Ew, baby, your diapers STINK - Help me fix this!

[c88c91]

Yesterday, I noticed that baby's diapers (prefolds) smelled a little barnyard-y when wet (uh oh). This morning, they smell like barnyard AND ammonia (double uh oh!). Obviously, I will strip and bleach ASAP. But I need help tweaking my wash routine (HE washer).

Typical wash routine:

1) Prewash cold, 1/2 c Borax, 1 line of detergent (liquid Tide), diapers only

2) Main wash warm, 1/2 c Borax, max detergent (liquid Tide), diapers plus whatever other laundry we have around (usually washer is 1/2-3/4 full)

3) Machine dry medium heat

Some thoughts I have about tweaking:

1) We have super hard water - maybe the Borax just isn't cutting it? Should I switch to Calgon instead? Should I be using BOTH?

2) I've been planning to get powdered Tide when we run out of liquid - that should help, right?

3) Should I be washing on warm and hot instead of cold and warm?

Gimme your wisdom, folks - what should I do differently?

Edit: Uh, apologies for the crap formatting. I can never figure out those damn line breaks

 

[s3mp3rr3formanda]

@c88c91 I was disappointed with a bit of a musty smell after a few months with our tiny Japanese washer, but since I switched from liquid to powdered Tide, it's all better and it's the only change I made. It's worth a shot!

 

[jonny1001]

@c88c91 You shouldn't use liquid detergent.

 

[paisgb]

@c88c91 Calgon vs borax is what I would try, some types of hard water react better one type vs the other. and try powder tide, it has more water soften in it than liquid tide. I just switch and was able to cut the amount of borax i was using. I would try main wash hot if possible. cold on your rinse and hot on main wash.

as for cutting back on the amount of soap or extra rinses, do the diaper feel slimy or soapy? If not then I would not cut back on soap or use a extra rinse.

 

[rudolph]

@c88c91 Try backing down the soap. Seems counterintuitive, but stay with me here.

Cut out soap from pre-wash, lower amount of soap in main wash. If you are doing a regular load of diapers ( drum is half to 3/4 full) then line 1 in detergent should be enough, especially if you are using borax. I assume you have hard water.

Pre- rinse cold, wash hot, rinse cold and extra rinse cold. Make absolutely certain ALL the detergent is out. If not, you'll get barnyard and ammonia back in a flash.

Definitely strip, rinse and bleach to get back to square one though.

Good luck!

 

[c88c91]

@rudolph Wait, I don't get it. Less soap? And an extra rinse? This goes against everything I've ever believed about washing cloth diaps! I mean, I'll try it, but I'm skeptical...

 

[rudolph]

@c88c91 I hear ya.

I had several bouts of barnyard and ammonia stink on prefolds in the past, and these things helped me fine tune my routine. You really don't need soap in a pre- wash since it's just to loosen poop and using too much in the wash cycle may not all rinse out. Even on a large load, I haven't needed to go beyond the '2' mark on the cap for a wash.

A lot of stink problems come from soap residue in fibers. If it's not all out every time - BAM! buildup! (And thusly stink. If untreated, you'll also get repelling, but that's another thread for another day)

I even have very hard water and I don't use softener. I tried it for a while and it didn't seem to change anything, so I ditched it.

Before you go do your strip/ rinse/ bleach, throw half a load of clean prefolds in and run a short wash with warm water, no detergent, lots of water (if your machine allows you to control it). Halfway through the wash cycle, check for suds. If you have any then you know for sure to start lowering the detergent and rinsing more.

Baking soda can help get out extra soap if you have lots of bubbles during the test.

 

[katrina2017]

@c88c91 I have heard powdered tide is better. I just do a bleach cycle with 1/4 cup of bleach and rinse many times after so that the baby doesnt get a contact rash from the bleach. It seems to get rid of stink issues for us. I recently switched to a detergent called country save. Best detergent ever. I have had zero issues since I switched.

 

[arcticwind]

@katrina2017 White vinegar can help neutralize bleach. However, I have heard that white vinegar can affect the elastics if used frequently and if your water is acidic, but should be fine after the occasional bleach wash.

 

[amirmark]

@c88c91 I just went through this same thing, and here's a recap of our biggest issues:

Make sure it's a HIGH spin both cycles. Make sure it's COLD cycle first and HOT cycle next-- cold cycle gets the bulk of the mess out before helping kill bacteria on hot (if you hot cycle first you are essentially cooking the poo into your diapers, gross right?). I know not everyone supports Fluff Love University but I liked their page on which settings are best based on what washing machine you have.

Here's my post and the responses I got in case you're interested

 

[amirmark]

Also, it was my first time stripping and bleaching so I was nervous, but it was super easy! I did it all in the bathtub and followed Fluff Love University's instructions to a T and my diapers don't stink anymore! Like they said, make sure you find the source of the problem and alter your new routine.

I've also noticed a big difference now that I'm keeping our pail lid off all the time, I don't have to hold my breath and run for the washing machine anymore when it's wash day!

 

[c88c91]

@amirmark Thanks for the advice! Fluff Love is my CD bible, and I've been following their suggested routine....which is why I'm not sure what I need to tweak. This is my first strip too, so I'm nervous. I'm just assuming a strip is necessary because of our hard-as-diamonds water, even though I've been 'treating' with Borax in every wash

 

[mcgovern55]

@c88c91 How much borax? Do you use it in both cycles of the wash?

 

[amirmark]

@c88c91 Hmm, wish I could be more help but it sounds like you're doing everything right. Maybe you're on to something with the Calgon vs Borax?