How I FINALLY got rid of the dreaded ammonia stink! (Long)

emsrdh03

A bumpie asked me everything I had tried to get rid of the stinkies and after I typed out the email I thought I'd share it here to since Ammonia Stink seems to be a common problem.  Keep in mind what worked/didn't work for me may work/not work for you.  And thanks to all that shared their remedies with me!!

Here's what I tried that didn't work for me....but worked for others:

• Several hot washes with no detergent to rule out detergent buildup (I never have bubbles in the water after my normal wash so I didn't suspect this but wanted to rule it out since it can cause stink)
• "Rocking a soak" in Rockin Green (we have the hard water version) overnnight ( probably did this 3 or 4 times)
• Soak overnight in Rocking Green Funk Rock
• Add Funk Rock in the Pre-Rinse
• Soak overnight in Baking Soda.  (I forget how much I used, but if you google it I'm sure you can find out)
• Vinegar in the cold rinse  (I added it to the fabric softener compartment in my washer....so however much that holds is how much I used)
• Strip with RLR (that's not an abbreviation for anything...it's the actual name of the product, I got mine from Mom's Milk Boutique)
• Switching from Rockin' Green Hard Rock to Crunchy Clean Hard Water Detergent and then to Thirsties PreWash/SuperWash
• Adding Calgon water softener to help combat our hard water

 

I know that sounds like a lot, but when one thing didn't work I'd move on to the next.  I probably tried all these things over the course of 4-6 weeks so it's not like all this happened in one weekend. 

 

Here's a few things that I didn't try, but people recommended:

• Stripping with Blue Dawn
• Switching to orginial powdered Tide detergent ( I had used this before and got bad detergent buildup and didn't want to risk it, lots of girls use it with no problem though and said it's helped solve their stinkies)
• Bleach
• Boiling inserts ( I didn't try this or the bleach because my issue was with my overnight fitteds which can't be boiled because of the snaps/elastic and I was worried the bleach would ruin the prints.  If you only have inserts I would definitely try either of these)
• Sunning diapers outside (I will do this once we have more consistent nice weather but lately it's been rain city!)

 

 

Here's what finally solved my problem:

• BioKleen BacOut.  I used it in my initial cold rinse then washed as usual.  I've also switched to Dropps detergent at the recc of another bumpie.  I had to do MANY rinses to get all the bubbles out...not sure if it's due to the BacOut or the Dropps since I used both for the first time.  I just used this combo over the weekend so haven't had enough time to troubleshoot that problem.  If it's the Bac Out, I will either use less or maybe only do it once a month.  If it's the Dropps, I will switch back to Crunchy Clean as long as the stink doesn't come back.  One thing is for sure, I will NOT be using Rockin Green anymore.  In all my searches to solve my problem, this is the one component I saw most often when people complained about ammonia stink!

 

 

ETA:  Since this email I used the BacOut in the PreRinse and Crunchy Clean for the hot wash.  All bubbles were gone after my usual 2 rinses!  This morning DS woke up completely stink free!  Looks like I FINALLY found a soultion!

 

LetsBeNice

I'm done w/Rockin Green too. I never had ammonia issues w/All free and clear, but when I found out I wasn't supposed to be using it, I switched to RnG and that was when the stinkies started. Once I switched to (generic) Tide, no more issues. I use the liquid version, too. Maybe I'm not supposed to use that either? Not sure, but at least my dipes don't stink and the baby has no rash.

koopa+troopa

How much Bac-out do you use? I have some too, and spray it on my diapers sometimes but every once in awhile (and usually with my nighttime diapers) it smells like funk. 

emsrdh03

koopa+troopa:

How much Bac-out do you use? I have some too, and spray it on my diapers sometimes but every once in awhile (and usually with my nighttime diapers) it smells like funk. 

I never did find a consistent answer to this when trying to figure it out for myself.  Everywhere kept saying 2-3 squirts....but mine wasn't in a squirt bottle so I was confused.  I finally found something on youtube where by squirts she literally squeezed the bottle around the washer 3 times.  Does that make sense?  So that's what I did.  It seemed to be ALOT and I had to rinse a ton to get it all out....so last night I just did 1 "squirt" and it seemed to be just fine.

amberry

We're starting to get the ammonia stink now   Where did you find Bac-Out?

emsrdh03

amberry:

We're starting to get the ammonia stink now   Where did you find Bac-Out?

Oddly enough I found it in the clearance "junk" cart at my grocery store.  I bought it on a whim as a last ditch effort.  I have also seen it at my local CD store and you might be able to find it at a natural food store like Whole Foods.  You can find it online for sure.