[3bees~1flower]

i don't get why my dipes are still stinky...i have stripped them numerous times until the water is clear and ONLY put a minute amount of detergent in and ONLY if there are no suds before putting it in...i wash them with TTO and have used lemon as well. i just don't get why they still stink. they come out of the dryer smelling fine, it's just that when he pees, a lot of the times it smells like he is poopy and he isn't. baking soda only made them stinkier and calgon didn't work either. we have well water, so i know we have hard water. what else can i try? thanks a bunch!!

 

[kasumi]

I start with how many diapers i put in the washer-if I try to overload I get instant smell when DS pees. HTH!

 

[Kermit]

Hard water requires more detergent to get diapers clean. I would try using Calgon in the wash AND rinse and using 1/2 of the recommended amount of detergent rather than less. If you see too many suds in the last rinse, then you can adjust from there, but I wouldn't use too little detergent or they won't get clean. You can always add a rinse or do occasional strips or add some vinegar to the first rinse to help release detergent residue.

 

[True Blue]

I recently had the SAME EXACT problem. The water where we moved is very hard. I cut down to like 1 tbsp of Tide to prevent buildup but my dipes still stunk. I strip washed, rinsed like crazy, used calgon, etc. Turns out they weren't getting clean enough. I upped to 1/4-1/2 capful of Tide, full cap of Calgon. Worked like a charm! I also just finally found RLR at Walmart, anything that was left, that took it off. My dipes smell beautiful now.

I think I'll use RLR once a month to prevent the minerals from building up that Calgon misses.

 

[3bees~1flower]

thanks ladies...so what do you dipes smell like when they are wet? mine smell fine dry, it's just when he pees that the stink comes out.

also, how do you tell the difference between stink fro not getting clean and from build up? i'm just afraid that if it is from not getting clean and i add more detergent, then i'll get into build up...kind of a catch 22....

 

[True Blue]

Mine always smelled fine til he peed, just like yours.

 

[bradenboy]

OMG- I thought it was just me!

:

Guess I will have to try more detergent?

 

[True Blue]

Well, when I tried more detergent I had just stripped them so there were no suds in the rinses.....and they still stunk. So then I went the more detergent route. Strip them, see how they smell after the strip and maybe your next wash. If they still stink, give 'em more detergent!

Just wanted to add I was soooo scared to try more detergent...but it has worked for the better! Been doing it for a couple weeks now and no horrid stink. Even his nighttime dipes aren't all ammonia smelling by morning or poopy smelling by the middle of the night. Of course, they still smell like pee LOL. I thought everyone was crazy when they told me to try more detergent!!!! But they were right!

 

[3bees~1flower]

ok...so how do you all strip your dipes? i wash them in hot with no detergent and with tto...i do this a couple times with several cold rinses as well. then when i go to wash them after having used them after the stipping i use hot and tto, let it agitate awhile and add detergent only if there are no suds. so yesterday i added a little more detergent and then there suds along the side AFTER the rinse...so then i did another hot wash/cold rinse...i would just like to be able to wash, rinse and be done...will that ever happen???

 

[True Blue]

I have decided that sometimes there are going to be suds in some of the rinses. I do a prerinse, hot wash with detergent and calgon, and an extra rinse. If you are doing washes without adding soap bc you have some suds already, I really think your dipes aren't getting clean enough. I have decided to stop obsessing about suds and start paying attention to how my dipes smell and feel.

Here is what I would do:
To Strip them, wash them normally with a capful of Calgon, then just keep doing extra cycles with no added detergent until you see no suds (not air bubbles, but true suds, which will not disappear if you stop the load for a minute or two). You can add Calgon to some of these rinses to see if it takes out more soap. Once this is done, they are stripped.

What will probably happen now is you will use the dipes and they will still smell. Here is what to do next:
Get some RLR to help strip them. Wash them with the RLR, Calgon, and 1/4-1/2 capful of detergent, do an extra rinse and don't obsess about suds. Chances are now they will be scent free.

 

[penny31]

I was just going to post a question very similar to this! Eliza's Fuzzi Bunz always smell like poop in the morning - but I really can't remember her EVER pooping in them (she only wears those at night). Is this because they have been contaminated by other pooped on dipes in the diaper pail? Or is she passing gas at night and the smell is sticking to the dipes? Every morning when I go in to get her, I am CONVINCED that she has pooped, but NOT!

What do you think?

TIA

 

[Kermit]

Phoebe, mine pick up poop smell in the pail also. It's kinda one of the bad things about the pocket diapers. They are made of synthetic materials and retain odors more easily because of that. I would try a hot soak with Shout Oxy Power (or Oxiclean if you have that) for a few hours and then rinse them really well and hang them outside to dry. That should freshen them up. If you don't have the Oxygen bleach, then start by just washing them in hot again and hanging them outside to dry. That alone will help some.

 

[3bees~1flower]

thank you truebluefx...that was very informative! btw, what is RLR?

 

[True Blue]

I don't know exactly what it is LOL. It is in Walmart in the laundry section, but it comes in a little package hanging on the shelves. It says in big letters "Laundry Treatment" and the two little conatiners of the powder in it look like the bubble balls you get out of those toy machines for cheap rings.