Stinky diapers?

[Mal85]

DD is 6 months old and has been in the same diapers since she was a week old. We use mostly prefolds. The last few weeks they have had a distinct smell when she pees. I used to only notice it in the morning, her first pee of the day. She doesn't pee overnight, she holds it until morning, so I thought it was just the pee that smelled funny first thing in the morning from holding it in. Now, I notice the smell everytime she goes, which leads me to believe it's the diapers.

We also use some BumGenius pockets and organic all in ones. As well as a couple of Fuzzibunz. I don't notice the smell as much with the Fuzzibunz, but they're newer. The organic BG's are newer too, but have been starting to smell as well.

Any suggestions for getting the stench out. I'm not against stripping them. I can boil them like I did to prep the prefolds... I just don't want to do all that work if it's not going to help. Just wondering if anyone else out there has had luck with stripping them to get rid of the smell or if there's anything easier that will work??

ETA: I have the next size up in prefolds, we just haven't started using them yet. Maybe we should just move on up to those?

[lifeguard]

What does it smell like?

Likely you need to strip.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I'd start out by bleaching the prefolds and the inserts.

[octobermom]

striping is good though I'll ask is your DC teething? My DD would get really stinky amonia filled diapers when ever she was teething. Also make sure they are not at all dehydrated that can also cause the smelly diapers. While it can often be as simple as needing to strip the diapers a sudden change in smell can also mean something else so check those out as well.

Deanna

[Chloe'sMama]

my dd's diapers stunk really badly until I switched to Tide. I tried bleach, stripping, hanging on the line..... Still super stinky until I switched to tide.

We have Happy Heiney pockets and she has been using them for over a year now.

Good luck.

[Mal85]

Originally Posted by SubliminalDarkness

I'd start out by bleaching the prefolds and the inserts.

Really? I've always heard not to bleach cloth diapers. I wouldn't think I'd want to do this since we have unbleached prefolds.

I don't think she's getting any teeth right now. She has her bottom two and has had those for a couple of months. Although, she didn't have any teething symptoms when she got those, so maybe she could be getting some and I just don't realize...

I think I'll try to put on some diapers she hasn't used yet. Maybe the bigger ones, just to see if it happens with those too. Then I'd know if it's her or if it's the diapers. Any reasons why it would be her that suddenly has stinky pee??

I'm not sure how to describe the scent. I know a lot of people describe the smell of ammonia, but I honestly don't know what ammonia smells like. And it's not when she's had a diaper on for a long period of time. I started leaving her covers off during the day, so I'd know immediately when she peed and I'd change it right away...

[octobermom]

We rountinly belached diapers after having to deal with a round of staph. Honestly it was the best thing we did not only did it finially wipe out any lingerng odor but it cured our DD rashes and actually restored our diapers (no more leaking covers) yes it lightened some diapers but thatwas so not a huge deal.
We used a very small amount and double rinsed.
Deanna

[SubliminalDarkness]

Originally Posted by Mal85

Really? I've always heard not to bleach cloth diapers. I wouldn't think I'd want to do this since we have unbleached prefolds.

I'm not sure how to describe the scent. I know a lot of people describe the smell of ammonia, but I honestly don't know what ammonia smells like. And it's not when she's had a diaper on for a long period of time. I started leaving her covers off during the day, so I'd know immediately when she peed and I'd change it right away...

Sure. You shouldn't make bleach a regular part of your wash routine, as with repeated use it can damage elastic and fibers. But occasionally? Sure.
And I had unbleached prefolds, too. But when the smell was to the point that my diapers were unusable, certainly bleaching them was a better option than ditching them.
Now I periodicially bleach all my inserts.... About once a month I toss them all in a hot soak with about 1/2 a cup of bleach. Then I run them through a cycle with detergent, then several cold rinses. Works great!

Ammonia, to me, smells like super concentrated Windex.

[DevaMajka]

My first thought is that your dipes aren't getting totally clean. What's your wash routine?

I had bad stink once after using a detergent that was supposed to be cd friendly. I washed with Tide (I used it to the 1 line and did lots of rinses) for the next few washes. I used them in between washes, and the smell kept getting better. After about a week, I had no smell at all- not after all night, not in the open pail after a day, none.

I now wash with NatureClean (green detergent) most of the time, but find I need to do a Tide wash occasionally- I can't stand even the slightest tiniest bit of stinky diaper smell. I still prefer the NatureClean for most of the time, because it rinses easier and is fragrance free.

eta- here's the thread on diaperswappers that made me try it, after I was really frustrated and unhappy about the stink in my diapers