Smelly reusable nappies...what am I doing wrong???

[Jasnem]

I need help...
Ds has been in reusables from birth, (Mostly tots bots) I wash them at 40 or 60 in non bio.
They look and smell fine when clean and dry, but as soon as he does a wee, they smell really bad.
I've put him in disposables today, and I don't think it's his wee that smells - all I can smell now is the chemical from the disposables.
He's just over 6 months and recently on reasonable amounts of solid foods.

Any ideas?
Thanks, Jasnem

Too much detergent when you are washing them perhaps? I have recently switched to filetti powder as I found that using tablets meant that the nappies were overly soapy and that caused them to smell when wet. I now use a tablespoon of powder in the wash and do a 60 degree cycle and that seems to do the trick.

I'm going to wash them all with no powder and start again.

Any more ideas?

put some white venegar in the softener compartment as well.

You could always put a bit of distilled white vinegar in to the conditioner drawer in your machine and that will apparently get rid of any smell and soften them up too.

oops, crossed posts misdee .

How does the vinegar help?
I did it for a few washes a while ago§ and concluded that the nappies just smelled of vinegar! Was I using too much of that, too?

Pretty much what has already been said. Do a hot wash with no powder at all, and from then on wash with only about 1/4 of the recommended amount, and every 3rd wash or so do an extra rinse at the end too. I use vinegar with most washes.

andees kool kids do a scoop with just the right amount for a nappy wash

Vinegar works like Calgon but cheaper - it softens the water so it rinses better and protects the machine from limescale build-up which also affects its performance. If you don't use either, buy a one-off descaling treatment first and then start buying white vinegar in big bottles from Greengrocers or some butchers. Sometimes you can get Calgon very cheaply in pound shops.
But to be honest if they smell nice when clean it's probably just the natural smell of wee - did it all start when you began to give him solids? I reckon about 6-12m is the eye-watering ammonia smell phase, they do grow out of it.

My son is 11 months and his wee smells very strong as well I did wonder if it was the reusables but have used vinegar etc and no change so I just change him more often and try to get him to drink more water to dilute the urine a bit.

Two things helped us with this problem -

• Doing a cold rinse before washing, putting in a little sodium bicarbonate. The aim was to rinse out the urine a bit, as apparently hot water helps it set in. (We dry pail the dirty nappies.)

• Line drying rather than tumble drying.

Agree with cacaboo. Dry pail, 60 degrees with soap powder and a scoop of Vanish oxy. The crucial thing is getting them on the line (the sun takes out the stains, the fresh air makes 'em smell nice).

Keep DS well watered too of course.

Nappies smell bad to make you look up from the PC, get off MN and change them .

I have tumble dried them lately. We have very hard water, and they go so hard and crispy on the line.
I'll try the bicarb, too
Thanks

I have tumble dried recently cause the weather is crap.

I sometimes do a soak in diluted vinegar overnight.

Dry pail them - i.e. don't soak them in a nappy bucket. Bung in a few drops of tea tree oil which will keep the bucket smelling nice and wash every few days.

Mine have only smelt when I was soaking them and when they haven't dried properly.

I do the dry pail and tea tree already. They've all been washed and line dried today (hot wash no detergent, white vinegar)
I'm going to wash every other day (I have alot and was only doing them every 3 days) to see if that helps.

I do the dry pail and tea tree already. They've all been washed and line dried today (hot wash no detergent, white vinegar)
I'm going to wash every other day (I have alot and was only doing them every 3 days) to see if that helps.

my lot had really lsmelly wee when they were teething and the nappies did stink when you took them off - but they were fine after washing - for the vinegar just fill up the softener compartment - so maybe 50mls or there abouts.

If it makes you feel better - Emrys has decided that you felt left out and his nappies started stinking yesterday too!!!

Nice isn't it Flame? If you find a miracle cure let us know.

Yes, I like everyone else to suffer with me!
Nappies are back on and not smelly so far.

I second the Vanish Oxy.

I also stopped using softener and tried to line dry wherever possible.

Dettol do a fantastic laundry sanitiser in South Africa - I used to stick all of DS2's nappies in for a bi-monthly "super clean".

If you tumble for 10 mins then line dry they do tend to stay soft. My sons nappies smell too sometimes. He is nearly 15 months and I think it is just their age.

i dry pail then use liquid non-bio with some ecover laundry bleach at 60deg and never have any probs. have to tumble dry as living in an apartment with no outdoor drying space and no room in hotpress for them.