Real smell problems

[Pobie]

How did you do the strip wash? I have heard of a few differnt ways and never quite know what people are referring to when they do one.

Did you use kitchen detergent? How did you do it? Did you wash them all by hand???

[Beanie]

I often got this problem too. We possibly have funny water here since I also had stages of getting holes in nappies which was truly annoying.

I found that a strip wash did work for me, but then I'd have to do it again if they started getting smelly again. It was pretty much only the nappies with hemp that were smelly for us, but possibly some of the others too. It's just as you described, where as soon as the nappy gets a bit wet, it really really reeks and is quite embarrassing if you're around others!

I used to wash the nappies once as normal, then keep them in the machine for a 2nd round on hot with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent. They'd get a full cycle of that, with prewash and everything, and if there was any trace of bubbles at the end, then more rinsing. It did work for us.

Maybe once you know the whole stash has been 'stripped' like that, then start using very little powder. It also helps to rinse every nappy before it goes in the bucket, even if it's just wet not dirty.

Another thing you can hope is that it is just a stage of strong wee. It's easy to forget that they go through such different phases with the consistency of their urine. When teething etc, it might be strong, then a few months later, very normal.

[Nicole_M]

I've just started having problems with smelly nappies...since my landlord put in a new frontloader.
I've tried every amount of washing powder from none at all to a full dose and they still smell REALLY bad after a few washes. The PUL wraps and nappies with stay-dry inners are the worst but the cotton, hemp and bamboo smells too once a wee hits them.

I've followed the suggestions given here http://www.nappycino.com.au/forum/ec...k-article.html exactly and it worked. The big pain is that the bloody washing machine does such a terrible job that I'm having to strip wash everything every fortnight. It kind of defeats the purpose of a water saving front loader when I'm having to do all of these extra wash cycles and rinses.

[bilbylove]

We're using a front loader, high rating for water and energy saving, it has a baby cycle and i don't even need to do stripwashes (thank goodness).

we wash at 60 degrees for nappy loads, the elastic in the MCN has been fine with that.

I think once, i noticed the MCN getting a bit whiffy, so i did the "bicarb and vinegar" trick and that was fine.

so, i'm not sure if it's quite fair to put the blame on having a frontloader (in general). It might be a particular brand of front loader that is not a good product.

[marymac]

It's the detergent I tell ya! I chat on another forum where we have all ditched the detergent and it works.

[jabejak]

I agree with Marymac.

I too have read that detergent builds up in the boosters and nappy and can react with the wee.

I strip wash every 2nd week.

I just use a little of the cheapest detergent in my front loader (miele) and it works great. Not too sure though whether I should be doing it.

Give it a go and see if that helps for a while.

[Nicole_M]

I'm certainly not blaming front loaders in general. We have a front loader in Dubai and it's brilliant. It's just this particular one does a dreadful job.

I'm still using a small amount of the same washing powder as when we had the top loader here (only the front loader version of the powder now) and the rest of the nappy storage/wash routine is exactly the same. I did a strip wash one weekend then tried no powder at all for a week and they were worse than ever. I think to go detergent free you'd need to have a machine that gives them a really thorough going over.

[happymuppet]

I'm not TOO keen on ditching cleaning agents all together. What would happen if i 'strip washed' every load....always? Can my nappies handle only a small amount of dishwashing liquid every time?

[~*Bron*~]

if you tried a terry square (a newish one) you could work out if it is the nappies or his wee?

[wild@heart]

Originally Posted by happymuppet

ALL of Marty's nappies are smelly! And I have tried everything I can think of. I'll tell you what I do and tell me what I can change. I have searched this forum a thousand (nearly!) times and can't find an answer...I think DH is almost at the point of giving up.

All nappies get a rinse and then in the bucket. (That bit is new, used to just be dirty nappies - always ALWAYS rinse off every last bit of poo)
They've always had a cold prerinse in the washing machine (F&P top loader)
Warm (50C) wash and cold rinse (no hot rinse option)
1/2 scoop of Ecostore (just changed to this from Greencare Liquid about four weeks ago)
Vinegar, or tea tree oil, or lemon myrtle (alternating) in the rinse cycle
Hung on the airer (and then moved outside and into the sun for as much time as possible, although not every load gets time outside as we have pretty bad weather in winter)


What is going wrong? As soon as Marty wees the nappy REEKS, so much so that other ppl have commented. I must admit, I had him in disposables over the weekend as we were away from home (and it rained on my nappies ) and I happily put up with the sposie smell because it was nowhere near as bad as when normally in cloth).

Could it have something to do with hard water? Our water contains a lot of calcium and other crap. That's the last thing I can think of!

we have had a lot of problems too, so I am going to read on and see what other advise there is as I feel embarrassed by the chronic weeeeeee smell!!