Diaper stink. I can't seem to shake it.

[misspriss]

Well, the diapers are in the tub with the DIY RLR. No weird smells or colors, leaving it overnight and doing the bleach in the AM. I picked up regular bleach, but they didn't have calgon at the store.

I did all my inserts, I mean all - the really stinky ones, the ones with little to no stink (because they have had stink at one time), the ones that didn't really stink but I used the same non-optimal detergent on them. I did the AIOs (because you can't seperate the cover) but for all the other covers I left them out, no real reason to. The covers that are not wipe clean seemed to have some stink, but I think it was from being next to stinky inserts.

People act like stripping is really harsh, but it's just washing soda and borax, which I've put both in the wash before (a looooong time ago). I've made homemade laundry soap with those ingredients and used it on all my clothes! (Before CD, as it was made with bar soap) Especially in the bathtub with tap hot water (it's not like I boiled it or anything) and only manual agitation, it's not very harsh seeming? I mean maybe the bleach, but for a once in a blue moon thing I still don't see it being THAT harsh at the dilution recommended. I guess I was all picturing this really harsh process but it doesn't seem so. This means DD has been wearing my handmade diapers while these are in, they work great and washy up great.

I do plan to sell these AI2 once I am confident they aren't messed up/stinky (I'd never sell a diaper all stunk up!). I prefer the fit, wash, and absorbency of the ones I have made. The AI2 would have fit my son better, actually they do fit him as he still wears diapers to bed and has borrowed one of DD's on occasion and they wear the same size (she is 15lbs and chunky, he is 24lbs and slim). If I wasn't so skint, I'd save them and see if they fit her better when she is mobile and thins out a bit - although I think she will always be chunkier. But I'm skint, and I want to sell them off! Sell everything that doesn't fit! Sew some more easy ones and buy a dozen prefolds...

 

[misspriss]

Just an update!

I did the DIY RLR, then I rinsed once (in the washer, so actually a rinse cycle) and then did a cold bleach soak, then rinsed once in the tub with hot water best I could (I have back problems and it was difficult) and then washed hot in the washer. I then washed the diapers twice like "regular" (although I omitted the pre-wash as they didn't have any soil) and then dried, then washed WITH my other dirty diapers (used the flats/homemade flats while stripping).

I am happy to report absolutely no stink, no problems, absolutely perfect. Although I did not continue to use the "really stinky" ones, I just decided I was better without them. However my AIO and AI2 that I continued using had stink in the past (although not as bad as the bamboo ones) have had no issue and no stink.

I also modified my routine based on the information that was linked to earlier, I basically just used the "hard water" routine, although my water is not super hard it probably is a bit hard. I have to use rinse aid in the dishwasher and sometimes the glass still comes out cloudy. Here is my new routine I've been using for a couple weeks and it works great:

Pre-wash:
0.5 line Tide
Cycle: Speed Wash
Water Temp: Eco Warm
Soil Level: Heavy
Spin Speed: High

Main wash:
2.5 line Tide
Cycle: Heavy Duty
Water Temp: Hot
Soil Level: Heavy
Spin Speed: High

No extra rinses. I check to see if my diapers feel "slimy" when I go to move them to the dryer (never do) and I have not had any issues. They don't even smell like detergent but just barely when I take them now. I am now thinking how much water I've wasted on all these extra rinses! Sometimes adding two extra rinses or running a full, no detergent speed wash cycle to "rinse"...I was probably causing problems if my water is hard! And all the water!

Granted, my stash is mostly flats/daddy flats (2 layers birdseye/flannel at thickest) so they do wash really well, but OMG this is so much faster, easier, and uses less water. And I do have some AIO and AI2 in there and I have not had any problems with them not rinsing clean with just my washer's built in rinse.

 

[pinkpassion]

I'm so glad I came across this... after cloth diapering dd for the last 19 months I was at my wits end with the sudden issues I've been having with stink the last few months.. literally threw them in a pile and bought a box of disposable diapers and have used them the last 3-4 weeks... I am going to try these things (I have a whole house water softener so no hard water) but I'm going to get some rlr and strip , do a bleach soak and then do the tide wash . I hope it works because I want to get back to my cloth!!! :/

 

[misspriss]

Well I've been doing my magic routine since I posted this with no problems, until about 4 or 5 washes ago. Now I'm getting stink again. I don't know what has gone wrong.

I did switch to cold pre-wash as opposed to eco-warm as I was getting long term stains and I think it was the warm vs cold prewash. But I changed that months ago.

My current routine (been doing this since the beginning of the year for sure)

Pre-wash:
0.5-1 line Tide
Cycle: Normal Wash
Water Temp: Cold (standard cold, not tap)
Soil Level: Heavy
Spin Speed: High

Main wash:
4-5 line Tide
Cycle: Heavy Duty
Water Temp: Hot
Soil Level: Heavy
Spin Speed: High

I use flushable liners for poop, so not much soil ends up in the diaper (just the liquidy part that goes through the liner). There could be some poop getting in on the wipes I guess? I don't know. But about 4-5 washes ago, they smelled when she peed. Bad. So I added a soak to my main wash the next cycle and it was markedly better, but still there. They still stink. It has gotten so bad sometimes I think she must have pooped but it's just the pee smell.

Do I need to do some kind of strip again? I thought if I kept using the Tide and doing things right I'd never need to strip....

There are no synthetic fibers in my diapers. All cotton, all the time.

 

[messica]

Has her diet changed recently? Is she the one born 5/15 so she'd be turning one soon and adding in more solids lately?

Any changes in your water hardness by chance?

I noticed a similar change when I added dairy in for my boys. I found adding a detergent booster (borax) and switching to washing every other day (instead of washing every third or fourth day) fixed the problem.

 

[misspriss]

She is eating more solids, but poop gets flushed or tossed with liners. Some probably gets in. Maybe i can add some borax, i think i may try stripping them now. I have just switched to disposables until i get this sorted.

 

[misspriss]

Well in case anyone comes back to this, i put bleach in the dispenser in the washer and washed them multiple times after with low detergent (not heavily soiled at this point) until the bleach smell was gone. No stink. I smell her pee diapers now, i must be crazy, but no stink! Sorry for the ill grammar, my phone quit autocorrecting i to I.

 

[petite ping]

Whenever my nappies start to smell, I washed them with a full dose of detergent and then soaked them for 24 hours in cold water. I changed water 2-3 times.

Then I would put them back in the machine and washed them without detergent.

It works every time. I've never bleached my nappies. I use bamboo nappies.

They've lasted me through 2 kids and will be used for the third.

 

[misspriss]

Glad you've had success, the last reply on this post was over 1 year ago. I do not have any stink issues, I quit cloth 6 months after that post (for other reasons), sold our house and the washing machine with it, and recently moved back to cloth with a new and different washing machine and new diapers, and am expecting a new baby (who will be in cloth).

 

[misspriss]

HA karma right? Started having some kinds of smells (although not as bad) with the new diapers.

Lysol Laundry Sanitizer.

 

[veganmammy]

I like to do one 40 degree 30 minute wash with full powder, then one 60 degree 60 minute wash with a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil. I had massive problems with my girls with stinky nappies and I strip washed them and strip washed them and they never seemed to come clean. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong but it turned out I wasn't rinsing them enough in the strip wash. It took so so long that I just assumed they were done but they needed more. It took me alllll day to get them done in the end!