Stinky microfiber

laurenmichelle49

Hello! We've been having issues with stinky microfiber and I'm hoping y'all can help me out.

We use BG freetimes and 4.0s and we're having issues with ammonia I think. DS is 4 months old and as soon as he pees the MF in his diaper reeks of ammonia. This doesn't happen with prefolds or bamboo diapers.

We wash diapers EOD, we have really hard water, and here's our routine:
1. Cold rinse
2. Hot wash with 3Tablespoons Tide powder and cold rinse
3. Another cold rinse
Hang dry all diapers

I bleach his dipes once a month and that seems to keep the smell away for about a week.
If I do 2 wash cycles with detergent that also keeps the smell away but that seems like a lot of water

Do I need to change my wash routine? Strip? Stop using mf?

Thanks!

LaBellaVida

I started having the same issues with bumGenius freetime. I did a cold rinse. and a hot wash with my normal amount of tide. while the washer was adgitating I added a quarter cup baking soda and the quarter cup of distilled white vinegar. I did other cold rinse after it was done washing. the smell came right out. I also hang dry all of my shells and inserts. I also have hard water.

I also read that you can use bac out.

sometimes if I can't get the smell out... I won't use the diapers for few days, and it will usually get the smell out. I'm not sure why maybe air flow?

bookworm982

We were having stink issues that stripping wouldn't cure either, and my SIL convinced me to do a full cold wash (instead of just a cold rinse) to get more out of the diapers before washing. It cured her issues, and it cured mine. Now, I still strip my diapers with bleach every month, but I haven't noticed any smells between strippings. I hope that helps.

CLLDLL

Not always, but usually ammonia means detergent build-up from using too much or the wrong type of detergent.

Is it a knock-your-socks off chemically smell or more of a fishy/wetdog kind of smell?

Ammonia is usually very potent and if you have it you know.   Whereas that sort of fishy/wetdog smell means your diapers aren't getting quite clean enough and you need to use more water or add more or different detergent and/or strip on occasion if you have really hard water.

My gut reaction is that you might have the second problem, not ammonia, since it's not happening with your natural fibers.  Natural fibers just tend to get cleaner easier.

If it were me, I try the following, one at a time so you know what fixed it.

1.) Change your pre-rinse to warm. (This actually made my problem worse, but it works for a lot of people.)

2.) Find a way to get more water into your wash cycle.  If you have a FL, research which cycle uses the most water or add a wet towel to your load.

3.) Try adding a little Calgon to your wash cycle. 

4.) Try switching detergent to one formulated for hard water.

Good luck!

 

laurenmichelle49

I'll try out some of these suggestions and hopefully that gets rid of the stink.
Thanks for your help!