Help needed - Front loader HE

AKJD10

I have been doing cloth for about 3 months now, and am very glad to stumble across this board because I need some help!

I have been using prefolds and covers, and just started using pocket diapers for day care.  The problem is, I cannot find a wash/detergent combo that will work!  I continually have an amonia smell, and have stripped my diapers many times.

I currently do a cold soak, hot wash, and 2 cold rinses.  I am using Allen's Naturally, and have tried using the full HE recommended amount (2 teaspooons), 1 teaspoon, and most recently 1/2 teaspoon.  I have also tried Tide HE in the past, which again resulted in an amonia smell.  I have tried adding a wet towel to the soak, but this has not done much either.

My son is now developing a nasty red rash, which I know is due to the cloth because over Thanksgiving we traveled and had to use disposables.  It cleared right up.  I love using cloth, but am really struggling!  We have been trying all sorts of different things for 3 months, and I am getting really frustrated.

I hope someone who is making a front loader HE work can give me some advice!  Thank you in advance!!!

Quizzle

Try using more detergent, perhaps? Or a different detergent. Maybe your detergent isn't strong enough.

My wash routine with my HE front loader is either a soak or a full wash cycle with no spin (I've recently started using warm water) with no detergent, then a hot wash with a double rinse and detergent. Sometimes I add vinegar in too. No problems with ammonia. I use either Planet or Rockin Green.

You might look into Rockin Green's new Funk Rock. It's supposed to kill ammonia smell. I haven't tried it, although I may pick some up -- we occasionally have a slight musty smell but nothing bad. 

flyer23

What kind(s) of pockets do you use? And what kind(s) of inserts?

I had awful ammonia issues with microfiber inserts, and have now eliminated them completely from my stash. That helped tremendously. (I use bamboo now, in place of microfiber.)

DD still wears a diaper overnight and her pee is stiiiiiiiiiiiinky! But I keep the ammonia smell at bay by doing a bleach soak on her inserts about once every two weeks.

Rockin' Green also has a new "Funk Rock" formula specifically designed for ammonia stink. I'm thinking about giving it a try. Although it's a LOT more expensive than bleach, so it'll have to be a LOT more effective for me to stick with it...

AJBMD915

I do a quick wash on hot with bleach and sometimes a squirt of plain blue Dawn (if they're stinky).  I do not put my pockets in with this cycle.  We only use the pockets for overnight, so I only have 1, 2 more on the way.  These say do not bleach.  The rest of our stash, prefolds, covers, wipes and wetbags, all get the bleach wash.

Then I do the longest wash on hot with a little detergent and an extra cold rinse.

We used to have ammonia smells, but the bleach seems to have solved that problem.  It is starting to wear out the prefolds though, but the covers are fine and actually not at all discolored.  We've been using this wash cycle for over a year and it's been working really well.  I should add that the prefolds are 2 years old, so it might not just be the wash cycle, it might just be age.  Good luck, I hope you find something that works!

HSartteach

I have a pre-wash setting.  I use that on cold/cold.  then I put in about 1.5 tbsp of country save an wash on the longest hot/cold wash.  I then do an extra rinse cycle.  Knock on wood, have had to strip once due to a yeast infection.  But otherwise, all has been good.  No smells or anything.