Only cold water..can it work?

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I stopped using cloth because of the strong ammonia smell when i changed him. I was using prefolds. We only have cold water....no dryer....and i feel that is why they smell so bad...because no hot water washes.... I use All free and clear...have since day one. I used to have to boil the diapers at least once a month...and once a month seemed to much to me.
I was wondering what else I can do...I want to give cloth one more try before i give up all together.
My baby is 14 month's....prefolds with covers and a few pockets with microfiber inserts. They seem to be ALOT more smelly than the prefolds.

[JTA Mom]

I'd switch detergents.

If switching to a powder, pre-dissolve it in some hot water and then toss it into the wash.

Do you have a front loader, by any chance?

If not, then I would add bleach to your routine, at least once a month. A tiny bit in cold water, along with a little bit of vinegar. If you have a top loader, it's not residual urine that's causing the smell, since they use lots of water. Most likely it's an overbuilding of bacteria that's eating the fresh pee to cause the smell.

And yes, your microfiber will always stink more than prefolds. Man made fibers do that. If you want to, I'd let your prefolds and inserts (not the pockets themselves, they don't hold onto odors) into the bathtub, fill with warm water and add bleach. Let sit overnight. Then wash with a bit of vinegar and some new detergent.

Btw, the 'free & clears' are known for causing smell issues.

ETA: because you are using mostly prefolds, I would go for a regular, powdered detergent. You can use tide or a knock-off. Prefolds don't have the absorbency issues pockets can get. Plus, I think the powdered detergents are less likely to cause build up too.

Ami

[Equuskia]

Well I used all free and clear before with Bumgenius diapers, which lots of people say get really smelly, but I never had that problem. Now, I do use another detergent that's sold in Walmart: Sun Free and clear. it's a lot cheaper than all.

OK. I had the exact same problem you had just this weekend. Everytime my girl peed, the diaper smelled atrocious. Even if she had just peed. That means there is buildup in the diapers, or you may be washing too many at once.

So put about 18 diapers into the wash. It doesn't matter if the water is hot or cold, but if you have hot water great. I only use cold water. Put about a cup of baking soda into the washer and wash for 5 minutes. Check and see if bubbles form. If they do, you're using too much detergent. Let the washer empty. Fill again and add more baking soda. Let the cycle start. If you see bubbles again, don't add detergent. If there are no bubbles, add a SMALL amount of detergent (like halfway to the first line, no more), and let run a full cycle. Pour a cup of vinegar in the rinse. Run another rinse.

This is what i did, and the diapers came out clean. When she peed, no more smell. I suspect that someone didn't run a rinse on the diapers, and just hung them up, because I never had prefolds smell so atrocious before.

[aniT]

Why do you only have cold water? You really need hot water to get the diapers clean. What you can do is add boiling water to the washer as it fills, (and to the rinse cycle.) I would do this every single time. I used to do this myself (and I had hot water) when I had a top loader just to get the water hot enough to really clean the diapers.

ETA: I have also found liquid detergent causes more buildup than powder. I used to wash my diapers with baking soda in place of detergent and about 20 or so drops of TTO. You can also put some vinegar in the rinse cycle.

[Equuskia]

Originally Posted by aniT

Why do you only have cold water? You really need hot water to get the diapers clean. What you can do is add boiling water to the washer as it fills, (and to the rinse cycle.) I would do this every single time. I used to do this myself (and I had hot water) when I had a top loader just to get the water hot enough to really clean the diapers.

ETA: I have also found liquid detergent causes more buildup than powder. I used to wash my diapers with baking soda in place of detergent and about 20 or so drops of TTO. You can also put some vinegar in the rinse cycle.

While this wasn't directed to me, I'll answer anyways.

I only have a solar heater here. It sucks. It only heats a very small amount of water, certainly not enough for washing diapers. I'd rather use that water for showering than for washing diapers. I don't believe that you need hot water for getting diapers clean, since many people do not have hot water, and their diapers get clean just fine. What I find is most important (IMO) for getting clean diapers (especially with cold water), is to make sure the wash cycle water is clean. Which is why I rinse first to make sure the poop and pee is mostly rinsed out. Then when I go to wash, the water is pretty clean, and it gets the diapers cleaner that way, since it's not 15 minutes swirling in poo and pee water.

[MadiMamacita]

Originally Posted by aniT

What you can do is add boiling water to the washer as it fills, (and to the rinse cycle.) I would do this every single time. I used to do this myself (and I had hot water) when I had a top loader just to get the water hot enough to really clean the diapers.

I actually AGREE with you!
IME when the water hasn't been hot enough, we get stink issues. hotter water = no stink. for us. it seems that no one diaper routine works accoss the board.

[aniT]

Originally Posted by MadiMamacita

I actually AGREE with you!

OMG the world must have stopped spinning!

[aniT]

Not having hot water would be unusual in the US. The OP doens't have a location listed but from her siggy it looks like she might be in Mexico or close to it.

[JTA Mom]

Hot water kills bacteria. It also allows more substances to be dissolved in it, the hotter it is. Think about dissolving sugar in hot water vs. cold. A lot more sugar can get mixed into hot water than in cold water.

However, if the OP can't get hot water, bleach is a good alternative. You don't need to use a lot, just a capful in each wash. I wash my diapers in bleach (except for the pockets themselves and the covers). No issues with increased wear and tear.

Also, if you DO have a frontloader, OP, you can add up to 3 gallons of water to the wash cycle, safely. I let the washer fill up, then add the water. It makes a HUGE difference.


Ami

[fruitfulmomma]

I've been thinking about adding boiling water to mine as well. I got a new washer a few months ago and it only goes to 'warm' and we've been having major stink issues since then.

My understanding of the ammonia issue is that the diapers are not getting clean down to the core and when the baby soaks it thoroughly like they will do overnight the smell can become very strong.

I would change detergents, as many have reported issues with that brand, and then see if adding boiling or hot water in will help at all.

[Katie T]

Another thing I think helps is to stop the washer on the wash cycle for at least 1/2 a hr or even over night then continue it. I have found this really helpful.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

We live in Mexico...and hot water is not here! We have hot water to shower...but not to the washer. It is not a front loader washer.
I do not want to boil water every other day and lug it out to the laundry room outside!
So....I will change to a powder and try the baking soda trick..to see if it's buildup. I really do want to try cloth one more time!
I'll let you know what happens with the baking soda trick.

[spmamma]

We use Planet powdered detergent (just a little bit with the first cycle - then second I don't use any detergent) and run the diapers through two cycles each time. DS is 6 wo and we haven't had any problems so far, though the first cycle is cold and the second one hot. I agree that perhaps your detergent is the issue.

[Naturally organic]

I live in China. We don't have hot water to the washer either. I don't cloth diaper (yet), but I use cloth pads. I don't use bleach, at all, ever. I use a liquid laundry detergent with about a cup of baking soda and about 25 drops of tto to wash. I have a front loader. Sometimes I add about 3 electric kettles of boiling water to the wash, sometimes I don't. I also try to add a cup of water to the rinse cycle. In addition, to the wash I add about 3/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide...helps with stain removal. I don't have problems with the smell.

HTH

[Galatea]

I'm a big fan of a tiny amount of bleach.

[schreiberwriter]

I live in the US and didn't have hot water for a month and a half. My diapers were fine. I washed with country save or Charlie's. I added Bac-Out every other wash. It was summer so I lined dried to kill germs.

No problems.

[noobmom]

I was going to suggest line-drying in the sun or ironing to kill bacteria.