Stinky Cloth Diapers-tried Everything- Getting Ready to Trash Them-please Help!

Hi, K. - Good for you for using cloth and doing your part to care for our environment! Sol-U-Mel will get rid of any smell, any stain, and kills mold, mildew & spores, without harmful chemicals. With your health care background, the company that manufactures this product might really appeal to you! Good luck!

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Hi K.,

I'm going to sound like a broken record (if you've ever seen one of my replies on Mamasource) but I know that Melaleuca has a product that will get the smell out. It's called Sol-U-Mel. That added to their laundry detergent would surely get the smell out. They'll guarantee it really-60 days or money back on your empty bottles.
Don't know if you've ever heard of the company, but they require a $29 membership fee like Sam's, but no buying in bulk AND their products are safer and healthier than any other--no chlorine bleach, ammonia, etc. I feel so much better knowing I'm not subjecting myself and my children to all the toxins in the other stuff-that stuff has been linked to cancer. They also require a monthly minimum to uphold their customer discount plus other benefits--not an issue. I order about 100 every month since we buy nothing from Walmart anymore. I know I sound like an ad, but any customer of Melaleuca like myself can't help but tell people. That's how they advertise and that's why they did over $800,000,000 in sales last year--and they pay 1/2 of that back to all their customers who do what I just did-if you give it a go. So, as to not overstep any ad rules here at Mamasource, you let me know if you need more info. FYI-they have a product that got purple marker and blueberry puke (sorry, you brought up the yucky stuff first) out of my carpet--and Sol-U-Mel took care of that smell no problem!
M.

1 mom found this helpful

i just recently discovered the secret of ammonia diapers, so maybe this will help. Fill washer with water, (if you have hard water, add water softner) then add 3 cups vinegar. Soak dipes for a couple of hours.

do a full wash with an extra rinse.

I have the same diapers and I wash mine this way:

1 regular wash, high water level, cool temp with 1/4 c natural laundry soap

1 regular wash, high water level, hot temp with 1/4 c natural laundry soap

2 rinses, high water level, no soap

Once a month I add 1/4 c regular bleach to the hot wash in order to 'strip' the diapers. You can also check Cottonbabies.com, the website where I bought my BGs, as they have excellent tips and advice:

http://www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php#detergent

You mentioned trying vinegar and other things - this could be your problem. Those kinds of treatments (natural ones, including baking soda and Borax) work on COTTON diapers. The BGs are microfiber so they require a different kind of cleaning. If you read the washing instructions and tips in the link I pasted above, you can read all about it. Also, the type of detergent you use needs to be free of all kinds of additives and perfumes. If you're using one that has those things, that can stink up your diapers. That is also in the link.

Lately, my youngest has been potty training and so we have less used diapers in the pail but plenty of stink :P So I have been washing them every 3-4 days and I do an extra hot wash, no soap, instead of the two seperate rinses. The main reason I do that is because 1) my washing machine is old and has few options 2) this option uses more water, which means better cleaning and these 'older' diapers are funky! Remember that to wash cloth diapers effectively, you need to use the highest amount of water your machine gives. It's the swishing in the water, not the soap, that really cleans them.

HTH!

Bleach kills just about everything. It's a little harsh, but if your going to throw them away anyway - it's worth a try. Good luck!

I'm sorry you've got the stinkies mama!!!

The fastest, easiest way to de stink diapers that I have found is soaking in a combo of vinegar and oxyclean. Put your inserts in a laundry tub or bucket and cover them in vinegar (lots of it!) then add a scoop or two of oxyclean and mix it up- it will foam and maybe even steam/smoke (do this somewhere ventilated!). It can get pretty hot too. Then leave it to soak overnight- you can add a little water after the initial reaction if you like.

This has really worked well for everyone that's tried it- a mom on Diaperswappers came up with it when her microfiber started to stink. It also really whitens, and is kind of a fun science experiment :)

Once you get rid of the stinkies I would really try to figure out why you got them in the first place- the most common reason is your wash routine. I personally do the following: 1)cold rinse w/ nothing [sometimes a splash of vinegar], 2)Hot wash with 1/2 recommended amt of Purex free & clear [sometimes some oxyclean], 3)Hot wash with nothing. I haven't had any stink problems since I started washing this way.

Goodluck mama!!

Have you tried bleach? Better yet if you can hang them on the line int the sunshine, this will take the odors out. AF

I use Tea Tree Oil, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil , you can get it at GNC.
I use Kushies and put it in the soak water and put it in a downy ball to have a small amount released in the rince cycle.
With it being a natural antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial my diapers have never gotten a smell to them. Even when I accidentaly left some in the soak tub when we went out of town for 3 weeks!

My mom used cloth diapers on my 36 years ago and swears that bleach will help and hang them outside in the sun! ...however...perhaps you should contact the company and ask for their professional oppinion...and maybe they will hook you up with a coupon/replacement? good luck!

Let them spend some time in the sunshine (couple hours) after the next wash. The sun takes care of stains and smells for us.

You can also use a small amount of bleach for all of them (covers and inserts) or lots of bleach on the inserts only.

Try Dr. Bronner's soap- we like the lavender scented soap. We do our cloth diapers in a cold/cold cycle for the first run with laundry detergent and then a second cycle with Dr. Bronner's every time we wash. We've also used washing powder as well. It's an old school powdered soap that's pretty intense (don't touch it with your bare hands- use gloves)

This website:
http://www.zany-zebra.com/wash-cloth-diapers.shtml

also suggests something called Bac-Out, which I haven't ever tried. Good luck!!

I boil water and pour it directly onto the diapers and let them soak in the sink with detergent for at least fifteen minutes. I mean boiling straight from the stove. Hope this helps!

I use Charlie's Soap on mine and it works great. Plus, laying them out in the sun by help too.

Try the vinegar thing and dry them by laying how in the hot sum.

Also, call bum genius and ask/complain :)

Have you tried a different detergent or putting their spray on the diapers before they get laundered? I also toss some oxyclean for babies in the wash with our diapers and they don't smell.

What about that stuff they sell at the pet stores to get rid of those smells? I think they sell one that is a natural enzyme formula.

Before replacing them try to soak them overnight with Borax.You can find the green box in the laundry aile. I use it to defunk my trashcan,I add it to laundry and it is a great cleaner.

I have not used these diapers, but I tried some fleece dipes at one pont but switched to natural fibers only because I need my wash routine to be simple and mistake-proof.

Don't bother with anyone's advice or product recs unless they've used your diaper or a similar one! I am sure on the following forum you can get good advice.

Regardless of what you've tried, if you put your diapers in the washer with no detergent and hot water and get bubbles, that means you have residue in your diapers--that's causing the stink.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCCDers/

http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=486618

Counterintuitively, moms have problems with buildup with some of the free and clear detergents. Check out the detergent you use here:

http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm