Wet bag causing stinkies?

[eastkygal]

I'm really not wanting to throw in the towel with CDing, but my battle with stinkies is ongoing. I'm not sure what to do now. I have boiled all of my dipes twice, thoroughly cleaned covers and wet bag. I have switched detergent from 7th Generation, to handmade, to All Free and Clear (just washed with it once). I really don't want to order detergent online as I live off-grid and that would be a hassle. I have untreated well water that is not hard or soft, but has a touch of iron in it. I use a diaper sprayer and wash every other day. After the most recent boil things seemed fine. There was no notice of ammonia at changings, but when I pull them out of the wet bag today to wash, I noticed one of the fitteds had the smell. WWYD?

[chely7425]

We are having ongoing stink issues too... I never thought of the wet bag being the culprit!!

[Michigan Mama]

Check out the detergent list here: http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

and see if any 4-star detergents would be available at your grocery store...

Usually the boiling or stripping by running extra rinses with hot hot hot water takes care of it, so I would think it's a laundering thing.

Now, my dipes smell ammonia-ish when they've been in the pail a couple days, but that is normal... the urea in urine turns to ammonia over time. It's a normal chemical process. If the stink is there when your LO has them on, then I would probably look at your washing routine.

[eastkygal]

Originally Posted by footprintsbaby

Check out the detergent list here: http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

and see if any 4-star detergents would be available at your grocery store...

Usually the boiling or stripping by running extra rinses with hot hot hot water takes care of it, so I would think it's a laundering thing.

Now, my dipes smell ammonia-ish when they've been in the pail a couple days, but that is normal... the urea in urine turns to ammonia over time. It's a normal chemical process. If the stink is there when your LO has them on, then I would probably look at your washing routine.

Thanks for that explanation. So, I may still be in the clear because the smell was from a dipe at the bottom of the bag. Boiling is the only way I've ever been able to get rid of stinkies for any length of time. I love the diaperjungle chart and using that and this forum made me chose All Free and Clear. Thanks. I hope the urea is all it is. DH's grandmother said the only way she knew was a wet pail and bleach, as that was the norm when she diapered.

[eastkygal]

Okay, so it isn't just from them sitting a day. My pf are smelly with just one wash after boiling. I can smell ammonia slightly, but I know it will build up as that is how it began the last 2 times. All Free and Clear and Arm and Hammer Essentials Free are my best choices from the chart. I was handmaking soap using the recipe from diaper jungle and adding blue Dawn to each wash. I can't go through boiling the dipes once a week. It is too time consuming and with trying to do all the other things in my life, I just don't have the time to make a routine of it. I'm not sure what to do next as I can't think it is my detergent. It's not from them sitting because I wash every other day. I do a cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse, and another cold rinse. I dry on high heat.
Part of the reason I CD is economic, so I really don't want to quit as that would put DD2 in cheap cheap sposies with diaper cream on all the time. I'm getting desperate and thinking of using bleach. How can I make sure that my covers and wet bag aren't causing the stinkies? Any thoughts or suggestions? Could it be bacteria from my untreated well water? Oh, I hope not.

[Michigan Mama]

Don't give up yet! There's got to be more options!

I'd be surprised if it were bacteria in your water, but it could be the hardness. Some people here use calgon when their water is hard. Don't know if it helps with stinkies or not...

Some people also have good luck using baking soda in the first rinse and vinegar in the second to last rinse. I haven't needed to, but it's an option.

There are lots of posts about stinkies here, so hopefully you can find something that will help!

I personally also think that cold rinses are almost worthless. Try replacing your cold rinses with hot ones. That has worked well for us. I do one cold rinse, hot wash cycle, then one extra hot rinse (or the whole wash cycle if I forget to catch it and have it spin out - we don't have a hot rinse option). Once every month or two, I turn up the hot water heater and run a few extra extra hot rinses. That ususally does the trick for us.

Do you wash your wetbag with your dipes each time?

There's some more food for thought, I guess. Maybe some other mamas will have more ideas. To me it really seems like the difference in water, and individual body chemistry in the urine of the babies makes the difference. Otherwise you wouldn't find so many variations in what works!

Keep us updated.

[eastkygal]

Okay, so I didn't do any more boiling. I used All Free and Clear again. I didn't my usual routine except add vinegar to the rinse and replaced one cold rinse with one hot and cold rinse. I washed all the covers and the wet bag again. This time no stinkies have I noticed yet. I think DD2 has strong smelling urine anyway as I've noticed it when I had to use unscented sposies for a few days.

How often do you wash your covers and wet bag? I've always heard not to wash them until absolutely necessary or they won't last long. Right now I rotate 5 covers.

[confustication]

Just as a warning, I used all f+c for a while, but after initially fixing the stinky problem, it ultimately made it much worse. I did discover that Charlie's fixed it for us, even though ordering it was a pain- it was worthwhile.

[heidirk]

Here's how I fixed my stinky problem.

1. Scrub down your washer, and run a hot cycle with bleach and no clothes or detergent. Don't forget to scrub inside your agitator if yours has one.

2. Wash on hot, with more water than you think you need. I discovered I can't use the auto setting on my washer.

3. I switched to Sun and Earth detergent, with a generous sprinkle of baking soda. Don't use too much detergent.

4. For serious heavydut toddlerpoops, I presoak in a bucket in my utility sink with bac-out.


We had a serious stinky problem and it was starting to spread to our other laundry. When ds would wet, the stinky diaper came back right away, even if they smelled neutral out of the dryer.

[Michigan Mama]

I wash my wetbag (just for out and about, I use a plan cotton liner in a pail for at home) almost every time I wash diapers, if it has been used, and especially if it has held a poopy diaper.

I reuse my covers maybe ... 4-5 times? Unless they get soiled, of course. I don't really count, but it's probably about that.