Waving white flag and surrendering, ammonia wins :(

MAK06 · April 2012

My LO is potty trained during day but I wanted to continue cloth diapering at night. However, I started with an ammonia problem which has made his hin.ey red on several occasions!

I posted here a while back and got some great advice. I did a strip with bleach, also blue dawn. Washed them a million times. Started rinsing night diaper in am. Added towels to laundry routine to increase friction. I thought I had it beat for about 2-3 weeks but it's back.

I'm sad to let it go but I don't want him suffering. I guess this is just a vent or a plea for any last minute solutions I haven't thought of.

I've contemplated buying a few new ones but afraid it will just happen again. UGH, any last minute advice?

momofmanyinthemitten · April 2012

Some of my ON fitteds respond better to a first rinse in the morning with 2 Tbsp of baking soda. It's worth a try!

pixy_stix · April 2012

Have you tried the Fish tank ammonia neutralizer stuff? Best thing ever for repeat ammonia. Yes, you'll have to continue doing it every once in a while if you can't figure out the cause, but the stuff is cheap.

bugandbibs · April 2012

pixy_stix:
Have you tried the Fish tank ammonia neutralizer stuff? Best thing ever for repeat ammonia. Yes, you'll have to continue doing it every once in a while if you can't figure out the cause, but the stuff is cheap.

Pixy, you read my mind. This is what I would try next.

CaitlinJ22 · April 2012

do you use MF?

MAK06 · April 2012

margaretkaye1:
Well if you're issue is residue bleach isn't going to do a thing. Were you washing with no detergent til there were no bubbles? did you try a soak? You're only using them at night, are you only allowing 1 or 2 days in between washing go by? Did you switch your detergent?

kielpinski - good idea with baking soda!

margaret - I have been washing till no bubbles and did that with the dawn as well. I have soaked them overnight in my rockin green but never soaked in anything else. Is there something else I should soak in? I am allowed 2 days. But it kinda sucks to do such a tiny load ...

Haven't switched detergent, thought rockin green was supposed to be pretty good so I haven't done that. Anything you'd suggest?

MAK06 · April 2012

pixy_stix:
Have you tried the Fish tank ammonia neutralizer stuff? Best thing ever for repeat ammonia. Yes, you'll have to continue doing it every once in a while if you can't figure out the cause, but the stuff is cheap.

No!! And I never heard of this as a treatment (maybe I should hand out on this board more), great idea! Do you know how much to use?

MAK06 · April 2012

CaitlinJ22:
do you use MF?

Hmm, call me stupid but I'm not sure what this is so I guess my answer is no!

CaitlinJ22 · April 2012

MAK06:
CaitlinJ22:
do you use MF?
Hmm, call me stupid but I'm not sure what this is so I guess my answer is no!

microfiber. As in the inserts, i had an issue with them for a while, went to natural inserts and problem solved.

bugandbibs · April 2012

MAK06:
pixy_stix:
Have you tried the Fish tank ammonia neutralizer stuff? Best thing ever for repeat ammonia. Yes, you'll have to continue doing it every once in a while if you can't figure out the cause, but the stuff is cheap.
No!! And I never heard of this as a treatment (maybe I should hand out on this board more), great idea! Do you know how much to use?

How much you use depends on the brand of neutralizer (they are a concentrate.) Just follow the instructions on the bottle. Most people just put some in the washer, but you could try doing a wet pail with some mixed in until you get enough diapers to wash.

MF= micro fiber

MAK06 · April 2012

CaitlinJ22:
MAK06:
CaitlinJ22:
do you use MF?
Hmm, call me stupid but I'm not sure what this is so I guess my answer is no!
microfiber. As in the inserts, i had an issue with them for a while, went to natural inserts and problem solved.

Oh boy - DUH. I use BG elementals and then was usually adding an extra insert, either hemp ones that I purchased or the ones that came with my swaddlebee/blueberry diaper (think microterry).

MAK06 · April 2012

CaitlinJ22:
MAK06:
CaitlinJ22:
do you use MF?
Hmm, call me stupid but I'm not sure what this is so I guess my answer is no!
microfiber. As in the inserts, i had an issue with them for a while, went to natural inserts and problem solved.

Oh boy - DUH. I use BG elementals and then was usually adding an extra insert, either hemp ones that I purchased or the ones that came with my swaddlebee/blueberry diaper (think microterry).

MAK06 · April 2012

bugandbibs:
MAK06:
pixy_stix:
Have you tried the Fish tank ammonia neutralizer stuff? Best thing ever for repeat ammonia. Yes, you'll have to continue doing it every once in a while if you can't figure out the cause, but the stuff is cheap.
No!! And I never heard of this as a treatment (maybe I should hand out on this board more), great idea! Do you know how much to use?
How much you use depends on the brand of neutralizer (they are a concentrate.) Just follow the instructions on the bottle. Most people just put some in the washer, but you could try doing a wet pail with some mixed in until you get enough diapers to wash.
MF= micro fiber

Thanks! I currently use a wet bag to store diapers. Perhaps I should look into a pail ...

LottaLattes · April 2012

I struggled with it and finally found that a prerinse with 1/4 c baking soda and a final rinse adding 1/2 c vinegar just solved it. If you have hard water, vinegar can cause problems, so I'd add it with the detergent cycle (personally) as it'll rinse out twice after.

Or try Tide powder if you have hard water, that should also fix a lot of maladies.

Megan.10.06 · April 2012

I could NOT win the ammonia battle until I switched off RnG. This is the first thing I would do.

MAK06 · April 2012

Megan.10.06:
I could NOT win the ammonia battle until I switched off RnG. This is the first thing I would do.

Really?! Wow! Ok so what should I switch to?

tokenhoser · April 2012

Switch to anything. Seriously, I've tried a handful of things and rockin green is the only one that did NOT work for me.

I currently use soap nuts, but if you're at the "I quit" stage, I'd give original ultra tide powder a shot. It's powerful and cheap and easy to find.

bethybjj2 · May 2012

I have been using rng this whole time with no problems. I found that if the load is too big and there isn't enough water to be able to circulate around efficiently this causes issues with residue stink. I always go with the super large load option. Have you tried decreasing your load size and how much rng are you using? I only use 1 heaping tablespoon, but I do a full cold cycle with an extra rinse followed up with a full hot/cold cycle extra rinse and no issues. I also usually do a few tbs of bleach once a week due to the mass influx of bm diapers of late. I hope you figure it out!!!

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