Help, I need somebody

redrockmama · September 2014

So...let's say you have really hard water and stupidly did a bunch of hot water rinses (long story) and although your diapers look and smell cleaner than ever, reek of ammonia as soon as LO pees. Is there anything besides RLR that will fix it? I ordered some, but I'm impatient and also don't want to buy more disposables.

Thanks for helping a poor lass like me . I'd post a cute fluffy bum pic for your trouble, but I'm mobile and can't figure out how, maybe later....

Mandmeesh · September 2014

Washing soda (soak the same way as rlr) might tide you over until the RLR gets to your house

freezorburn · September 2014

Please feel free to share both your long story and your current wash routine.

redrockmama · September 2014

We do have some washing soda, we can try that.

Wash routine: We have an HE top loader, do a quick wash with warm water, then the bright whites option (hot wash, cold rinse). Dry in the dryer or line dry. We use homemade detergent: washing soda, borax, oxyclean and epsom salt (about 2 tablespoons). Wash every other day,

Long story: We had a nanny (who we recently let go) after I had her leave I went down and found our diapers in the washer, washing in dirty water on the sanitize setting. I drained it and did our regular wash routine. Later, I saw that the nanny put liquid detergent in the bleach compartment as well as our regular detergent in the detergent part (no idea how much). The diapers felt and smelled pretty weird, so we thought we should try to get all the detergent out. Thus the rinses, not thinking about how it wouldn't be good with hard water.

We also bought tide and calgon and washed them with those after the rinses. We wanted to see if we liked it better than the homemade stuff. Line 1 of the tide and a tablespoon or so of calgon.

I think that about sums it up.

YellowLily2013 · September 2014

Chickypoo2468 said:
Hot rinses in hard water are bad?

This was my thought too...

If they smell like ammonia it may be time to start rinsing ON diapers if you aren't already. I don't think doing hot water rinses would be the cause of ammonia..

Rrrrrachel · September 2014

Certain Facebook groups who will remain nameless say lots of rinses are bad if you have hard water because it just deposits more minerals in your diapers. I'm not sure if that's true but I guess it makes sense. Certainly adding a softener in a scenario like the above would help things rinse more efficiently.

redrockmama · September 2014

Hmm, I have no clue that's just what I read on various websites, not fb though.

He doesn't really have ON diapers, he still gets up and gets changed 2-3 times a night. Should.i just wait for the RLR? We didn't have any issues before.

Rrrrrachel · September 2014

I guess if you're not actively having problems like a rash you might as well just wait.

TJ1979 · September 2014

Are you doing a 2nd rinse? After your detergent cycle do 2 rinses, that helps prevent detergent buildup.

emmylou78 · September 2014

Have you tried bleach?

There are recipes for "homemade RLR" with borax, washing soda, and Calgon in half a bathtub of hot water. 3 tbsp each. Soak until water cools. Then bleach.

But I'd probably wait for the RLR if you already bought it. Any eta on when it should be delivered? I'm lazy and I just wouldn't want to strip again.

redrockmama · September 2014

Yeah that's what I was thinking @Mapleme‌. I always do an extra rinse, but I can't say my wife always does, and she probably washes them more now that I'm back at work. I'll just be patient and wait for the RLR. It said 4-10 business days which isn't too long. Then, we'll figure out our detergent and ho from there. Thanks y'all.

Rrrrrachel · September 2014

@mapleme always gives such sensible advice.

BoothBaby · September 2014

I also have hard water and had some major issues with stink and a rash. I ended up switching detergents (twice), doing an RLR strip, and bleaching. I still had some stink coming out of the dryer, so I got some Funk Rock, and that seemed to help immensely. I also started soaking my overnight dipe. I think FINALLY my dipes are clean! I now do a Tbsp of Funk Rock in my pre-rinse every wash to help keep the ammonia at bay. I'm hoping this new routine is working....I guess time will tell! I need to get some Calgon to start adding to every wash, but I keep forgetting to look for it. I'm still bleaching every few washes to kill off any potential yeast/bacteria because of the rash, but haven't had any more stink issues.

Anyway, start with the RLR, and if that doesn't work, I'd suggest trying Funk Rock. GL!

TugboatSheila · September 2014

I was having a similar issue and I now do a warm wash no detergent, hot wash with detergent and Calgon and a cold rinse.

Works for us now. We have hard water too. Hope you figure it out!

abby8279 · September 2014

I admit that I read your first post and skipped over all the rest.

When I was having stink issues and needed a fresh start I used Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer and it did wonders! That is just a quick fix so you would need to adjust what you are doing- whether that be you cycle or detergent. But in the immediate it is awesome! If I ever have any stink that comes up, we use it and it's great.

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