Cloth Diaper Smell/washing

Vinegar is good for getting the soap out of clothing items. It might be good in the rinse cycle but it negates the power of the soap in the wash cycle. I used bleach along with detergent on cloth diapers, then put them through an extra rinse cycle. Make sure though that you are rinsing them in the toilet when you change the diapers. Wet and messy diapers should be rinsed in the toilet before being put in the diaper pail.

Hi I used cloth diapers with all three of my children and never had a problem with odor in diapers, heres what we did with our diapers, hope it helps. We rinsed our diapers in the toilet, especially if they had poo in them, we never put a dirty diaper in the pail. We soaked them in water, small amount of bleach (to sanitize and whiten) and borax. We normally washed diapers once a week, so on diaper day we put them in the washer, we had a top load at the time, and spun them to get all the water out, if you have front load you can justsquueze out. They were then washed with dreft (our only choices for soap then were dreft or white snow) and borax, double rinsed and dried on high. During the summer I would put them on the line outside to sun brighten them. Never had no problems and this was passed down to me from my mother. I know things have changed alot such as the diapers and coverings (we only had prefold diapers with pins ahd plastic pants) but I am aware of what is available out there as I have a 6m old granddaughter and they are still considering cloth diapers. My youngest is 14, so it has been sometime but cloth diapers are cloth diapers, I am in favor of saving the earth and using phosphate free soaps and the most natural products available. If you have any other questions I can help with you can contact me at ____@____.com and I hope this helps. D.

Biokleen has a product called Bac-Out....it is an enzyme cleaner that really works well with my cloth diapers. I just use it when I feel like they are getting stinky, but not every load. Also, use a detergent with NO residue. Country Save works the best after my 2 1/2 years of experimentation. Use only a very small amount, it is really hot water doing most of the cleaning and you don't want residue from too many suds. I felt like that was really counterintuitive (use less soap??!) but it seems to make a big difference. Both products are available at co-ops and Whole Foods market. Good Luck! P.S. I just read teh response about BumGenius diapers. That's what I use and haven't had smell/funk issues with my washing regime-- and I don't rinse them immediately in water. I just wash every 3 days with no problem....

We always used Charlies Soap (www.charliesoap.com) with our diapers. It washes clean, doesn't build up, and it leaves no smell behind. When I used 7th generation or sports wash, I always got a funky smell even after washing.The Charlies never gave us any trouble at all. We still use it for our clothing even though my boys have been out of diapers for years.

What brand are your diapers? Everyone I know who has used bumGenius! dipes have stopped using them due to smell and funk.

I would hot wash them through to washes to get all the buildup off, no detergent. Then run a load with tea tree oil (found near the band aids at Wal Mart) and hot wash, rinse, and then hang to dry.

the other ladies had great advice, I would follow that, just wanted to reiterate line drying in the summers. That is really the best thing in the summers. It will get any stains out and make them smell really fresh. I find winters to be more difficult but it definitely works. Also line drying any childrens clothing that may have stains in it will work wonders as well. The sun is a powerful thing.

I've been using oxyclean powder in the wash with my sons cloth training pants. took the odor away, my mother inlaw gave me some borax to try too. I havent tried it yet as oxyclean works well. hope you find something that works for you..