Showing posts with label cloth diaper laundry smelly diapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diaper laundry smelly diapers. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Help with smelly diapers!!

     I knew from the beginning that my cloth diaper laundry is the biggest hurdle I must overcome. I live in Phoenix AZ and we have super hard water. Our water is worse than anywhere I've ever experienced. While I researched cloth diapers cloth diaper care during my pregnancy I knew laundry was a challenge. From what I understand hard water does not allow the diapers to rinse properly and buildup means smelly diapers and diapers that do not absorb properly. Before David arrived I bought a bag of Rockin Green hard rock and a box of Grovia tiny bubbles. From reviews I found, these seemed to combat stinky diapers the best. Rockin Green looks like people's favorite for hard water.
     My first attempt at a laundry routine
-rinse each diaper (read somewhere to let diapers see as much water as possible)
-I use a Cabrio He Washer that is top loading without an agitator I use the bulky setting on hot/extra rinse/pre soak. I put the soil level on high and the spin on medium
- I scoop of Rockin Green Hard Rock
-wash every 3 days
  This attempt failed miserably. At 2 weeks old I noticed a slight odor when I changed the baby. By 3 weeks old it was worse. The back of the Rockin Green said to soak the diapers overnight if they smelled and you have hard water. Since I can't soak in the washer I filled the bathtub up with the hottest water possible 3 scoops of Rockin Green and all the diapers.
  New Laundry routine
-same as above but begin with an overnight pre soak.
  I hope this is not long term because using 3 scoops of Rockin Green to soak and then one more to wash twice a week could get costly.
  This attempt also failed. Baby smelled horrible. As soon as his diapers had a small amount of pee he smelled like old nasty laundry. When I filled the bathtub up at night the smell could almost knock you out. The whole bathroom smelled like old urine and old laundry. I did this for 2 weeks hoping to see a difference.  
  Finally I read about stripping diapers and using a water softener in the wash routine. I bought water softener at the grocery store and a bottle of original Dawn.
Stripping diapers--
  I used a couple squirts of Dawn in the washer. I washed everything! After 1 wash I rinsed them 3 times. I did not see any more bubbles so figured this was enough rinsing. I ran another wash cycle with 1 scoop Rockin Green and 1/2 cup water softener. I rinsed them 2  extra times to be safe and prayed.
  This time it worked!! No stinky baby!
New wash routine
  1 rinse on low spin cycle. (read this will help get more water in the washer)
   same wash cycle-bulky items on hot wash etc..
  1 scoop Hard Rock and 1/2 cup water softener.
I decided not to rinse each diaper because the water softener seemed to be the issue.
  This worked for a few weeks. Baby is now 10 weeks old and I notice the stinky smell coming back. I am in the process of pulling all the microfiber out of my diapers and replacing it with hemp/bamboo/etc. type liners. These are supposed to have less issues with smell. They still stink for me. I tried using 2 scoops of Rockin Green instead of the 1. (I read sometimes you are not using enough soap.) This did not work at all. Diapers smell worse. I tried using some extra rinse cycles (I am a little worried about my water bill) No help.
  Today I am stripping all my diapers with Dawn once more. I am going to give the tiny bubbles soap a try. I will use one scoop of tiny bubbles with 1/2 cup water softener. Diapers are going to get rinsed before going in the pail. Crossing my fingers tiny bubbles is going to be better than the Rockin Green.


Side note- I always line dry my diapers. Since I live in Arizona there is no reason not to. I do throw my wipes, inserts, perfolds and fitted into the dryer for a couple minutes after they dry so they get fluffy!