's, Nellie's, Country Save, All Free & Clear, etc. Basically, you just have to find what works for you.
My son has uber sensitive red head pale skin. The only thing that I can use is soapnuts, washing soda, & vinegar. I use 3 brand new soapnuts each time(I use the used nuts for laundry), 2 teaspoons washing soda, & a cup of vinegar in the rinse. X more than a year & we've had no issues.
Of course, his overnight dipes will smell more concentrated just like our urine does in the am. This is somewhat unavoidable. But we use a scrap of fleece against his bum to combat redness from the concentrated urine of overnight.
Dunno if I helped but I just wanted to say some of this washing thing is more of a subjective thing. An experiment if you will.
Good luck! |
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Mekayla, I have been having the same problems with ammonia. I have been using soap nuts for about two months. The problems only started in the last month or so, however.
I tried washing soda along with the soap nuts, and it left burn marks on my son's skin. I am going to switch to conventional detergent now. I am not sure which one, but I think I am going to experiment with the usual brands recommended on the list from pinstripesandpolkadots.
Good luck! Hope you can find something that works for you, too! |
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Hello,
I was just wondering if it's only the overnight diaper that smells of ammonia? I don't use soap nuts, I use Country Save, but my son's overnight diaper always has a very strong smell to it, so I have to soak it in a pail (I can't put it with the others in a dry pail). If I forget to do it right away, the smell does make our eyes water. But I never considered it a problem as it doesn't seem to irritate my son's skin and all other diapers seem fine, only the morning one. Is it really that bad that you can't put up with it? |
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No harm in experimenting with vinegar, washing soda (3 tablespoons may have actually been too much, hence the new problem), how many nuts you use etc... But I did just want to say that a certain amount of ammonia smell is normal for older babies or toddler's nighttime diapers. Obviously it's not normal if it causes irritations or is sooooo strong that it hurts your eyes but some strong ammonia smells may just be par for the course. If the smell bothers you in terms of stinking up the diaper pail then you could always rinse out the nighttime diapers, this may also help prevent some of the smells in the first place as well.
HTH,
Karen. |
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