Hi. I recently bought the Tiny Tush Elite cloth diapers (very similar to the bum Genius one size) and I really love them, but I cannot get them clean! They smell clean after washing, but then when my boys pee in them they smell poopy or smell like a hamster cage. At one point it was making our whole house smell like a hamster cage. We've changed detergent and it has helped a lot, but they are still so smelly once they've been 'used'.
Here's what I do:
If they are soiled I rinse them out in the toilet.
We are in a smaller apartment, so we have a big wet bag that I put them in instead of a pail.(are you supposed to have them soak in water all the time until you wash them? I read that on someone's post. I don't have anything in the wet bag except the diapers)
Then I throw them in the wash. I do a quick cycle on cold to rinse everything out - I don't add any detergents or anything.
Then I do a hot/cold, heavy, normal wash and add some Tiny Bubbles soap (the other detergents have not worked!) and sometimes a drop of tea tree oil when I remember.
and then I do a rinse/drain cycle on cold. and then dry them.
We have a HE front loader washer. I don't know if that makes a difference. The lady I bought them from said not to use regular detergents because they often don't come out of the diapers all the way, she also said bleach will ruin them (since they have that nice waterproof outer shell?)
I really LOVE using them over disposables, but my husband hates them because they smell and are gross, and I hate that they stink. I don't want to keep using these if we can't get them to stop stinking. PLEASE HELP!!
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One more question: So mine are one size and I use them for my just-now-2-year-old and my 8 month old. It works great, but if my 2yo doesn't potty train until 3 or later, there is no way he's going to still fit in them for another year. I do need to buy more (I have 12 right now) and w/the 2 boys I have to wash them everyday. But I would prefer to get something that is bigger and will fit him longer. He is in the 90th %tile for height, so he has almost outgrown him already. Does anyone have a diaper that would last longer? I would love one that I could still use on my younger son once he get's a little bigger. Has anyone tried the Thirsties Duo Wrap Snap Diaper Cover Size 2? That is what I'm thinking of trying since it still has a range of sizes. THanks for your help!
It took awhile, but I finally have it figured out! After trying at least 4 different detergents, vinegar, bleach, oxyclean, borax, joy, and whatever else I tried my diapers are now fresh and stay fresh! Yippy! :)
Firs I make sure to rinse all the diapers and inserts in the toilet, even just the wet ones (which I wasn't before) and wring the water out of them so they're not sitting in water. I think this really helps since I have the front loader which makes it harder to rinse everything out of them.
Then I do a quick rinse in the washer, followed by a normal hot wash with Melapower detergent and a little bit of Melamagic. Then I do a few rinse cycles to get everything out of them! It works great! After a couple of weeks I noticed they did start to smell again and I just added a soak cycle w/2 cups of white vinegar before the hot wash, and they are great again!! :)
Thanks everyone for all of your help!! You saved us! haha.
Mellaluca detergent to wash(then you don't have to worry about forgetting to add the tea tree oil because its built into the detergent), vinegar to soak, and always, always add some borax to the wash cycle. worked everytime. Hanging in the sun until completely dry kills ALL bacteria. Hope that helps, I loved cloth diapers.
Im not familiar with Tiny Tush but I am familiar with that barn animal smell. LOL I have found that the synthetic materials can stink A LOT worse than natural fibers. All of my dipes are natural fiber but I have some soakers that are made from micro fiber and boy can they get bad. I have 3 boys that I cloth diapered but currently I only have one that is still in dipes.
So I 'd put my money on the synthetic stink rather than the need to strip dipers that you just recentely bought although as a previous poster mentioned, diaper rash cream can really gunk up the diapers and make them absorbant .
I have an HE washer too and this is my routien.
Now, wet diapers in a WB for two whole days can get a little hairy believe me! I came up with this process when I was newly pregnant. I HAD to to find something to get rid of the smell as much as I possibly could
I use a "rice paper" liner to make the removal of the big stuff easy and I rinse the diaper with water, squeeze out and leave out to air dry. It doesnt really take up that much space I use a clothes drying rack right now but I have in the past used a towel hanging rack in the bathroom.
This might not be an option for you, as you said you live in an apartment and have 2 in diapers. But it is sooo well worth it to let them dry out in between washes, you just have to find a creative space to hang them, like in the bathroom or laundry room, a friend or mine hung them on her covered patio.
When they are dry or dry enough, I store them in my wet bag.
On my third night I load the the washer and set to quick wash, for the initial rinse. My second wash is my sanitize cycle, I use homemade detergent so I don't have a favorite brand at the moment. My third wash is on the delicate cycle, it will give you the highest water level. I just use water for this cycle, no soap. Also once a month I put OxyClean into my sanitize cycle and vinegar into my rinse cycle.
Works like a charm!
I wish I could help you with the size thing. I make my own diapers so I just make them as needed. Have you looked into anything like Diaper Swappers? It's a big online community that would certainly have the information you need.
http://www.diaperswappers.com/
Good luck!!
Maybe a little vinegar in the wash load will help? I haven't had to deal with diapers but my son has some polyesther/cotton workout clothes that still reek after they've been washed. But if I add a tablespoon or so of vinegar to the wash, it neutralizes the smell.
It sounds like your older one would be ready to just go to potty training. Saves a lot in money, too, if you don't have to buy bigger diapers for him. We did "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Azrin. I know there are moms on here that will go crazy over the suggestion. We loved it! All 3 of our kids have been potty trained by 27 months (one was a tad older), with the youngest taking to it at 21 months. I love it! Then you can just go into underwear, which will cut down on the number of possible causes for smells. :) Just a thought. Worked well for us, and a number of our friends, so I thought I'd pass it on. GL!
Try Charlies Soap
www.charliesoap.com
It is great for cloth diapers and you can use it for all of your laundry!
I use a front loader too and my cycle is similar to yours although I do double rinse the diapers after the wash cycle.
If you can hang them to dry in the sun that works great too!
Sounds like you need to strip your diapers. I had to do this every few months with mine because of oder. I noticed it as soon as my daughter peed. There are directions online, but I ended up using a special detergent for hunters found at walmart in sporting goods (sensiclean?). I tried vinegar as directed, and it didn't works as well. After the sensiclean strip, I would rinse the dipes at least 5 times with plain water. Look at jilliansdrawers.com for ideas or google "striping cloth diapers". Hanging them in the sun helps a lot too, so on the next sunny day, hang them on a clothesline.
Not sure about your sizing questions.
Hi! I love cloth diapers:) Let's see...first, the front loader uses less water, so many people have troubles that you do, it's not just you. Second, You don't need to soak them, it's ok for prefolds and inserts, but not PUL fabrics. I've read that a cup of vinegar in a bucket of water can help. But I don't do it. Third, have you ever used diaper rash cream with them? That's a big no-no and they would need to be "stripped" if you have.
I suggest doing what you are doing, but try using a detergent that is "free and clear". I get Arm & Hammer F&C 2/$5 when it goes on sale at Menards. You can also try adding a 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle. Then, in the extra rinse cycle at the end, add a cup of white vinegar.
Sunning them can take care of stains, I don't know if it helps with stink or not.
Vinegar in a soak cycle works wonders. One soak for my diapers is never enough; I rinse by hand or cold soak cycle, then cold vinegar soak cycle (every other wash, ~2 c), rinse cold, then wash HOT with detergent, and dry.
Rockin' Green Detergent is great, as is Allens' Naturally.
As for what diapers and how many, buy what you're comfortable with, they can always be consigned if you're very displeased with them.
I can recommend Gro Baby (OS) and gDiapers(sized) from my experience both great hybrid diapers.
Also, for a lot of great info check out http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/
http://www.kellyscloset.com/?AffId=195
Good job mommin'!
Everyone has some great advice. I used cloth diapers exclusively for both my kids. I would recommend not soaking them, just toss them in a DRY container. I found that if I soaked them in a wet pail the smell was worse. SUN SUN SUN them.
I always toss 1/2 cup baking soda (Costco has huge bags cheap) in to the soak water, then again in the wash water. Since you are using a bag to store them, try the soda in each of the loads. Also, I'm not sure if it is realistic for you in an apartment, but hanging them in the sun (to dry or just occasionally) will really help. I have heard the front loaders are a challenge with cloth, but I thought it was because you can't use the washer as a soaker like you can with the top loaders??? Good luck!
I never used diapers with a plastic piece attached, but I used regular cloth diapers for many years with my 7 kids. I always used Borax along with laundry soap to wash them. I also soaked them in a pail with Borax after using them, but I guess that might not work with the kind you have. It was fine for the rubber pants I used. You can find Borax near the bleach section of the grocery store with the non-chlorine type bleaches. It is a supplement to laundry soap, not a substitute. I never had a problem with smell. Sometimes my diapers would get stained, and then I would bleach them and double rinse afterwards, but that was only once in a while.
I use cloth, and I do not soak. There are liners you cna use for the poop - they are paper type liners like toilet paper but thicker, and you can put that in the diaper and roll out th epoop into the toilet. It keep sthe diapers cleaner. Whether I use the liners or not, I was mine on regular hot cycle every day with VASKA soap, and OXYCLEAN. The diapers were just not getting clean without the oxyclean. I have not had any problems with absorbency with the oxyclean. I never have had any smelly problems at all. I have an HE front loader too.
I'd try switching soaps again (you can get Vaska on Amazon now) and try the oxyclean on hot. Once a week I run them in the sterilization cycle for good measure too, but I don't really think it's necessary.
I iron all my clothes, and I notice when the iron is hot if the clothes do not get clean, they smell different. So, while you don't see it on your clothes, or smell it necessarily becuase you don't iron all of them... it's more common than you think that things don't get clean. Diapers are just more dirty, so you see it more exaggerated.
Good luck!!
