[mammatomyboys]

I don't know if it's my diapers, or if my 2 yo ds has really stinky pee...
The diaps and inserts smell fine when they come out of the wash, but as soon as he pees in them there is a really strong ammonia-like smell.

I use fuzzi bunz with microfleece inserts. Here is how I wash them: Cold rinse cycle (sometimes w/ a soak, sometimes not), followed by hot wash w/ about 2 Tbsp detergent, cold rinse, then tumble dry on low.

Am I doing something wrong? Could it just be that he has really bad-smelling pee? The only thing I can think of is maybe me hot wash is not hot enough (?) - we have our hot water heater set on a lower setting to prevent scalds - but I'm sure other kid-friendly households do the same thing and still have to wash their diapers! What to do?!?

:

 

[nighten]

You have detergent buildup (the after peeing smell is the key).

What kind of detergent are you using? Switch to a 100% water soluble one, like Charlie's Soap.

Strip the dipes (hot washes until no suds) and start using Charlie's

 

[amberthesugarcat]

I have to say you have bacteria buildup in your microfiber (very common). Microfiber was developed to grab and hold onto bacteria/yeast/fungi/dust/etc. so it is so hard to get clean. The poop that remains on your dipes in the pail contains E.coli and other nasty things that eat on the pee, making ammonia salts, which is what you are smelling. If you are not killing the bacteria and removing the ammonia salt buildup they will be "reactivated" every time you baby pees!

So I would seperate out your inserts and wash them in a cold wash with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of bleach and then do a hot wash/warm rinse with nothing. If you have suds then you do have detergent buildup and you need to wash them until they are suds free.

Just to let you know, microfiber will continue to hold onto detergent and bacteria, so I would do a regular wash with bleach and no detergent whenever you get nasty smells. BTW, I think most of stink is caused by bacteria, but perhaps when you have detergent buildup the bacteria thrive better (they like to eat it or can stick to it or something!) so the detergent buildup itself does not cause stinky dipes, but rather the waste products of bacteria present in your dipes are the problem.

With your FBs, I would wash them in hot/warm and then hang with the fleece up toward the sun. UV rays kill bacteria, but they only can penetrate so far. The sun won't eliminate bacteria in your inserts since they are quite thick, but your FBs should be germ free with occasional sunning. But don't hesitate to bleach those inserts. It won't hurt them and it is the best way to kill those nasty bacteria.

An occasional bleaching is better for your baby than having bacteria and their byproducts against baby's bottom!

 

[nighten]

I would try stripping them before I put bleach on them. If that works then great, if not, then try the bleach. But I don't use bleach, ever. It's up to you.

 

[mammatomyboys]

Thanks so much for the responses!! I will try everything suggested (my machine is going right now) - I appreciate it. I also ordered a bottle of Charlie's Soap - it's something I had heard of many times, and I decided now is the time to try it. Thanks again!

 

[amberthesugarcat]

I really like Charlie's! I hope you like it too. It has not resolved my stink issues, but to do that I have to move back to my apartment where I had treated (chlorine) city water. I NEVER had stink then. My well water just sucks... Even my towels stay musty unless I bleach them every once in a while.

 

[WhitneyVL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amberthesugarcat I really like Charlie's! I hope you like it too. It has not resolved my stink issues, but to do that I have to move back to my apartment where I had treated (chlorine) city water. I NEVER had stink then. My well water just sucks... Even my towels stay musty unless I bleach them every once in a while.

Oh my gosh, isn't that the truth. We never had buildup, residue, stink, etc when we were on city water. I really think the chlorine was the key. I also found that I had to up the amount of detergent we used when we moved as well.

 

[mother culture]

I had the same problem with my son at around 15mos. I would wash your diapers with half the detergent and add 1 cup vinegar and 5 drops of teatree oil adn a lavender to the wash cycle and double rinse. Dry them in the sun and then fluff in dryer. You should then be able to wash as normal but go light on the detergent. And sometimes pee just smells strong, like if baby eats brocoli, fish, and other things.