Anyone ever NOT have stink issues?

[~savah~]

If so I was wondering if you could let me know all of the details. What kind of diapers do you use? What kind of fabric are they made out of? What detergent do you use? Do you have a front loading washer, or a top loader? How often do you wash? What Temp. do you use? Do you use a dry pail or wet pail? And anything else I forgot to ask that may be a factor. I, once again, have stink issues. Every time I think I have tackled the problem, it just comes back. I am wondering if it is just part of CDing or if there is some sort of system that prevents stinkies from ever occurring. TIA

[Pepper44]

We rarely had stink issues when my DD was in diapers.

We used mostly prefolds, with some Kissaluvs and Sandy's thrown in. I tried pocket dipes and AIO's and constantly had stink issues, repelling issues, leak issues so we gave up on those. No matter how I washed them, and believe me I tried everything, we still had issues. But with the fitteds and prefolds, no issues! If I ever get pregnant again I won't waste money on AIO's. We are all about the prefold love here at my house! lol

To wash my fitteds and prefolds I soaked them for a few hours with about a teaspoon of vinegar in cold water. (Anymore than 1-2 tsp of vinegar and it causes stink.) Then rinsed, put it on cold prewash with a few drops of free and clear soap. Then I put them on my machine's heavy wash cycle in hot water with another few drops of soap and Calgon because we have very hard water and the Calgon stopped stinky build up. Then an extra cold rinse, and they were done!

[DevaMajka]

I was just reading a thread on DS about the trick to having non-stinky diapers being to use plenty of detergent. (up to the 1 line)
So that's what I'm trying now

oh yeah- and use plenty of water- no skimping because you think the medium setting will be enough!

I was using 1/4 detergent and the med setting (it looked like plenty of water!) and got stinkies. It reeked as soon as he pee'd.
Yesterday I washed with the water on high and the detergent up to the lowest line, and have had no stinkies today.

[Gabes Mommy]

We don't have a lot of stink issues, and we primarily use BGs. We make sure to rinse pee and poo diapers before we put them in the pail, and I was every few days. Make sure to use plenty of detergent, and rinse it all off. We also strip our dipes with Dawn once a month, and hang the diapers to dry.

[lafemmedesfemmes]

i had three years of no stink (newborn to potty-trained with my first son, and several months after the birth of my second son), until we switched from a top-loading washing machine to a front-loading one. then i had a couple of months of ammonia problems until i tweaked my front-loading washing routine to eliminate it. i've always washed every other day and use a dry pail.

i use prefolds almost exclusively. in my top-loader, my wash routine was-- first, a full cycle on cold with no detergent to rinse out urine and the remaining poop that hadn't made it into the toilet; second, a full cycle on hot with a full measure of detergent; third, a full cycle on hot with no detergent to ensure all the detergent was rinsed out. my diapers spent about 2.5 hours in the washing machine. i used arm and hammer free and clear detergent.

in my front-loader, my wash routine is-- first, a rinse cycle on cold; second, a soak cycle on cold to make sure there's enough water in the basin to wash the diapers properly; third, a wash cycle on the "sanitary" (hottest) setting with a full measure of detergent, with the "prewash", "stain-treat", and "skin care rinse" options (adds up to a REALLY long cycle); fourth, a final rinse cycle on warm to make sure all the detergent is rinsed out. now my diapers spend about 4.5 hours in the washing machine, but they're problem-free when they come out. i alternate between using planet detergent, and all small and mighty.

christina

[mamasthree]

only had stink with synthetic inners

love prefolds & natural quick dry ai2's

front loader, tide HE, lowest marked line line on detergent cup, cold prerinse, hot wash, extra rinse. occasionally an extra hot wash without detergent. occasionally a tablespoon of extra care bleach in the bleach dispenser. throw a towel in after the prerinse--it helps get things cleaner in a fl'er

2 kids cd'd, birth to 2.5 yrs, only time we had stink was with fleece, suedecloth, & microfiber.

i've washed from every other day, to as little as 1x per week.

[phrogger]

I have only been cd'ing for 6 weeks now, but I just have a front loader. I use tide original. I do a rinse-spin with cold water, then I use the cotton/towels option on hot with an extra rinse. It takes maybe 1 1/2 hours for the washing part. I wash every other day and use a dry pail. I do however have stains, but I don't care about stains. I just switched from the liquid tide to the powdered so I will see how that goes. Oh and I go the 1 on the detergant scoop.

I also make sure they are VERY dry. These are all prefolds and some fitteds my friend made. I think they are all pretty much cotton.

[weliveintheforest]

no stink here.

We have mostly cotton diapers (motherease one size, and various others)

I dry pail. If there are any poopy ones, I do a rinse first.

I do a hot wash with half a scoop of Country Save.

About every 3rd or 4th wash I do an extra wash with just a splash of vinegar to prevent buildup and stink., and if they have been sitting around more than 2 days I will put some baking soda in the wash. I don't know if these things help or not, but it seems to be working out okay.

I line dry, and find that makes them very fresh and stain free. I think line drying might be a key to the lack of stinkiness.

[poppan]

I don't have stink now, but I've had stink with FSOT dipes. (Now I make sure I run any used dipes through a very thorough clean before using.)

I use mostly synthetics (microfiber) for day -- majority of stash is Thirsties Fab Fitteds and Thirsties pocket AIOs. For nights I use natural fabrics -- cotton fitteds and hemp pocket with hemp inserts and wool.

What I think keeps the stink away in my FL:
1) Wet pail or pre-rinse/handwash very pee-saturated and/or poopy dipes. This ensures that they are going into the washer somewhat clean, so when it gets to the wash part of the cycle, the water doesn't get overly mucky.
2) Forcing my FL to use more water. For me this means washing on delicates cycle (my washer still lets me pick hot water for this).
3) 2 tbsp of Tide HE powder (I've tried more natural detergents and had stinkies within a few weeks)
4) I do an extra wash cycle without detergent as a really good rinse -- don't know if this is really necessary but I do it
5) Occasionally (every 2-3 months) I run everything through the sanitize cycle (temps at 170F)

I don't use vinegar or oxy and I dry in the dryer.

EDITED to add:
I forgot to say -- For me, part of using enough water is not overloading the washer. I put in a maximum of 12-15 dipes -- anymore than that and they don't get clean.

Also, don't know if this is a factor but I usually wash every day, sometimes I'll skip a day if I'm busy or lazy.

[inky leeuhhh]

ive been cding a good 4.5 years total between both girls and i dont think ive ever had stinkies. my wash routines have really varied so maybe ive been lucky! we do use mostly natural fibers. right now in our front loading he machine, i just run a "heavy" wash with a small squirt of dawn and then try to remember to run an extra rinse after that. every once in a while i do a whole extra wash with no detergent to help get any build up out. oh and i make sure not to load the machine too full, which sucks because the machine is tiny to begin with . i wash almost every day- if i skip a day, i have to do two loads that day.

wanted to add, and im not sure if this makes any difference, but i change after just about every pee. so the dipes are usually not soaked in urine like they would be if i left them on longer.

[Logan]

Okay I seem to have really lax routines compared to most people on this forum...but I have NEVER had stink issues once so something must be working ....

-I use every type and brand of diaper (AIO's, Pockets, fitteds, you name it)
-I never do extra rinses or long cycles and I only use cold water
-I dry inserts and boosters in the sun, but not the parts with elastics like pockets as the sun here is way too harsh (Australia) those I put inside on a rack
-I almost never dry in a dryer unless there was too much washing building up after a lot of rainy days in a row
-I use almost exclusively soap nuts to wash with. If a load were extremely dirty I may use a very mild natural detergent, and very little of it, but this is rare.
-Maximum time between something getting used and getting washed is 24 hours, but usually less. As soon as a load is ready it gets done and this is usually twice a day at least. My machine usually cant finish fast enough
-Everything goes straight in a bucket before washing, no soaking in water or rinsing

I think that's everything

To be honest I think the two main reasons we dont have stink issues is not using regular detergent (nothing to build up) and washing within hours of wetting, as the ammonia isnt turning rancid on the diapers. I may be the only one, but I just dont understand leaving a diaper for days! Even if I didnt have as much washing as I do, I would put whatever diapers were dirty each morning into the machine on a small load if necessary. I just cant fathom a reason to leave them sitting there like that. And it eliminates the need for multiple washes and rinses so any extra energy wasted on doing a small load is made up for by just doing a normal cycle. But that's just my two cents

[Galatea]

No stink here.

I use all materials: polyester (microfiber, microfleece, suedecloth, PUL), cotton, bamboo, hemp.

I spray all poopy diapers.

I dry pail.

I wash every 2 or 3 days in my top loader:

Cold prewash with 1/2 white vinegar.

Hot wash with 1 Tablespoon Allens, Mountain Green or Vaska AND 1 Tablespoon "free" oxygen bleach. Once a month I use 1 Tablespoon chlorine bleach instead of oxygen bleach.

Cold rinse.

Hot wash/cold rinse with nothing.

Dry on medium.

[pixiekisses]

I don't have them.
We use bamboo prefolds and bumGenius bamboo fitted diapers. If we use doublers, they are bamboo too, and always wool panties over the diapers.

My usual routine is to rinse first in cold water, wash with just a tiny bit of detergent (organic), and rinse extra in the end too, wash on 60 degrees celsius. More detergent makes them smell, and so does not pre- and post-rinsing.

About every 3rd month (or maybe just every 6th, depends) or so I rinse them in cold water for a cycle, then I have natron in the pre-wash, and a tiny bit of detergent (organic) in the main wash, and some 7% vinegar in the post-wash cycle, before I add in an extra rinse. Wash on 60 degrees celsius. The vinegar makes them softer too.

Oh, and we have a top loading washer.

[~savah~]

Thank you for your replies. On the one hand it's nice to know that ammonia and cloth diapers aren't synonymous. On the other hand It's a little frustrating because it seems that I am always dealing with it. We use mostly organic cotton fitted diapers with a couple bamboo. So I know synthetics are not the issue, and even then it seems like some people don't have a problem with those. I use a dry pail, and always do a cold wash first. I have come to think that my washing machine is the culprit, and perhaps Charlies soap. Pepper, that is interesting about the amount of vinegar. That may also be my problem I tend to be in the "more is better" mindset. So it looks like I just need to tweak my system a little more. Thanks again everyone.

[Ruthie's momma]

Originally Posted by sweetdaughter

If so I was wondering if you could let me know all of the details. What kind of diapers do you use? What kind of fabric are they made out of? What detergent do you use? Do you have a front loading washer, or a top loader? How often do you wash? What Temp. do you use? Do you use a dry pail or wet pail? And anything else I forgot to ask that may be a factor. I, once again, have stink issues. Every time I think I have tackled the problem, it just comes back. I am wondering if it is just part of CDing or if there is some sort of system that prevents stinkies from ever occurring. TIA

I never had issues with odor. But, to be honest, I am not sure what I did to avoid it...

*Bleached & unbleached cotton prefolds (2 dozen) & microterry/microfleece inserts/doublers (9)
*1/2 capful or scoop of Allens Naturally liquid or Country Save laundry detergents (poopy dipes were pre-treated with diluted Bac-Out)
*Top loading washing machine
*Every 3rd day
*Cold wash, hot wash w/ detergent, warm rinse (or two)
*Dry pail (with a few sprinkles of baking soda)

HTH!