2 Stink Issues

NinanNate

Hey girls,

I used to lurk and occasionally post on this board all the time when my DS was in CD. Now he's 3 1/2 and my DD is 12 months and using his old CD. I have stink questions about both children, and I'm hoping you all can offer some insight.

1. My DD's CDs STINK like ammonia before I wash them and like a barnyard coming out of the wash. Sometimes I wash them all day before they come out smelling clean. Here's my wash routine: I wash EOD with a quick cold wash and no rinse, then hot wash with Country Save and an additional cold rinse. I have tried washing them twice, doing extra rinses before and after, I've tried rinsing with vinegar, and I've tried washing with Mighty Bubbles to strip them. I've tried washing a load of rags using Charlies to get rid of some of the build up in the machine, but they still stink. They are all pockets - mostly Fuzzibunz, Rumparooz and Charlie Banana, but there is 1 BG, 3 Thirsties, and 1 Bumkins. I think we have pretty normal water - not hard or soft. My machine might need to be cleaned - any advice on how to do that? We use All Free and Clear for the rest of our laundry. Both my son and husband have VERY sensitive skin and we have figured out that the Country Save and All F&C are best for their skin and don't irritate them.

2. My son is 3 1/2 and mostly potty trained. He occasionally wets his pants or bed, but usually it's just a piddle in his undies as he runs to the bathroom. I have a bin for his dirty undies just like I have for my CD and I wash them about every third day. But his undies and pants are starting to stink like pee after the wash. I wash them with the All and sometimes with the Country Save, and sometimes I wash them twice - once with each detergent.

Oh and I use a smallish front loader and I have a clothesline that I could use if I want/need to.

Any help or advice you can offer is great! Nobody wants to have the stinky kid. LOL

Rrrrrachel

If they stink coming out of the wash they aren't clean. Are you getting good agitation? They need to rub up against each other so don't use too much water. If not that than more or different detergent. Lots of people like country save but maybe it's just not working for you.

Rrrrrachel

Your machine may have a clean washer setting. A long hot cycle with bleach is what we do.

Rrrrrachel

Also all free and clear seems notorious for stinks.

NinanNate

No clean washer setting, unfortunately. It's not that fancy of a machine. :-)
You don't worry about using bleach in your machine? I'd hate for that to rub off on any of our clothes and especially my diapers.

Rrrrrachel

No I don't. I've never had a problem with it. You can use something like afresh or try vinegar instead if you want. Just do your longest hottest cycle

Rrrrrachel

If you still have Charlie's you can use a double dose of that, too.

NinanNate

And an empty machine, nothing in it but the water, right?

countrycotton

Tide makes a Frount load washer cleaner. Is the pre-wash water draining out of the machine? If not that could be your issue.

freezorburn

I use Affresh or whatever else I can find at the store, that is intended for cleaning washing machines. Your machine's manual might have specific recommendations for cleaning your machine, so I would start there. Are you spinning out that initial rinse? You could also try upping it to a warm rinse. 

Country Save and Charlie's are both clean rinsing. It's possible that some residue from your All F&C is lingering in your machine and then could be depositing on your diapers. You could try cleaning your machine and then also using one of the clean rinsing detergents for your non-diaper laundry as well.

TJ1979

What do you mean quick cold wash with no rinse? If you don't spin out that rinse water, you're washing in pee and poo water.

NinanNate

My husband and son are allergic to Tide. :-( They break out in rashes.

And I just checked my washer settings. I do a quick pre-wash with a low spin (not a no-rinse as I previously stated). Should I change this?

countrycotton

You can also clean your washer with vinegar. Do a hot wash as long as possible with about a cup of vinegar. I like to add a pot of boiling water to the washer to make sure it's super hot. Also with the cleaner you wouldn't be washing clothing in it, just the washer, if your worried about the residue just add a extra rinse.

mrshudson618

NinanNate said:

My husband and son are allergic to Tide. :-( They break out in rashes.

And I just checked my washer settings. I do a quick pre-wash with a low spin (not a no-rinse as I previously stated). Should I change this?

I would. You want as much of the waste water gone before your main wash as possible. 

Rrrrrachel

Yeah I would spin that initial rinse as much as possible. Also warm water spins out better than cold which is one reason I like it for the rinse.

usernewname

Have you tried FL&CDS?









... kidding. Sorry you have the stinkies. These ladies will help you out.

countrycotton

After cleaning your washer you may consider doing a strip of both your diapers and dons underware. If multiplayer hot washes don't take care of try an rlr strip.

Mandmeesh

The biggest problem is not draining the first rinse water. That water needs to drain out otherwise it's just pee and poo water you're washing in. Warm rinse and drain. Hot wash with detergent-how much do you use? Then another rinse. Then I would personally do a bleach wash then rinse rinse rinse until it's not smelling like bleach anymore.

NinanNate

Ok, so it sounds like my plan of attack is:

1. Clean the washer. A couple of empty hot washes, a vinegar wash and maybe a bleach wash. Then several rinses to make sure it's all gone.
2. Strip my diapers and son's underwear & pants.
3. Change my wash routine to include a warm rinse with high spin first, then Hot long wash with Country Save, and then a final cold rinse.
4. Wash my normal laundry in Country Save for a week or two to make sure all the residue is gone from my machine.

Did I get all that right? Is there anything else?

Thanks, ladies! This has been super helpful. :-)

RachelCA29

I use Country Save and I find using a warm prewash/pre rinse does a much better job than a cold one. I do a prewash setting so I get a full spin out of the initial soak (without detergent). I also find I need to use more CS than the box suggests, I use a bit more than 3/4 of the scoop - about 2 tbsp maybe?