We cloth diaper our 11 month old daughter and lately, whenever she is wet, her diapers STINK! We wash them frequently with 7th Generation detergent, double rinse cycle, in hot water. They don't smell when they are dry, but when she wets or dirties her diaper, it's a very strong ammonia smell. Is there anything I can do to get the smell off?
Yep, detergent build up. Dawn works great. I always do the Dawn in the sink, and then throw them into the washer.
Another option is to just do a bunch of hot, hot washes. Sometimes that is enough to strip them. If a few weeks later the smell comes back, then do the Dawn.
You can strip them. The smell comes because of detergent buildup. Next time you wash, use 1 or 2 teaspoons of the original blue liquid Dawn in a hot wash cycle, and keep rinsing until their are no more suds in the rinse water. You can also use a small amount of bleach at the same time. This should help, but should only be done occasionally. Be careful that you are using the appropriate amount of detergent when you wash, not too much.
I have read about cloth diapers needing to be "stripped" when that happens. I never had that problem, used Melaleuca products, with a capful of Sol-U-Mel in each load. www.diaperswappers.com has a lot of great info about cloth diapers and the different things that work for different people. Hope you find something that helps!!
This happened with my diapers too, and I tried stripping them with different products, and the only thing that finally worked was washing them OVER and OVER and OVER in HOT water - NO soap or vinegar or baking soda. Just keep washing until there are NO bubbles in the water, and then wash them again :) Good luck!
pinstripesandpolkadots.com has a fqa section to help you figure out the best way to strip based on your water.
put a few drops of tea tree oil in the diaper pail water (where you soak the wet ones until washing). This kills the germs that cause the ammonia stink. Also, if her urine has become unusually strong smelling, increase water in her diet (she may not be getting enough fluids) and watch for any bacterial infections. It's usually hi bacteria in the urine that causes the stink if it isn't because she's not getting enough fluids.
Go to Whole Foods and get a cleaning spray product called BackOut. Spray it on every diaper every time and you'll be done w/ the smell forever.
I had diapers that had been stripped. That was not the problem.
I own a cloth diaper business here in Tucson. You can try two things: Wash juts the inserts in really hot water, NO SOAP, 4 or 5 times. It could be detergent build up. Also the makers of Rockin Green have a great product called "Funk Rock" to rid diapers of ammonia yuckies. Its great stuff!
Good luck! I know that stink is the worst!
Becky, Owner of TenTinyPiggies.com
