Another Cloth Diaper Question...

don't use fabric softener! Are you using microfiber to absorb pee? Microfiber retains smell. The best thing I've found to do is to soak & wash those separately with bleach.

I would not use fabric softner. It can create a build-up that will just make the problem worse.

I found that using a normal, not less, detergent is best. I use Charile's with this Deo Boost that has TTO in it http://www.faceofthewave.com/catalog.php. I use 1 scoop charlies and 1/2 scoop of the deo boost. Anyway.... I do a normal wash with a soak with my detergent. Then, I do an express wash, NO DETERGENT. That way, I know it all gets out.

What kind of diapers do you use? If you use something with PUL, PUL can't be bleached as it will break down the PUL. However, if you use fitteds, you can use a capful of bleach every so often (maybe once a month) to help get out any stinks. I use pockets. I do not ever bleach my pockets, but, once a month, I bleach JUST the microfiber inserts, and they have 0 stink when I do that. I just soak them in a bucket with bleach.

Stephanie Sackrider owns www.ababyconnection.com (her store) and www.talkcloth.com (a forum). She uses a small amount of Dawn once a month to strip her diapers. I would contact her (she is local) and ask her what she does. She swears by it!

Also, cleaning the actual washing machine can help too. Here are directions: http://www.thediaperhyena.com/washingmachinecare.htm

Good luck!

I use borax to help with the smell. I also add tea tree oil to the washer while the wash is washing. Here are a few links to look at.
http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp#vinegar
http://www.thediaperhyena.com/clothdiaperarticle_diaperwa...

Just remember to use less detergent than you think. A buildup of detergent causes a lot of smells. Rinse, and extra rinse is always good.

I dont know what the diapers are made of these days or if it is just the newfangled washing machines. Maybe i didnt know any better when ihad my babies but i just washed them with regular detergent, at the time it was whatever detergent was on sale. i rinsed the poopies and put them in a pail of water to soak also did it with the peed ones and washed them in regular detergent with a little bit of bleach and line dired them until they were almost dry then put them in the dryer with a softener sheet. nothing ever happened to the boys . the only time they ever had diaper rash was when i used disposables. they didnt smell either. maybe it was the line drying or the bleach . i dont know. i also dont know about these new washing machines but everything ive heard form people who have them say they dont work as well as the old fashioned ones.

Borax and vinegar are both really good at getting pee smell out--I have a newborn and 2 boys who still occasionally "forget" they are potty-trained! I have a Kenmore front loader, so we have different cycles, but I generally pre-soak pee clothes in Borax and hot water, and I always use vinegar instead of fabric softner in the rinse cycle dispenser. Our clothes never smell like vinegar, by the way. Also, vinegar in the rinse cycle will get dish cloths smelling clean instead of still smelling like a wet rag.

The problem may not be so much what detergent you use. I've found that what the baby eats and drinks has a profound effect on the odor of their urine. For instance, if the baby is on a soy based formula, or if they aren't getting enough water this can make the smell very strong. Also if the baby has been ill, this will affect the smell. If diet isn't the issue, then you could try adding a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to your wash.I had a bed wetter and the vinegar really worked on her sheets. Any chemicals can irritate baby's skin.

When i had my both of my sons, disposable diapers were just appearing on the market so we always used cloth diapers. Coming from England i was used to hanging my washing outside weather permitting. The diapers were something that i ALWAYS tried to hand outside for a few reasons. The sun beating down on them helps to eliminate any stains that might get left as it is a natural bleach. It also makes them smell amazing and putting in a very delicate fabric softener i can't see will do any harm.
I don't understand all the do's and don'ts with the fabric diapers now because we used to soak ours, sometimes in a mild bleach formula, but then they were always washed twice and rinsed three times and then a fabric softener was used. Try hanging them ouside and see how different they smell. I recently returned from a visit to my son and daughter in law in Mesa and hung my washing outside and my daughter in law could not believe the wonderful smell and feeling of the washing being dried outside in the sun and breeze. It will also cut down on your utilities. Give it a go, you have nothing to lose.

Good luck.

S..

Hey N., L. here :)
We used the Kooshies with Ilaria from about 6M until she trained around 2-ish. We decided to soak them after they were rinsed. The "hand sprayer" that hooks into the water line of the toilet was VERY handy for rinsing the soiled diapers right into the toilet. The diaper would then go into 5 gal paint bucket half filled with water and about 1-2 mls of tea tree oil. It's a natural antibacterial so it cuts the bacteria based odor.

That said, I remember 'mommy nose' and if you decide to give it a try, I would sniff a sample bottle of tea tree oil at the store to see if it's too smelly for your senses.

Stick with the cloth if you can! It made potty training so easy and saved a TON of money on disposables. We did use the 7th generation disposables when we were going to be out all day or on vacation. Since we weren't buying disposables all the time, we could budget to buy the earth friendly diapers.

Best of luck :)

I've been using cloth for over 4 years and love 'em.

Wash about 10-15 dipes, per load.

1. Rinse, cold cycle only, no detergent.
2. Regular cold wash, 1/4 to 1/3 detergent.
3. Hot wash, longest cycles, regular amount of detergent. No liquid detergent.

Any powder detergent should do. No fabric softener. Your clothes shouldn't reek of anything.

BTW: When I am doing an 'extra' large load of dipes (almost double), the only thing I change is step 1. Instead of a rinse only cycle, I will replace the rinse only cycle with a normal wash cycle, no detergent.

Actually, white vinegar is WONDERFUL for getting out smells, as well as acting as a sanitizer. It's completely natural and was used long before a lot of the harmful chemicals were being used. We use it all the time for killing germs on the equipment we use for our handicapped son. The "bad bugs" can't develop a resistance to it, either.

N.:
Hi; good for you doing cloth diapers...they're the best! Here's what I do. I use 1/2 the regular amount of Trader Joe's liquid natural based detergent, run it on regular cycle, no pre-soak or anything, then hang the dipes to dry/bleach out in the sun. It's amazing how white they get out there. Then I just run them through the dryer for about 10 mins. once they're dry, to fluff and soften. It's been almost 3 months now, and so far, no diaper rash, and no worries!
Good Luck :)

I add a cup of baking soda. You can buy a big bag of it at Costco.

I know you said you don't add vinegar but it really works.

Like the other Mom mentioned, vinegar works to deodorize the dipes. Do not use fabric softener, it will make it so your dipes are not as absorbent. If you have a downy ball, add some white vinegar to it like you would with fabric softener so that it disperses during the rinse cycle. Also sun dry your dipes and wipes, not only does the sun bleach out any stains that occur, but it has antibacterial properties and gets rid of any yucky germs that may still remain after washing.

Never soak your diapers in a diaper pail. The stink will literally soak into the fibers and the results will be awful! Don't use fabric softeners either. The softening agents will build up in the diaper (especially the microfiber ones) and cause them to fail because the diaper will eventually become water repellant and thus leak since the urine won't pass through into the abosorption pad where it belongs.

As others have mentioned, every 2-3 weeks try "stripping" the diapers by using a combination of vinegar, baking soda and/or Dawn, whichever works for you. Our LG isn't the steam type but I'd probably only use the steam setting on the last wash cycle when stripping the diapers. Then, lay them out in the sun and they'll be good as new.

two things that work well for us with out Fuzzi Bunz and the bum genius is about 1/4 cup white vinegar and every few washes I take the diapers and lay them in the sun to dry. With sun down here it really takes all the ickie smell out!

I quite using bleach as it can cause allergies later on in life. Dr. Oz states that detoxifying your home is one of the best ways to looking and staying younger. You can check out his latest book, it is listed on Oprah's website. He recommends using Shaklee's Get Clean Products and the germicide is the best and kills more than bleach. Check out my website: www.shaklee.net/denisefriedl more more information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care!

N. - I assume that you don't add bleach because you are afraid it might irritate your baby's skin? My experience (with 4 kids) is that the bleach didn't irritate at all. Maybe they just had tough skin, but I don't know - we are all fair skinned red-heads and as such generally have sensitive skin. Anyhoo, I just kept a bucket of weak bleach water and threw the diapers in as soon as they came off my baby, then ran them through a rinse cycle before washing with detergent / fab softener. Dr. Bronner's makes a great castille laundry soap that is gentle on skin and has a pleasant scent. I also added a few drops of lavender oil - it smells great and has antibacterial properties. The bleach (I just used regular Clorox) kept the diapers white and fresh. I think the key was running them in a rinse cycle first - hot water rinse, not cold.
Hope this helps and good luck!
J.

I line dry my pockets & liners outside & they have NEVER smelled of urine thanks to the sun. The sun also gets out any stains & makes the diapers last longer & saves energy. Win win in every way =)
I DO put a small amt of baking soda in the 1st rinse. HUGE box for $2 at Walmart. And I use Charlies soap or Planet (powder). Cost a few dollars more but you only use 2 tsp so it last forever..A lot of sites say to be leery of some of the dye & fragrance frees like All & Purex.
NOOO fabric softener..
This is how I wash & have never had any problems in 9 months & I'm a cloth freak, lol I have 6 diff kinds/brands =)
1) cold rinse w/ 1 TBL baking soda
2)Hot wash/cold rinse
3)line dry
SIMPLE!

Hi N.,

You can sun bleach them, which is just letting them sit directly in the sun for a couple of hours (then wash them before putting them back on baby). But I always washed mine in hot water and never had the urine smell problem. Oh and no fabric softener because that will repel the urine when the baby pees.

Good luck! :)

Hey,
I do one "heavy" cycle on cold" followed by a "hot/cold" "light" cycle. I add about 1/4 cup of vinegar to the second cycle. I know what you mean about the urine smell. Good luck!

That ammonia smell may be a build up of ammonia, enhanced by a build up of detergent. I only use 1/4 of the recommended amount of detergent for every load. This still get my diapers clean and cuts back on build up.

Every couple weeks I "strip" my diapers. After I wash my diapers with the usual routine, I do another wash cycle with a few drops of Dawn dish detergent, and then throw in a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle. I also do an extra rinse to be sure all the Dawn is out.

Other people have other routines:
http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=486618

The above forum has tons of ideas.

I used cloth diapers too. Use white vinegar, it gets out all the urine smell. But, do not use fabric softener on the diapers. Also, make sure to use a 2nd rinse cycle if you have that option.

I've never used cloth diapers, but do know that adding a cup of baking soda to my white cycle (and towels) really helps boost the cleaning power of my laundry detergent. I only do it on my whites and towels...keeps things fresh and clean. It might work on cloth diapers too. I would stay clear from fab. softener because it will make the absorbancy less effective on the diapers. Does the same thing on towels. Good luck and happy laundering!

A.

I remember my mother using cloth diapers on my little brother back "in the day". She used to rinse them in the toilet on removal from baby, and wash them on what is as close to today's sanitary cycle as possible; but she added Borax soap to that particular cycle, N.. You can still buy Borax soap. It kept things much better smelling.

Good luck with your new pregnancy.

~D.