please help. Charlie's soap making mmy ammonia problems worse.

[LionessMom]

i was having some ammonia issues and was told to switch to Charlie's soap. so i bought some powder detergent. i cleaned the washer first. then i started using it for all my laundry. i noticed right away my luandry didnt seem to be getting clean. DD2's shirts still smelled like dinner. she had 2 shirts she wore while eating fish that week and now 2 weeks later and 5 washes, they still smell like fish. :shrug. the only time my diapers came out with no ammonia issues was when i soaked them overnight with 4 scoops of charlies and a cup of borax. i wash all my regular laundry with one cold wash cycle, one cold rinse then a spin in the dryer. the diapers and the rags and towels (seperate loads) gets a cold rinse, a hot wash with detergent and borax, then 2 cold rinses, then a spin in the dryer. i havent used fabric softener since switching to charlie's. the directions say i only need one scoop but i have been using 2 to 3 scoops and still not getting it clean. i asked the company and they said that maybe i had a lot of build up and after it got cleared out the detergent would work better. i am kinda at a loss and ready to give up on charlies. and also, how can you tell if you have hard water?

[AuNaturaleMama]

I can tell that I have hard water because we get calcium buildup on all of our faucets.

Unfortunately, we had problems with Charlie's, too. I used it for a week and hated it. After lots of online reading I ordered some Rockin' Green. I soaked all our diapers and now they are back to normal. For our regular laundry, I went back to homemade.

Now the bag of Charlie's is sitting on a shelf waiting for a new home.

[LionessMom]

how long have you been using the rockin green? i heard good things about it.

[AuNaturaleMama]

I've been using it for a week now. So 4 washes. Our stink is all gone!

[LionessMom]

if i cant get the charlies to work i will buy some rockin green!

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Charlies caused horrible ammonia issues for us. I switched to Tide Free powder and have not had any problems since then.

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy 

Charlies caused horrible ammonia issues for us. I switched to Tide Free powder and have not had any problems since then.

 i was using tide free and clear liquid and still having issues. maybe i will try the pwder.....

i am afraid of build up. i was getting that with the free liquid.

[AJ615]

I've used Charlies since we started cd over 18mo ago.  I quickly learned that using one scoop was a joke and often use up to 4 scoops cold cycle, another 3-4 scoops hot cycle. Then an extra rinse or two.  The only reason the Charlie's still works for me is because I add about 3 cups of vinegar to the hot cycle.  It takes the dirty smell away.

Ok, but this ammonia issue...my baby's bottom is either broken out or raw much of the time, and it's come down to his skin reacting to poops and pees.  Do you think all this time Charlie's hasn't really been getting the ammonia all the way out?  This is a recurring problem for us no matter what ds or i eat.  Any thoughts?  I'd really appreciate another cd mama's opinion.

[laurabfig]

The Bummis website has a lot of info about residues here and they also post a list of CD safe detergents here.

I've used Charlie's soap for about 4 months now with no issues at all- I do a rinse only cycle first with an extra rinse, then hot wash with 2 T. of liquid Charlies soap with an extra rinse...and my diapers are clean.  Mostly prefolds and a couple of goodmamas and bamboozles.  I did always find it interesting that charlies soap states on the bottle that it is NOT a disinfectant.  And I'm wondering if it will be strong enough when we are not dealing with just breastmilk poop. 

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I've always wondered if it is a microfiber vs. natural fibers thing with Charlies. My own personal theory is that microfiber sucks in so much that it needs something more hardcore to get it all the way clean. (We use microfiber in fuzzi bunz) I wonder if the mamas who have no issues with Charlies use prefolds or something else with natural fibers.

[LionessMom]

i got it all figured out now i think.

first, you cant be using anything else in your machines. no fabric softener or anything. 

i soaked my diapers over night in 2 scoops charlie;s 2 scoops borax and 1/4 cup bs. twice.

then when i wash the diapers, i do the rinse first then i put a scoop each of borax and bs in the hot wash with the 1 scoop charlie;s. then i put 1/4 cup vinegar in the rinse. no more smells. yay!

[AJ615]

thanks for the variety of instructions, mamas!  i'm curious to see if changing up my routine any will have an effect on my baby's bottom.  fwiw, our inserts are only microfiber, and yes, I do think that's part of the problem.  i always really smell the finished wash before i dry it, and if there's ever a leftover smell, it's the microfiber.  i plan on learning about and using natural fiber inserts for baby#2, but for now just hoping that ds isn't toooooo far off from being done with diapers all together!

[*farmergirl*]

I've been using Charlies and only charlies for several years now. works great for us. i don't soak the dipes but I do a prewash w/1 scoop followed by the sanatary cycle (extra hot) with one scoop followed by a rinse. Once in a while especially if I let the dipes sit dirty too long & do a huge load I can smell they aren't quite clean so I do a normal wash cold water one scoop. But I'm talking two toddlers with a weeks worth of dirty dipes that have been sitting in my 80 degree house . we use swaddlebees and sometimes motherease no microfiber.  getign rid of the residue in the washer and on the clothes is really important we had to restrip the washer after stripping clothes cause all the residue recoated the washer.

[LionessMom]

my ammonia is back. i dont think this detergent is working for me. even after stripping everything and washing all the clothes and diapers and the washer, i still have ammonia. it only goes away if i soak them in bleach. arrrrgh. they are all cotton prefolds from GMD.