Smelly pail. Apparently not normal?

bumpuser5078523

Most of you say your pail doesn't smell, even after a day or two. Now you have me worried there is something wrong with my diapers.

We have an open pail. I wash EOD. Sometimes I push it one more day. After a day of pee diapers in the pail, it reeks of ammonia. There are no poo diapers in there (they go in a bucket in our bathroom after dunking) and he is in a disposable at night. His diapers don't hardly smell when I take them off. Sometimes he has stronger pee if he didn't drink enough water.

blondolphn

What is your wash routine?

Mandmeesh

What do you mean it reeks? Like from across the room reeks? Or when you stick your nose in there to check?

bumpuser5078523

HE FL

Warm rinse and spin.

Normal hot wash cold rinse. 1T tide. Extra water, extra rinse. (I just upped my tide, and I'm not going to do more. Already plenty!)

Warm/warm speed wash two times to rinse.

I am mostly using pockets and bamboo inserts. Sometimes I will use a simplex or two.


It smells up his room with ammonia stink.

sunshineinmay09

I put my DS's diaper pail in the hallway outside his room. It gets more air flow that way. Otherwise, if the pail stays in his room his diapers will start smelling and will stink up his room.
I do put the pail back in his room when we have company over. :P

jcwinsto

Mine smell a bit too and our setup is pretty similar. I'm guessing there is just not much airflow in his room. On day 2 it smells a bit like dirty diapers. We aren't running furnace or air conditioner and his windows aren't open and the smell stays in his room. Hopefully it gets better when we turn the air conditioner on.

bumpuser5078523

Do you think a shorter pail would work better? I was pondering that the other day. Maybe mine is too tall and doesn't get enough air flow? It is a tall kitchen can. Holds large pail liners perfectly. I only have about ten or twelve diapers in there before it is washed.

The bucket in the bathroom is a tiny two gallon. I hardly ever notice a smell from it and it has poo diapers. I thought it was because they were kind of rinsed? Maybe it's because they have more air flow.

jcwinsto

Hmm, that's a thought. I have a kitchen pail too. It has a lid like a roll top desk. I set the lid on but leave it open.

freezorburn

How long have you been using Tide? Is it possible you are dealing with detergent buildup?

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YellowLily2013

Are you using too much water to have adequate agitation? 10-12 diapers doesn't seem like very many to me.

Also I've heard that plastic pails sometimes start to hold stench... Maybe that needs to be aired out outside?

bumpuser5078523

Thank you, SecretAgentKate! People think im crazy. Haha.

I have so few diapers because he is in two disposables at night. After he wakes up and eats he goes back down with a fresh diaper.

I think I will find a shorter pail and see if that helps.

bumpuser5078523

I started with 2T and I had ammonia after a few months, so I cut it back. I have hard water, though. Not sure if that matters.

mrshudson618

Are you using a pail liner, or just the pail? Like @YellowLily2013‌ said, the pail itself can hold smells. When we have had smells in the nursery it has been due to the pail. A good scrubbing and some time outside helps, but I am getting liners to keep it at bay.

PipSqueak0313

I started with a mop bucket then I moved that to the bathroom for the rinsed poopy diapers. I tried using just the wet bags my mom made, but even with washing with the diapers I was noticing wet diaper smells. Now I have a plastic tote with large spaces in the grid pattern that makes up the sides for the wet diapers, wipes and covers to be washed. Side benefit of the handwashing challenge is that diapers are getting washed before they have a chance to stink up any room in the house.