Barnyard....HELP!

Sgriff1

I posted last week about a rash developing from our pocket diapers and now I'm realizing we're having an issue with barnyard on our microfiber diapers.

I have an old FL machine and hard well water. My wash routine is:
Cold rinse and drain
Hot wash/rinse with Tide to the first line
Cold rinse

Last week I stripped the diapers with 2 capfuls of bleach and detergent and 3 additional hot water rinses. I noticed some irritation on LO so I washed and rinsed again 3x's in hot...and there are never any bubbles after the extra rinse.

I used a freetime as an ON diaper last night and it STUNK!

My flats and natural fibers don't seem to smell. How do I get rid of the stink and fix my routine?!

Also my MIL added fabric softener to a load last week, I thought the hot water would be enough to prevent any problems from that though.

claudiaudia

I too have insanely hard water and when we get that sort of smell I've resorted to using liquid Dawn (just a bit!!) with the diaper-stripping routine and it has helped a lot. My routine is:

cold rinse and spin

hot wash, very dirty setting, extra wash

cold rinse + extra rinse

drain w/o spin

cold rinse and watch for residue bubbles. 

CLLDLL

OP - how many diapers are you washing ar one time? What water level? How often are you washing?

Have you tried adding a bit more detergent? Usually barnyard means your diapers aren't getting clean. So you either need to wash more often, wash less diapers at once, use more (or less) water to allow proper agitation, or add more detergent. We can help you figure out which.

PP- same answer for you and definitely step.away.from.the.blue.dawn. The only thing it's good for is spot removing something like a non-CD safe diaper cream. It doesn't do anything stripping/sanitizing wise other than possibly void your washer's warranty.

Sgriff1

I was every other day, so only about 20ish changes. We use a lot of covers with flats...but it doesn't seen overly full at all. I can't adjust the water level on my machine, it's super old school and not HE. I haven't added tried more detergent because I thought up to the first line was the max...but I can try more.

SkyBee

With hard water, I would strip with RLR. I have hard water as well and I would strongly suggest adding calgon to your wash cycle. It has made a huge difference for us. I also agree with increasing deterg

freezorburn

I second more detergent + adding Calgon. Also, if you are able to raise the temperature of your initial rinse to warm, that might also make your main wash more effective.

If none of the above helps, you might look into switching detergents.

CLLDLL

Generally the first line is the max you'd want to use, but with a non-HE and hard water it just might not be enough. I think I'd play around with adding a bit more and then see how your last rinse looks. You're aiming for adding enough det. to get the diapers clean but not so much you have bubbles in your last rinse.

Calgon is a water softener, so as PP said adding it would help your detergent work better....although Tide users help me out, I thought Tide already has a water softener added???

RLR does help get out any minerals that are built up in your diapers. So I do like the idea of stripping once with it or washing soda to see if that helps reset things. Then play around with the detergent amount and possibly Calgon to see if they stay clean/unstinky. To RLR strip, fill your washer with hot water and 1 packet RLR or 1/4 cup washing soda. Add your diapers and soak anything with PUL/elastic no longer than 1 hour, everything else for 2-4 hours. Then rinse 3-5 times to get all the RLR and ick out.

With hard water, you might just need an occasional RLR/washing soda strip, but if you find yourself needing to do it too often ( like more than every 2-3 months) then you probably need to tweak your routine some more.

Sgriff1

I haven't tried a softener because I thought Tide had softeners in it as well. After washing, washing, washing all morning...I think I may have made a huge mom fail! I can't remember putting detergent in when I washed them over the weekend! I'm going through a lot right now and my mind is all over the place, but I know I rinsed, washed and rinsed again on hot 3x's but I don't think I added detergent! I think that would explain the flats looking clean and everything else still being stinky...and I even noticed what I thought was my first stain on one of our soakers but it probably was just still dirty! I'm rewashing EVERYTHING and will let you know if I'm just an idiot. Ugh!