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help with ammonia smelling diapers

1K views 18 replies 17 participants last post by  Thandiwe 
#1 ·
okay, I followed the advice on pinstripesandpolkadots website for stripping dipes with really hot water and a bit of Calgon (we have really hard water) thinking it was minerals lodged in the fibers. Didn't help. Dipes smell clean coming out of the washer/dryer, but smell just like ammonia very shortly after he pees. The dipes are a few different types - prefolds, fleece pockets, knicker knappies - but it doesn't seem to matter the fabric, they all stink once peed in.

I have only used Charlie's Soap on the dipes, occasionally a splash of vinegar (though not lately b/c I keep forgetting to get more at the market!) and once or twice a splash of O2 cleaner.

Any thoughts - other stripping methods - advice???
 
#3 ·
Here you go, it was posted by ShaggyDaddy:

"It's all about HEAT.

The dishwasher has a heating element, it gets the water SUPER hot, this is as close as many of us come to the at home equivalent of what the diaper services do to clean their dipes (no chemicals super hot water).

We have a high efficiency/front loader washimg machine with "triple capacity" one load for that is equivalent to one load in the dishwasher. We just pile them all on the top and bottom rack... I prefer to do thick fitteds/stuffers and stuff on the bottom and prefolds and Fuzzybuns and other pockets on the top. You just need to make sure the thing on the bottom can spin, the thing in the middle is not blocked, and that no dipes will be touching the heating element on the bottom. It doesn't really matter how many dipers you put in there, but I suspect the less you have in there the faster they will strip. When we are done loading them both the racks are usually full to the top of the bars.

I swear once you start it is addictive, I mean the first time you open the dishwasher mid-cycle, be prepared because the ammonia can knock you over.

__________________
Daddy to Jet(6-05) and Marvel(8-06) We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. - Einstein"
 
#5 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by OTmama View Post
hey thanks - maybe I will give this a try! But first I will have to convince my sister to let me use her dishwasher!!



Let me know how it works!

My keyboard at work is super sticky and my mom (the librarian) said that they used to put the public library keyboards in the dishwasher to clean them. Crazy!
:

When I had an ammonia problem with dd I put her in 'sposies for a week and washed/dried the diapers every which way until they were all better. I also had dh up the temp on our water heater.
 
#9 ·
I second the dishwasher idea. I actually wash them first so they're not "dirty" and then strip them on the high-heat setting. The first time I did it, I thought, I must be nuts... but opened up the door midway in the cycle and saw TONS of suds. It took about 5 cycles to strip my dipes -- but now I do them once a month-6 weeks and all is well.
 
#12 ·
The dishwasher is AMAZING....I was in on one of these stripping in the dishwasher threads a few weeks ago. At the time, DH would not allow me to use the DW for stripping. But after seeing how frustrated I was becoming he caved and allowed me to give it a try.

Long story short, I had washed and washed and washed again, and there were no suds in my wash or rinse water. I had boiled my diapers, and still they continued to repel. When I finally put them in the DW you wouldn't believe the amount of soap that was coming out of them when I opened it mid cycle. From what I saw in my washing machine I would have swore that there was no detergent in my dipes. But, lo and behold, the heat of the DW really drew it out and they are like new now!!
 
#13 ·
And no one's DW stinks now? I guess I'm having a hard time picturing the things-that-go-on-their-bottoms being okay to go in the thing-that-cleans-what-we-eat-off-of.

It's just the ammonia smell is so strong. What if they do't get absolutely cleanand then you have stinky dipes AND a yucky DW?
 
#15 ·
OK, so what if you don't have a DW? My diaper stink is mostly the pockets, but I guess I should strip all diapers, including hemp inserts and prefolds? I was going to try washing them with Dawn. Can someone tell me how much Dawn? I assume on hot? (I think part of my issue is my hot water is rather tempramental...it is heated off the boiler, so I don't think I can adjust the temp. In winter when the boiler is on non-stop, it could peel your skin off it is so hot, but in summer it is takes a while to get really really hot and doesn't always stay really hot.) I have tried using tbsp of bleach but it only helps minimally. I also use some Oxy sometimes. I have been using Charlies Soap, which I really like, never any stains. but, we do share our washer and dryer with our neighbors, so maybe detergent residue from their washes is sticking to my diaps.

Thanks mamas.
Colleen
 
#16 ·
My dishwasher worked well, but I'm not sure what it was doing
: It has a "sensing" feature and I'm not sure what that's all about but the light stayed on for over and hour and I didn't really feel like I was getting anywhere with it so I turned it off. Too bad because it was starting to work. Now I have to think of something else to strip these bad boys
: I swear I've been trying to strip them for a month.
 
#19 ·
Hi!! Just keeping an eye on this post lately, because I'm in a similar situation w/detergent build-up, hard water, ammonia smell, and a dry, patchy, itchy rash all over my son's bottom. So, I just wanted to let you all know what's working for me. I didn't want to use my dw for various reasons, so I'm kind of "boiling" them in the washer.

For starters, I turned up my water softener (was cranked pretty low) to help w/hard water. Then I made sure my hot water heater was cranked all the way. Next, I took only 1 dozen clean dipes (we only use prefolds, and sadly, only Gerber birdseye and DSQ kinds). I set the washer on the lowest amount of water and the hottest setting, and started running then added the dipes, giving them the longest "wash" possible w/o any detergent. My washer does a hot wash/cold rinse combo. I got out the meat thermometer and checked the water: at least 140 degrees. During this process, I got lots of suds. After about 4 cycles or so like this, they're MUCH softer and smell plain, like nothing. I chose to use the least amount of water to keep it really hot. Plus, it allows me to run many cycles to clear the water as often as possible.

I hope this helps someone else. We have a sucky dw (we just rent), so I didn't want to fight with it. Good luck, and hopefully we can all get these troubles settled.

Oh, but one question. So far, we've been using Earth's Best Organics Diaper Cream succesfully, but we ran out and can't pick any up around us. So tonight I bought Burt's Bees Baby Bee Diaper Cream, and it seems oilier than the other. Does anyone else use this with cloths okay? Am I setting myself up for major build-up??
 
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