Please help! I've stripped and they still stink.

[etwahl]

I spent two days of washing, washing, washing (half the diapers at a time) and finally got all the suds OUT.

They've always smelled clean and fresh from the dryer, but they still stink when he pees and in the diaper pail.

WHAT DO I DO NOW??? I'm so frustrated I want to give up cding. :(

My system is using Allen's Naturally (up until now one squirt of the pump) plus usually a drop or two of TTO. I wash in hot, though we don't have our water tank set too high because we don't want Lauren burning herself in the bath or washing her hands.

Is the water just not hot enough? Is Allen's not working for us? Could there still be build-up even though no suds? The hemp is the worst smelling, but now the Organic Velour seems smelly to me now too (or maybe I've just become super sensitive, though I don't think so).

Tammy,
mom to Lauren (March 2003)

[LBW]

Try a tiny amount of bleach in your wash cycle. Let the washer fill, add the bleach (like 1/8 cup), swish around, then add your dipes. The amount of bleach you're adding is so small that it won't fade your dipes, but it'll kill any bacteria. When the wash cycle is finished, rinse 2 or three times.

I tried this once a couple of weeks ago and it worked like a charm.

[etwahl]

Thanks, I tried this today (along with a little Borax). We'll see how it goes once they're dry and I can try them.

I'll be really happy if I figure out a solution because I don't want to go back to disposables!

Tammy,
mom to Lauren (March 2003)

[LBW]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Let us know if it works.

[mommyoftwo]

I was having that problem too and couldn't figure out what was going on. I couldn't stand to use the diapers and I was washing each load twice thinking that I wasn't getting them clean. When I thought about it, I realized that the problem occured when I ran out of washing soda and started washing dipes with detergent again. I finally was able to hunt washing soda and the problem has resolved itself. Don't know if that would work in your case and I don't know why it's happening in the first place, but it worked for us.

[nisi]

I was right where you are a few months back. Don't give up yet!

Boiling water is your friend. Trust me. ;-) I think I mentioned this on another thread of yours, but boiling water will kill just about any stink problems. IME it works even better than a little bit of bleach. I'm not sure what kind of dipes you're using, but anything that's all hemp or cotton or microterry can survive boiling no problem. (cotton or hemp *may* shrink, but if you've been washing in hot and drying on high, it should already be shrunken) PUL should be fine as well, but the snaps might not be. Super, super hot water will work for the stuff you can't boil - as in the hottest water you can stand to dunk your hands in. Just leave the dipes in it a little longer.

Once you get the initial stink taken care of, it will be a matter of trial and error figuring out how to keep it away. Everyone's situation is different (different water, different machine, different pee ;-) ) but here are some things that helped me...

Hotter washes should help. We don't keep our water heater very high either, so for a while I was adding a pot of boiling water to the wash (being extra careful of dd of course!) Then I realized that our water is temporarily much hotter right after we use a bunch of hot water. It's like the heater is trying to "catch up" or something. So now, I wash dipes right after I take my shower, and I don't have to add boiling water any more :-) Don't know if your water heater is like mine, but fingers crossed it is!

I didn't have much luck with Allen's. In fact, I still have a nearly full quart bottle that I've been meaning to ebay. If I used enough to get the dipes clean, I was having to do a crazy amount of rinsing. I had much better luck with Charlie's Soap (the powder). I also like washing soda and Shaklee Basic H, inspired by WS and Simple Green that some people like to use.

I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here, but oxygen bleach is my friend, too :-) I do daylong soaks at the first sign of "that smell" coming back and it keeps it under control. (hottest water possible, 3-5 scoops for a big load, ~6 hour soak) I haven't noticed any detrimental effect on the dipes. The Sun brand works great and it's lots cheaper than OxyClean.

Gosh, this turned into a novel. I hope it is at least somewhat helpful. If you have any questions, let me know. I visit this board pretty irregularly, so feel free to email me if I disappear. Or flag down Julie. She usually knows where to find me LOL!

Nisi

[mommyoftwo]

That's very helpful information. My problems have been MUCH better since switching back to ws/sg, but I have lingering stink issues since the initial problem came up. I'll have to try your suggestions.