How much stink is normal?

[okinawama]

We currently use Bumgenious 3.0 for night time diapering. When my son wakes up after about 12 hours he smells terrible. He is in the diaper for a long time, and I know that some stink is normal, but what is "normal"? I notice it immediatley when I pick him up and when changing him it's very strong. I only wash every second to third day, and the wet bag that we use smells pretty bad too. So much so that yesterday I had to remove it from my sons room because it was smelling it up. When clean and dry they don't stink really, but if I do hold them up to my nose and smell I can smell a slight urine oder. So.... is it normal or should I play with my wash routine. (one wash on cold, one was on hot and I use all free and clear).....any suggestions?

[JBaxter]

Free and clear detergents CAN cause build up. Strip them with dawn and see how it goes.

My routine is

Cold rinse w/ about a cup of vinegar

hot long wash w/ extra rinse cycle ( 1 TBLS Charlies soap & 1/2 cap calgon due to my water)

Every few weeks I do a dawn wash. I use a combo of Goodmamas & pockets ( bungenius/fuzi bunz/haute pockets)

http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

[american_mama]

I really hate messing with laundry routines, since you really never know whether you're tweaking the right variable. Having said that, Jeana, the previous poster, gave good advice. Dawn is an easy and common way to addresss stink and build-up.

Another easy way to do it is wash with 1 tablesoon, maybe 2 TB, of bleach every month or so. My diapering situation is very much like yours: occasional stink in the morning, in the diaper bag, and a faint, baked urine smell when I open the dryer and/or put a clean dipe to my nose. Some people never have stink, but I am not one of them. I use a little bit of everything... fitteds, prefolds, hemp, cotton, pockets, microfiber, you name it.

I will say that there are times when the stink is minor or even gone, and I think it does NOT have to do with my laundry routine. The hotter the house, the more the diaper pail stinks for sure. Sometimes my DS stinks bad first thing in the morning, sometimes not. A few days ago, the first pee diaper I changed in the morning, which had probably been on him an hour or less, had a strong ammonia stink. Never had that happen in almost 4 years of CDing.

Try the Dawn or bleach idea, plus any others that seem easy or reasonable. But I would also say living with some morning stink is ok too and easier than going crazy trying everything to eradicate it. And if the stink is TOO bad, which sometimes it can be, I know I switched to disposables only at night for the last few months before my daughter toilet trained at night.

[kijip]

I really hate messing with laundry routines, since you really never know whether you're tweaking the right variable. Having said that, Jeana, the previous poster, gave good advice. Dawn is an easy and common way to addresss stink and build-up.

Another easy way to do it is wash with 1 tablesoon, maybe 2 TB, of bleach every month or so. My diapering situation is very much like yours: occasional stink in the morning, in the diaper bag, and a faint, baked urine smell when I open the dryer and/or put a clean dipe to my nose. Some people never have stink, but I am not one of them. I use a little bit of everything... fitteds, prefolds, hemp, cotton, pockets, microfiber, you name it.

I will say that there are times when the stink is minor or even gone, and I think it does NOT have to do with my laundry routine. The hotter the house, the more the diaper pail stinks for sure. Sometimes my DS stinks bad first thing in the morning, sometimes not. A few days ago, the first pee diaper I changed in the morning, which had probably been on him an hour or less, had a strong ammonia stink. Never had that happen in almost 4 years of CDing.

Try the Dawn or bleach idea, plus any others that seem easy or reasonable. But I would also say living with some morning stink is ok too and easier than going crazy trying everything to eradicate it.
:yeahthat:

Try some of these tips and see if it helps.

Since you don't describe this issue with daytime dipes, I don't think it is super heavy build-up (because that would mean all diapers were pretty stinky). 12 hours worth of urine in a diaper can be a real 1-2 punch, even in the cleanest of diapers.

[craftysierra]

We are on our fourth cloth diapered child and night time pee soaked diapers burn my eyes some days on older toddlers.

I agree changing laundry issues are so touchy. The thing we also use on diaper laundry and sometimes in smelly bags is baking soda.

Sierra

[kt1973]

I also will use 2-3 drops of tea tree essential oil on a wash cloth dropped into the wash if we start to get a stink issue. I do the bleach thing about once a month. I have had to adjust soap before due to hard or soft water. When I get around to it again I will make my own soap for the diapers. I never had any issues with stink when I used this recipe(not sure how it will work where we live not as I don't know if we have hard or soft water but I'm gonna try it again soon):

1 55oz box of washing soda
2 cups oxiclean
1/2 cup calgon water softening powder
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup simple green

Mix all dry ingredients and then mix in the simple green liquid. I mix with my hands to get all the simple green worked in. Turns into a nice powder when mixed up and works really good.

[kt1973]

Oh I forgot! When I use that powder recipe I use 2oz per load. I keep the scoop from the oxiclean and use that.

[okinawama]

thanks ladies for all the help! I think what we have going is fairly normal, day time dipes don't stink at all, night time ones could knock me over :) I've switched from doing two full washes to a cold rinse, hot wash, and cold rinse. Seems to be working so far and using much less energy and water.