[pilesoflaundry]

I have tried everything and I still have some stink issues

: I even tried just washing in tto and baking soda and btw anyone else hate the smell of tto

? It smells like pine sol mixed with listerine!

I have stripped my washer according to the diaper hyena site (empty hot wash bs and vinegar, cold wash by itself) and yes there were suds even though I used no detergent so there was buildup in the washer. I have stripped the diapers, cut way back on how much soap I use eventhough I was only using 1/4 cup to begin with. I always do a cold prerinse and then a hot wash and an extra 2 rinses. I wash every 1.5-2 days so they don't sit long. I have even tried more soap incase it was a not getting clean issue. URGH

does anyone think the washer is itself is the problem?? I bought it brand new in Jan. 02 so it's not that old.

BTW I do use downy on my regular clothing but not my towels or diapers. Is there anyway that there is a residue getting into my diapers? I'm not repelling or leaking just stink. It's not quite clean but not quite dirty, sometimes things smell clean or fine out of the washer but stink out of the dryer

. Help!

 

[Jachut]

I'm feeling a bit frustrated with my washer too. Its only three months old. Since I bought it I have smell issues with our hemp too. It stinks when I open the door after a cycle. Its fine when its dried, has no odour at all.

I put it down to the fact that I just dont think front loaders are that thorough compared to top loaders. The lack of water in them means that you can do 1000 rinses and still not get everything completely clean. Its like buying a new bed, you have to make a choice in the store, but its not till you've actually used the thing for a month that you know if you like it. I'd never buy a front loader again to be honest.

I may even go back to the old wet pail method and soak our dipes in a bucket of Napisan prior to washing. Its a pain but if it beats the stink its worthwhile. Its not so bad now she's older and I'd only need half the bucket and 6 dipes for the day.

 

[amicrazyyet]

We just invested in a water softener for this very reason. I have been washing laundry for the last two days like a mad woman. It is amazing how much buildup and nastiness there were on our clothes and the diapers.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Hey I just noticed your location amicrazyyet, we are military in TX also

.

I'm guessing there is hard water here then? So my problem is probably not enough soap right? I've been using 1/4 cup or less for a medium to large load of diapers.

 

[intensity_too]

I have a front loader and haven't had a problem. I have noticed that if I leave the door closed in between washing laundry it can get stinky in there. Now, if I am not washing anything, I leave the door open to dry it out.

Actually, front loaders do just as well at washing as top loading machines but they are more efficient so they require less water and detergent so it's not that the diapers/clothes are not getting clean.

Is it possible that you are trying to wash too big of a load? That can cause problems as well.

I do think it is possible that using a fabric softener on your regular clothes and then washing dipes could cause a problem. I use no fabric softener at all and if I feel I need to I use the sheets. That was no fabric sodtener residue is left to get on the dipes.

I hope you figure out what is causing the problem.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I have a top loader and I never shut it unless I'm doing laundry because I don't want it to stink in there.

So either it's hard water or the fabric softner residue.

I'm so confused if it's hard water, some sites and posts say you need more detergent to get stuff clean but others say less because it doesn't clean out the soap as well so you get buildup.

 

[amicrazyyet]

The water here is awful. I could never get any combo to work for me. I tried more I tried less, I tried with borax, I tried without, with Calgon and without. Nothing would get rid of the ammonia. Then I made the HUGE mistake of switching to Tide for a harsher supposedly cleaner rinsing detergent and jack wound up with a fricken burn from it. So I did a strip wash with RLR and started using sportswash. It really helped tremendously. I finally broke down and called the Culligan man for a softener. Now that has really helped. No more stinky AM diapers.

 

[Kermit]

Quote:

Actually, front loaders do just as well at washing as top loading machines but they are more efficient so they require less water and detergent so it's not that the diapers/clothes are not getting clean.

Hate to do it, but I have to totally partially disagree with this. I think front loaders do just as well for the typical amount of soiling you get with clothing, but not with dry pailed diapers.
You mama cloth users.... Tried rinsing out a little panty liner that only has a little spotting on it? Doesn't take as much water and rinsing as washing out a night pad that is soaked, does it? Same concept with heavily soiled diapers. You need more water to get the poop and pee out. The ratio of pee and poo (soiling) to water is way heavier with dry pailed diapers than it is with clothing that has been worn a couple of times.
And then there are differences with brands of FLers. My LG only uses about 3 gallons per cycle, about 14 total. A Neptune uses about 6 per cycle, and closer to 28 altogether when a full load is done and set on heavy soil. So some front loaders are going to do a better job on cloth diapers than others.
In order to get the same stink-free results in my front loader as I did with my top loader, I have to add a cold double rinse cycle at the beginning, add a cold prewash, do a hot wash which does a double rinse, and then add 2 more rinses at the higher water level setting at the end of it all. I don't have to jump through all those hoops for clean clothing, thank goodness.
I don't know what is causing the OP the stinky problem, but if you have hard water, do use closer to 1/2 C. of detergent, always do a cold prewash, always use detergent in your HOT water wash, and always do an extra rinse at the end (this is all if you have a top loader). If you have a front loader, I'd try to do something similar to the routine I mentioned with my front loader. FLers use so little water, you really are not being wasteful by doing the extra rinses.

 

[Kermit]

Oh, and about your confusion over hard water.... Yes, it does build up easier in hard water, but that's something you have to live with and do occasional strips, unless you add a water softener to each load.
And yeah, I agree that fabric softener can build up in a washer. I prefer dryer sheets because of this, but if you have to use it in your washer, dilute it with vinegar in the dispenser, and do frequent maitenance with distilled white vinegar or Cascade Complete and HOT water.

 

[intensity_too]

Maybe I just have a good front loader then. I do a cold rinse then a hot wash on theheavy soiled setting with a double cold rinse for my diapers and have never had a stink problem. I even have hard water. Hmm, who knows?

 

[Kermit]

It may have to do with the kind of diapers you are using, too, but I don't know.... I know that my hemp flats come out fresher with much less effort than my hemp prefolds, and my cpf's come out fresher with less effort than my thick fitteds with built in soakers.