Help needed... Rash and ammonia

GoodWolf

Hi all. New here... I hope you guys can put up with another newbie question.

So DD is 3 months and we've been CD'ing since 2 weeks. The last month or so I've noticed an ammonia smell, mainly ON but sometimes during the day. Within the last couple of weeks DD has developed a light red bumpy rash that's pretty evenly spread over her whole body, but worse in the diaper area and especially where the leg elastic touches her thighs. I'm thinking it's related to the ammonia build up? I've tried a hot water strip because we have soft water (washed 5 times w/o detergent). No luck there.

We have all BG freetime AIOs. Our wash routine is: Ecos free & Clear detergent to the first line ("HE" amount) or seventh gen between likes 2 and 4. We wash every other day, about 12 diapers a load. HE front load washer. Cold pre wash, hot heavy soil wash, cold rinse, extra cold rinse. Hang dry.

How do I get rid of the ammonia?? I keep having people tell me to use dawn or soak in bleach overnight but I'm not really interested in ruining my diapers...

Pics of her rash for ref. She has MSPI and I'm sensitive to gluten so I hope to dear baby Jesus it's not another food sensitivity... Calling the dr. tomorrow but wanted to ask in case it's an at all common CD/ammonia reaction

PipSqueak0313

I would try a different detergent - it's possible that the rash is a reaction to detergent and that one or both of the detergents you're currently using isn't getting the diapers totally clean. That's my quick thought with a tired brain.

Unknown

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freezorburn

Everything Maple said, and your instincts serve you well to stay away from Dawn and bleach.

Other things to check --

Any detergent buildup in your machine? Do you clean it regularly?

Is your hot water getting hot enough? Ideally you want it to be at about 120F.

Brandiewine11

Everything that Maple said.

Also, if you have soft water and are only washing 12 diapers you might be using too much detergent. When you did you hot water strip, did you wash until you didn't see any suds?

I don't think the rash on her body is related to ammonia in her diaper in any way. It could be making it worse in her diaper area, but I'd look to something else to figure out the cause of the overall rash. It could be detergent and it could be something else entirely.

GoodWolf

Thank you guys for the input, super helpful.

Now to answer a few questions:
No detergent build up in the machine.

I clean the washer fairly regularly? Every six months maybe. I guess I really have no idea how often I should do that. And I just run the "pure and clean" self cleaning cycle, not sure if that's enough either.

Our hot water is super hot, I believe it's at least 120. How do I check that though?

I never saw any suds when I did the hot water strip.

Now will adjusting my wash routine help with removing the ammonia? Adding towels/warm pre wash/switching detergents. Or do I need to do something else? I feel like 5 hot washes should've helped a little...

And I'll be changing her more now. Kid doesn't fuss with a wet diaper at all so I always just changed her after she ate, sometimes before a nap. (She also STTN Mostly so no changes for those 12 hours). Now I feel bad. This parenting gig, man.

freezorburn

Yes the wash routine adjustments should help. For one thing, depending on where you live, your cold water may just be too cold to rinse effectively. Also, in the 2+ years I've been hanging out here, there have been quite a few others with stink issues using Ecos F&C or 7th Gen. So just based on a bit of anecdotal evidence, changing to a different detergent will help. 

You can try adding towels but if you are going to change more frequently and have more diapers per load, that might resolve itself. 

Hot water washes never hurt.

If you have a sink near your washer, you can check them temp of the water coming out there. If your washer is a long distance from your water heater, it's possible that your main cycle might not be getting hot enough, because a lot of cool or room temp water needs to clear the pipes first. I think someone solved this problem by running their hot water tap until the water turned hot, then started the machine.

Edited: sorry about the ginormous paragraph that my phone made.

GoodWolf

Great info @freezorburn‌! Thanks!