Ammonia and soft water problems. I'm desperate!

Cassian · December 2011

Ever since we moved and switched to soft water I have been having a hell of a time finding a new wash routine that works. I have googled a lot and found some info, but nothing I do is taking care of the problem

My daughter is getting ammonia burns from her prefolds and the smell in the rest of the diapers is terrible. I have tried increasing rinses, decreasing/increasing detergent, different rinse temperatures, rinsing each diaper before putting it in the dry pail, a dawn strip and a bleach strip. The strip helped for a very short time but after a wash or two, the ammonia and stink came right back. I am getting at my wits end with this and just not sure what to do anymore to fix this. I do not want to stop CDing,

I use a regular top loader and Tide Original Powder. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mira06 · December 2011

We had an issue with ammonia and soft water too. The only thing that has worked so far for us is a strip with RLR. Also I make sure my dipes are saturated with water at the start of the wash (so the don't absorb the wash water) by doing a rinse cycle with no spin. I hope that helps some. Good luck.

dairygirl19 · December 2011

Yeah. Like pp I always do a prewash and then a water soak if I have time before I do the wash cycle.

A few times a week I put baking soda in the soak cycle. That really helps me.

Also, how much Tide are you using? In our really soft water I have to use the reccomended about...so to the first line. I tried less and I had major stink issues.

I put vinegar in the fabric softner dispenser too. Works for me but I've read on here that's apparently a huge no-no. I've never had an issue with it.

I also finish with a clean rinse to make sure the soap is out.

BrendaLou1969 · December 2011

Maybe try Country Save or Dropps instead of the Tide. Tide is pretty harsh detergent, perhaps it is not rinsing out all the way with the soft water.

sdpookie13 · December 2011

I know some people have had success with Rockin Green Soft Rock (for soft water). I've tried it and found that Country Save works better but I still alternate between the two.

hispenguin · December 2011

BrendaLou1969:
Maybe try Country Save or Dropps instead of the Tide. Tide is pretty harsh detergent, perhaps it is not rinsing out all the way with the soft water.

It could definitely be a build up issue especially with the soft water. I would probably switch the detergent and see if that solves the problem. I also always run a quick wash cycle before the hot cycle with detergent to rinse out the diapers really well.