Diaper Stink

Diaper stink can be unpleasant but it's usally pretty easy to solve. The two main diaper stink issues that occur is either ammonia or barnyard.

Ammonia happens when cloth diapers aren't getting properly cleaned. This can be due to detergent buildup, urine residue, hard water and lack of agitation.

Possible causes of Ammonia Build Up on Cloth Diapers:

Detergent Build Up: Detergent build up can coat the fibers of your diapers and prevent the new detergent from properly agitating and cleaning your diapers. Decrease the amount of detergent in each wash cycle. For many families 1-2 tablespoons is a great place to start. You may also consider adding a second rinse to your wash routine to prevent future build up.

Hard Water: An excess of calcium or magnesium mineral deposits in your water supply can make it “hard” — these minerals can also make it harder for your detergent to do its job effectively. Consider adding a water softener to your laundry routine. Calgon is a popular laundry additive that can soften water so that your laundry detergent can clean more effectively. Unicorn Baby Beyond Clean also works well in hard water but it is more pricey.

Urine Residue: It is also possible that the ammonia build up is coming from a wash routine that simply isn’t cleaning your diapers enough.

Some things that can help better remove urine residue :

Rinse all pee diapers after wear and allow them to air dry before adding to your dirty laundry storage.
Use an open pail. Do not fear, open pails do not stink because you are rinsing the diapers and the air flow is great for cloth diapers.
Look at how frequently you are washing. Washing your diaper diapers every more regularly such as every 2-3 days is prefered.
Add a pre-wash cycle to your wash routine. We recommend washing all dirty cloth diaper laundry twice. Once on a pre-wash and second as a main wash. The pre-wash cycle does a great job of removing excess urine so that the main wash can properly clean your soiled cloth diapers.

To remedy ammonia odor on cloth diapers, you will need to perform a reset or “strip” your diaper laundry first. A cloth diaper reset should always be performed on “clean” diapers. You’ll want to ensure that the diapers have been laundered before resetting.

You can reset you cloth diaper with a strip using either Grovia Mighty Bubbles or Unicorn Baby Beyond Clean.

Beyond Clean Strip: Put clean diapers into the bath tub or washing machine. The washing machine is definitely easier, but you have to have time available to occupy your washer. Using HOT water add 2oz Beyond Clean to the water, swish around well. Add the clean diaper and mix them well making sure they are fully saturated. Let sit for several hours and then run through a hot heavy duty wash with extra rinse and dry as usual. DO NOT use the Sanitize feature as that water is too hot it will damage elastics. If the ammonia is still present repeat the above process a second time.

Mighty Bubbles: Add clean diapers to washing machine, add mighty bubble pod in with the diapers. Run a heavy duty hot wash with extra rinse. If diapers still have ammonia repeat process.

Barnyard smell is usually present when the diapers come out of the dry or as soon as your child pees. It happens most often when the poop particle are not being fully clean out of the fibres of the cloth diaper. In order to get rid of barnyard try increasing detergent a little, make sure you are avoiding fabric softeners, dryer sheets and detergents with fabric softener built in.

After changing the wash routine and if the diapers are still coming out of the dry smelly, it’s a good idea to try one more wash cycle. This is often enough to have your diapers back to normal with zero smell. If barnyard reoccurs you will need to revisit your washing routine adjusting it slightly until you have the right detergent balance.

Common causes of Barnyard Build Up on Cloth Diapers:

Detergent Build Up: Excess detergent can build up can coating the fibers which prevent the wash cycle from cleaning your diapers properly. You don't need more detergent to clean cloth diapers than you do regular clothing. Decrease the amount of detergent in each wash cycle and consider adding a second rinse to your wash routine to prevent future build up.

Not cleaning enough: It is also possible that the barnyard smell is coming from a wash routine that simply isn’t cleaning your diapers enough.

Some things that can help better clean soiled diapers:

Rinse all pee and poop diapers thoroughly after wear and allow them to air dry before adding to your dirty laundry storage.
Consider using an open pail to increase air flow
Look at how ofter you are washing. Usually regular washing every 2 to 3 days helps.
We recommend washing all dirty cloth diaper laundry twice. Once on a pre-wash and second as a main wash. The pre-wash cycle does a great job of removing excess urine and soil so that the main wash can properly clean your soiled cloth diapers.