My cloth pads smell like dogs

[111240]

Hi, I am not actually a mom but I browse through this website for home tips a lot.

I had to rely on two pads for my whole period because I was stranded in the middle of nowhere (and it's my first time using pads). They went through some heavy duty stuff. I wore one for 24 hours without changing. The second one was thinner and I wore it for seven hours. After rinsing them with soap and water, I made the mistake of dumping the pads into cold water overnight. They are completely stain-free, but I can't seem to get the smell out of them. I have tried rinsing them with the rest of the laundry, rinsed it with vinegar, and then put it in the dryer at high heat. The smell still didn't come out. I soaked them in hot water with detergent, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide, and lavender oil. The smell got significantly reduced and I thought it was fresh, but then it started reappearing as I let them air dry.

The stains were never the problem, but the smell is still there. When I sniff up close, I can still pick up that musky dog smell. Anyone got advice? I don't want to use them while they're still odorous. Maybe I am pushing them to their limits.

The pads are PUL free, I am using these pads: http://www.etsy.com/shop/epicerma?section_id=5020105

What should I do? Should I just let them air dry and then rinse again without using them?

I am a college student hoping to find a sanitary, quick way to wash my cloth pads.

[swd12422]

Can you try leaving them out in the sun after another washing? Also, many on here recommend BacOut as a soak/wash for stinky cloth diapers -- maybe a little soak overnight in BacOut followed by a wash and sun dry will help?

[starrlamia]

are you rinsing them or completely soaking them? I have a few from that shop but find them way to thick and they dont dry properly, I would try soaking again in vinegar and then rinsing really well and then air drying. Putting them in the sun would also probably help.

[111240]

I rinsed and squeezed them until there is no stain on the surface and until blood didn't come out, and then I put them in cold water overnight. More blood began coming out, so I squeezed until there was no more. It still smells.

I think it's too thick to dry properly within a short time. It's been days since I am drying them (I thought of drying it completely before washing it again, maybe it will get all the stuff out then)... It doesn't smell bad anymore, but it's probably because it's dry. I am sure it might smell again if I put it in water without detergent. Maybe detergent is causing the smell?

I just bought another set from a different seller, but these don't smell. They're much thinner and it's probably because I didn't leave them in nothing but water overnight (I put hydrogen peroxide and baking soda in)

[starrlamia]

what kind of detergent are you using? ive been using all natural stuff which seems to do an excellent job

[CherieFairy]

From a cloth diaper perspective... any time our cloth diapers had stink, it was usually due to detergent build up.  We solved this by hot wash with no detergent until there were no bubbles, then wash as normal. OR my favorite CD detergent is Rockin Green and it's amazing for getting rid of ANY stink.  "rock a soak" and see what happens.  You can order a sample from them or some of the Canadian cloth diapering websites. I wash my menstrual cloth in Rockin Green and don't have any issues.  Good luck!

[111240]

Sorry for the late response, I forgot my username for a moment.

I've been using Kirkland detergent (the red box). The pads stopped smelling completely once I fully dried them, and then I washed them with natural detergent. I am now using natural stuff, they are so much better.

So yeah, I think fully drying my pads helped because then bacteria can't continue breeding and making the odor.