Amonia smell in CLEAN diapers...

Amanda - posted on 04/20/2009

I had this problem when I switched to a front loader machine and I'm with Angie....rinse rinse rinse! That is the only thing that has worked for me. I strip my diapers about once a month and still have to do 3-4 rinses with each wash. good luck

Angie - posted on 04/19/2009

I found that 2 things seem to cause this. One is drying them in the dryer. I have almost exclusively hung the diapers to dry year round. When I've needed to use the dryer, they ALWAYS end up stinky. They smell like ammonia the moment urine hits them. It then causes rashes. The second thing that caused them to stink was too much detergent build up. I have hard water so it makes it hard to rinse out. I always use Charlies Soap. I have never used vinigar or baking soda. Once a month I need to strip them. What this does is "strip" the excess detergent from the dipes. Since I have hard water (we do try to soften it, we just have very hard well water) the detergent doesn't rinse out very well. No matter the amount of Charlies I use.

What I do is dump all the (clean)diapers, doublers and wipes in the washer and use the hottest water. Add 5 scoops of Oxyclean and let it agitate some. Let them soak overnight (or when ever the schedule allows, just makes sure its for several hours at least) Then start the washer up again and allow it to run the normal (hot)wash cycle. Then you need to rinse, and rinse and rinse until there are no more suds. I usually do it 4-5 times. I know lots of water, but it WORKS! And anyways, it's not like your using this much water EVERY time you wash the dipes. Then I make sure I line dry them. Outdoors seems to be the best. Indoors works well too. The outdoors just helps give that awesome fresh scent and allows the sun to naturally bleach and disenfect.

Hope this can help you!

Bri - posted on 04/19/2009

Quoting Katie:

I don't use any detergent at all b/c i was told it holds in smell after being washed so many times, so i do a rinse with nothing then a use like a half a cup of vinegar per 8-10 dipes, and I never have smell problems.... Try it out... good luck!

Amonia smell in CLEAN diapers...

How do I get the amonia smell out of my Bums? I use Planet Detergent and spray wash off the poop, wash in a cold wash w/ detergent and then a hot wash with more detergent and I still can't get the smell out. Some one said to use baking soda, but that has seemed to make them less absorbent. What else can I use? They smell right out of the dryer! And adding more pee to them makes it worse, I have a stinky babe most of the time! What have others used?

Katrina - posted on 04/17/2009

Is the smell coming from the inserts only? If so, try Bac Out. I soaked all of my inserts overnight in the washer in a solution of 1/4 cup Bac Out and hot water. In the morning I washed using my usual routine (one was cold, then one hot wash with detergent) and the smell was gone.

Rachelle - posted on 04/05/2009

Such great Ideas here!!  I love seeing what has worked for other ppl!!  I use vinegar once a month!!  Dawn as well once a month!!  I havent had sticky problems in awhile(crossing fingers)!!  I do not soak my diapers bug I always run them thru a short cycle a second time everytime I was to try and get out all the detergent. 

Best of luck!!

Sierra - posted on 04/04/2009

Sounds like a classic case of detergent buildup. they are all so concentrated it is so hard not to use too much. also if your detergent has optical brighteners or plant based oils or surfactants in it they build up more. to fix this you just need to strip your diapers. it's easy. just turn your water heater up so the water will be nice and hot and then in your first wash throw in 3 tablespoons of Calgon water softener or one tablespoon of blue dawn dish detergent. then jjust wash untill you don't see anymore bubbles during the agitation cycle. it may take one wash or it may take six!

to prevent buildup use your detergent sparingly and strip diapers once a month (should only take one wash or two). I use Arm and Hammer washing soda (or baking soda) in every wash and lemon juice (or vinegar) in the rinse. i use a TINY bit of detergent. good luck!

oh and Sun and Xtra are both cheap and so they don't have brighteners or enzymes.  

Sarene - posted on 04/03/2009

do you soak them before you wash?

Beth - posted on 04/03/2009

My diapers got so stinky I didn't even want to use them anymore!  We have well water which is very hard! I was doing a cold rinse, hot wash with charlies soap then followed by a cold rinse then 2 more  rinses, still stinky every time they would go!  I tried the calgon and have not had a problem since!  I do use the calgon every time I wash them (during the hot wash cycle)... my problem was build up.  During my rinse cycle I still have a little suds but no more stinky diapers.  Also every once in a while I will wash my inserts with bleach!  I use Fuzzi bunz and Bumgenius diapers!  If the Calgon didn't work I was going to try a different soap!

Elizabeth - posted on 04/01/2009

Sounds like you need to strip. Do you have hard water? You may be getting mineral build-up, too. For detergent residue, wash on hot with 3-5 drops of original formula Dawn liquid dish detergent, then wash again (any temp) with no detergent. If you think you might have mineral build-up from hard water, try adding about a cup of vinegar to your rinse on the second wash.... and use Calgon water softener in your wash from here on out. As other folks have said, use vinegar on inserts only, not on any covers or pockets that have elastic or PUL.

Jennifer - posted on 04/01/2009

From what I understand of PUL and Elastic, you shouldn't use vinegar on products containing these as it breaks down the plastics!!

I use primarily pocket nappies during the day, and cloth nappies with a Bummis cover overnight, and have done so for about 6 years now!!

After lots of trial and error, this is my solution....

Plain Cloth (any type, works with bamboo, hemp & cotton anyway!!) - wash in hot water and 1/2 recommended washing powder for normal washing (cold rinse) and hang outside to dry.  If they develop the smell, wash as usual, but add vinegar to the cold rinse cycle, and also hang outside.

Covers, All in ones, Pocket naps etc - wash as above regularly, but remove these products from the above treatment with vinegar!!  If the smell is in these products, I can recommend using a very small amount of dishwashing detergent to scrub into a wet (and clean) nappy, then rinse twice - once in hot and another in cold.  I don't WASH these nappies (no agitation) only rinse. 

The above management plan, after a few years of trying all sorts of stronger cleaners, works a treat.  We also live in Australia, with lots of sun and heat, but during winter I dry on a line undercover if it is raining, and try to pop out in sun whenever I can for at least an hour.  Dry nappies don't care about the temperature, but the sun (even in winter!!) kills bacteria and acts as a natural bleach to whiten old fashioned nappies (which I use all the time!!)

Hope this helps.

Lisa - posted on 03/28/2009

I use vinegar in the rinse every few washes or so.  I don't use much at all but it has really helped and I don't do it every time.  I haven't noticed any issues with my diapers at all, but it's definitely something to watch for.  I had the problem with the ammonia smell and doing this has helped.

Kari - posted on 03/27/2009

My Fuzzi Bunz were all ruined by the vinegar.  The elastic just went out.  I hear it is a problem with the older style Fuzzi Bunz, but watch out just in case.  I had to replace all the elastic and they still smelled.

Allison - posted on 03/26/2009

I also use vinegar in the rinse cycle maybe once a month (too much can cause problems with the elastic). It depends on your water, too. My wash system goes like this:

Dry pail for wet and dirty diapers (will spray off solid poop, but not thoroughly clean them)

I use a couple teaspoons of WinTree detergent in my wash, with an extra rinse, all on cold (I don't use hot or warm for anything). Vinegar in rinse cycle if necessary.

Dry in drier on medium.

That's it.

I've also heard that RRL or RLR (can't remember the initials) is a good diaper stripping product.

Katy - posted on 03/26/2009

I put vinegar in the fabric softener compartment every so often, it gets the smell out really well. I haven't found it has degraded my nappies at all.

Hanako - posted on 03/25/2009

I had this for the first time a few weeks ago. I have been usig my BumGenius and Green kids for a little over 4 months. The BG website recommends a hot wash with 1/2 a cup of bleach. I did this with the inserts of my nappies and then just did a normal cold rinse and they don't smell any more.

I always hang my nappies in the sun (and that's the hot, hot Aussie sun thanks to a holey ozone. lol!) and even this didn't stop the smell. They smelt fine until they got some urine on them. Anyway, perhaps give the bleach a try? It worked great for me...

Vilate - posted on 03/25/2009

I swear by tea tree oil , 3-5 drops in a load.  It is an anit-baterial that kills bacteria.  Then I hang them out ibn the sun when ever it is shinging hot or cold.  the sun naturally bleaches the stains and kills the smell.  This is what my husband is sold on.  He can give you all the scientific reasons why the sun will do this, I just know it works!  Take the extra 10 min and hang them out.  You wll only throw them in the dryer out of dire straights after tyou have sunned them!  Good luck.  i would hate to have stinky diapers!

Kristi - posted on 03/25/2009

If you are picky about using other products on your diapers, hang them in the sun (outside) instead of the dryer. It has helped my diapers and it saves some electric bills in the summer!

Kimberly - posted on 03/25/2009

This will use extra water, but I've found it to be the only thing that works. If there is ANY detergent residue in your diapers at all they will have that amonia smell, which does get worse when the diaper is peed in. I run my diapers through a full extra cycle with no detergent after the cold cycle detergent and hot cycle detergent. You will likely feel you are wasting water, but I think it's well worth it to get the diapers stinky free. Your dipes might need a full stripping to get that baking soda residue out, too. "Stripping" can be done with 3 or 4 hot washes in a row with no additives or detergent (tho the vinegar suggestion is good because it does neutralize the odor AND soften your dipes...I'd put vinegar in the first hot wash with no detergent and then run one or two more hot washes with no other additives.)



I usually strip my diapers about once every month or two or whenever I notice that odor. But I almost ALWAYS run an extra short cycle of hot water after my detergent cycle. Water is a renewable resource and your carbon footprint is not greatly deepened by using a little extra water. :)

Arika - posted on 03/25/2009

Vinigar  works  great..Put it in the fabric softiner dispenser and set your washer to extra rinse...This gets out all the stinkies for me