Well, it’s not an extra product for me, but it may be for you. We keep Nature’s Miracle on hand for pet messes and it also works well for any kind of body fluid clean-up. It has enzymes in it that consume the bacteria. We get it at Petco, but I think most pet supply stores carry something like it.

I never got over the stinky pee problem all of the way. It’s one reason why I really don’t want to go back to cloth diapers–all the endless time spent trying to deal with the stinky diapers.

One pee and, wham! Ammonia smell!

The only thing that helped me was bleach. I know it’s hard on your diapers and I didn’t use it on the covers (it would ruin them), but soaking in hot, hot water with bleach, using baking soda in the wash and lots of rinses with vinegar seemed to help.

Remember how you had to boil the water to get the baking soda to work in your hair? It’s very similar. The diapers have to wash in REALLY hot water for the chemicals to work on them.

How high can you turn up your water heater? Does your washer have a sanitize cycle?

All of these details make me not want to go back to cloth. I think the cost all evens out in the washing expense.

I had the same issue. I tried the vinegar too. The best thing I found was the sun!

Have you tried soaking them in borax? I never had any smell problems with pre-folds but when I switched to fitted diapers the multiple layers was causing smell problems. I would soak them in water with a small amount of borax and it did help! Good luck!

I love my cloth diapers. I am just now returning to them after a break for the summer while we ran all over the world (ok, so only all over TX but it’s still a big place.) Have you ever looked up the idea of stripping your diapers? I just did this to my bumgenius and need to do it to my prefolds. You can do a search on stripping diapers. I have also tried the vinegar and baking soda. I finally decided to soak my diapers for a while in

i occasionally have stink issues with my bub’s nappies, but following the instructions that came with them helped a heap. when they start to stink, do a wash with DISHWASHING LIQUID of all things.

wash them as you normally would, but with a good squirt of dishwashing liquid instead of whatever laundry detergent you use, then rinse them a few times to make sure all the bubbles are gone.

ive also found the dishwashing liquid helped clear out a bunch of gunge left in the machine from all the fabric softener my mother used to use.

Dear Kim,

As a retired nurse, I have spent many years fighting laundry-related smells, stains and germs.

I am a firm believer in the power of Chlorox bleach (or a store brand). Bleach gets a bad rap because it can be dangerous if used carelessly. It is poisonous and you have to be careful not to mix it with other cleaners such as ammonia, which will generate fatal fumes. Obviously, it must be handled by the older children and kept out of reach of the curious young ‘uns. Also, if you use too much, it can damage fibers, especially elastic.

If you research the data, you will learn that household bleach is highly reactive. This means that it “spends” itself as it encounters bacteria and ultimately breaks down into harmless water and oxygen. People get confused re: industrial bleach (used in making paper) which leaves behind gruesome dioxin compounds. Common household bleach poses no health or environmental risks if used correctly. In my opinion, homemakers have been led to believe that bleach is somehow kryptonite to humans. It is not. It has its place in the vanguard of solutions we use to kill germs that make things smelly and make us sick. The key is finding the right amount that will kill the germs without disintegrating the fabric.

There is no need to use as much as the label calls for (1 cup per load is far too much for most household scenarios). My rule of thumb has been this: if you can smell a strong bleach odor at the end of the wash/rinse cycle, then you have used too much. It’s been a long time since I needed to wash stinky items, but 1/4 cup per large load will most likely take care of any smells without harming the fabric. Hard water does not interfere with the antimicrobial action of household bleach.

Please consider giving household bleach a try.

Kind regards from,

Susie Tyner

Used cloth with my three youngest. I never really had a problem with the diapers stinking. I would rinse them once in the washer, and then run them through a wash cycle using vinegar. Are you line drying? The sun may help with the problem.

I’ll keep this short and sweet….

Instead of a dry bucket, try water and a bit of detergent in the bucket. Toss your dirties right in. Change the water each time you wash the diapers.

That’s what I always did.

I also have hard water in my area. Using Calgon at every wash seemed to help, but was getting expensive, as only the liquid was available in any local store.

Instead, I strip my diapers and inserts (I use one-size pockets) every couple of months with dish detergent (Dawn) to get rid of detergent/ointment buildup, and then I strip the hard water minerals out with a product called RLR laundry treatment. You can order some cheaply at thekitchendrawer.com. Diaperpin.com has a lot of great advice and user ratings for cloth diapers and accessories, including cleansers.

It is very important not to regularly use boiling water, bleach or even vinegar and baking soda on next-generation cloth diapers which have a waterproof layer built into them (like many pocket or all-in-one diapers). They can destroy the waterproofing. BumGenius does not even recommend RLR for mineral stripping, only Calgon, but I have not had problems using it.

My diapers used to stink and leak before I started this cleaning regimen, but they have been working great for a year now. I linedry my diapers about 90% of the time, and use Allen’s Naturally liquid soap to wash them. At $50 for a gallon, it seems very expensive, but I have only used half of the jug after a full year of laundering a dozen diapers, inserts and cloth wipes every other day. I will probably be able to potty train before I run out.

BTW, I am not affiliated in any way with any of the products or websites mentioned.

Oh the other thing is to make sure you don’t have too many diapers washing at once, they need to be able to splash happily in the water. lol

I love using my cloth diapers, but like you, through the years have had stinky pee diaper issues. The only thing I have found to work to wash them is Charlie’s Soap (which is also sold under other names at wal-mart in the hunting department so hunters clothes won’t have a smell). It is amazing, the stinky pee diaper smell is gone. It is better than bleach, especially since bleach progressively ruins diapers. I received all my diapers used, so I had to use charlie’s soap several times to strip out the other gunk soap that was in it..to notice there was no pee smell anymore. I am curious to know if the homemade soap that many of my friends use (like Duggars if you know that soap recipe), would be as effective. That would make it cheap, cheap, cheap.
Hope that helps!
Heather Kemerly…mommy to 12

Make sure that you are not using “soap” as it leaves build up on the diapers. I love the type of laundry soap from the Duggars, but it left build up on the diapers from the soap. Detergent doesn’t use soap, or at least not a lot of it. If you do want to try the Duggars recipe cut the fels naptha in at least half.

I put the cloth diapers in the washer the night before with some tea tree oil and borax, both of which I always have on hand for other reasons. Then I filled the washer and stopped it, leaving them to soak over night. The next morning I drained the load and washed them. Sometimes I put them through an extra rinse. Drying them on the line was a must for really clean, white, fresh diapers.

If your washing water isn’t hot enough and you don’t want to turn up the heat, you might boil some water and pour it in the washer- this is riskier, of course. Or you could just boil the diapers over the stove, but I think that will stink up the house. You could also take a load of cloth diapers to the laundromat once every month or so and then wash them in extra hot water.

I blogged about how I handled cloth here a few months ago.

We have used cloth diapers in Japan, in California, in New Mexico, Alaska, in Washington State, Nebraska, and Colorado. I have had two in cloth diapers at a time- and honestly, there is absolutely NO way that the ‘cost evens out in the washing expense’ as one of your commenters suggests, unless your local water costs are astronomical and/or have to take them to the laundromat *every* time you wash.

Gina, with respect, it doesn’t take a lot of time once you get a wash routine figured out for you type of water/washer. On the energy and water note let’s think of how many trees, water and energy go into making 1 pack of diapers. A lot! Actually a lot more than it takes to “over”wash a load of cloth while figuring out the right routine for you. Not to mention the aweful chemicals that have been used in them, some that are potentially harmful to children. Some of the chemicals in the diapers were banned from womens products b/c of the dangers of them. There have been proven tests that these chemicals can soak through the skin and can damage organs on childred, also boys are at a higher risk of infertility. There is also the fact that babies that use disposables “trashies” have more diaper rashes. If you change every 2 hours or so like you should be doing to prevent this you go through a LOT of trashies. Would you want to were plastic underware that do not breathe and make your bottom hot and sticky 24/7 for 2 to 3 yrs? I wouldn’t.
This is not even mentioning the amount of trash you will take to the curb every week that is going to sit and rot for hundreds of years to come. Oh and did you know that even if you use trashies you are still supposed to dump as much poo into the toilet as you can before throwing the diaper away? Says so right on most of the diaper packages.
I haven’t even touched on the gas spent to run to the store for more diapers.
Cloth still comes out to the advantage for the environment and family using them.

Shari~mom of 7

PS
I am not a tree hugger, nor do I believe in global warming. I do however believe in being a good steward of my resources.
I am also not anti-trashie use and do use them on occasions like for vacations where I will not have access to a washer, ect. They have their times for use, but I will never go back to them for full time. When you know better, you do better.
Blessings

The best way to clean cloth diapers is to pre-rinse them off in the toilet using a Hand Bathroom Bidet Sprayer. So convenient and if you are trying to help the environment (and your pocket book) you can give it a double whammy by virtually eliminating toilet paper use by using it on yourself also. I’m not sure how many people know this but that is what they were originally created for. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: “if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn’t wipe it off with paper, would you? You’d wash it off” Available at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com they come in an inexpensive kit and can be installed without a plumber. Now we’re talking green and helping the environment without any pain. One review: http://jonathanandandrea.blogspot.com/2009/04/spray-it-or-scrub-it.html

My 3rd born was able to tell me that she didn’t want paper diapers, she wanted pin diapers. She told me that the paper diapers were HOT, HOT, HOT, MOMMY! When I had a miscarriage earlier that year, I wore a Depends undergarment. It was so HOT I could barely stand it. From then on I tried harder to use paper diapers as little as possible. If a mom is so concerned that her child is not too cold shouldn’t she try to make certain that they are not too hot?