smelly reusable nappies

[TiredofYorks]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for nappy discussions but if anyone can help, I'd be grateful.

I have some pop in bamboo nappies, I first bought them 2 1/2 years ago for my DS, I am now using them for DD but a friend used them in between.

The problem that I have is that they stink. They come of the line smelling lovely, all clean and fresh although it sometimes takes 2 washes to get them this way, but as soon as DD wets them they really smell, and it's quite an offensive smell as though I aren't getting them clean enough.

I leave them in a bucket of napisan and wash them at the end of each day on a 40 degree wash.

Does anyone know how I can get them fresher so that they don't smell as soon as DD has a wee?

[RuthChan]

Different babies have different strengths of wee.
Is it not just that your DD does quite smelly wee?
My DS certainly has smellier nappies than my DD ever did. I think it's just a physical difference between them.
If your nappies come off the line smelling sweet your washing should be fine.

[itsatiggerday]

Agree re more likely to be the strength of the wee added - does your DD drink much? Very concentrated urine smells much more pungent - and is a sign of dehydration in adults, not sure if it's different for children. I have different nappies so not sure if yours would take this, but occasionally I do wash at 60 just to give them an extra blast.

[Rhian82]

I've never used napisan - I thought it wasn't recommended now? Just keep them in a bucket with a lid and then throw them in the washing machine, that should be enough.

One thing that I know can cause smells is if you get a build-up of detergent - you're supposed to use half the normal amount of detergent when washing nappies. If you've got a build up, you can get rid of it by strip washing the nappies - there's a really good article about that here.

[LakeFlyPie]

I had a similar problem which was resolved by doing a cold wash cycle before a 30 or 40 degree one with tiny amount of detergent.

Apparently a hot wash can 'cook' the wee into the fabric which makes it smell.

HTH

[CarGirl]

I'd rinse them on cold a few times first and then do a 6o degree wash with a little bio powder in and then some extra rinses afterwards. I used to have to do these occasionally once me dds were over 12 months as the smell of amonia could be over powering at times

It could just be stinky wee. If you are going to wet pail I'd just use water with a few drops of tee tree oil as napisan is very strong stuff.

[FluteyBoots]

We have bamboo inserts. I put on a rinse cycle before washing. I usually wash at 40 but do a 60 every now and again. I use napisan but I add to detergent drawer rather than soaking in it (I dry pail). Never had a smell problem

[FluteyBoots]

40 degrees is hot enough to kill germs as long as you use a standard powder / tablets, I.e. Not a colour one or a liquid/gel. The detergent contains an oxygen bleach which will kill germs. Napisan adds a bit more of this

[TiredofYorks]

Thanks for your replies.

I don't think it's actually DDs wee as it isn't offensive when in disposables, it seems to be the actually nappies that smell once wet if you see what I mean.

I will try a cold wash first. My concern now is that I wash on 40 with a gel. From the post above I ought to get a powder so will do on my next wash. I'll also reduce the amount of powder and napisan.

Thanks again.

[Rhian82]

I use a liquid without any problems - the main thing is that you use less of it than normal. I do wash at 60 though.

[MrsJamin]

I do a cold rinse, then a 60 degree wash.

[themonkey75]

I had massive problems with this- nappies smelling of ammonia and rashes on bottom- this is how I got around the problem:

I'd strip the nappies with a few wash cycles with no detergent, as you may have detergent build up. It may take a lot of cycles to do this, you need to do it until there are absolutely no bubbles coming out of the nappies.

Also, Bicarbonate of Soda is very good at getting out smells (much gentler than napisan), so you can either soak the nappies in a solution of water and bicarb...or run the nappies through a pre wash cycle in the washing machine using bicarb instead of detergent. This will help strip out the residual ammonia (which is prob what is causing the smell).You should also from time to time run your machine on a very hot cycle with nothing in it to clear any residue in the machine. (or you can add a couple of spoons of bicarb to get the machine super clean).

You can get boxes of bicarb for cleaning purposes in some hardware/general store stype shops or on the internet.

like MrsJamin I do a cold rinse cycle, with no detergent, then a 60 degree wash with Ariel actilift gel- about 1/3 to 1/2 a capful and that works wonders. I used to use non-bio but afraid it really was no good!
I also figured out that my new machine's "quick wash" setting was no good. have to do it on a long full cycle.

[Notanexcitingname]

There are a couple of problems that cause this; one is too much washing powder, in which case soak in vinegar then wash through with no powder, the other is just a build-up of old wee, so soak in ammonia(yes really-ammonia is the solvent for the ammonia-smelling component of old wee).

washing at 40 deg with nappisan is fine. Nappisan kills the germs :)