Motherease Nappies smell bad

[elfgypsy]

hi, I hope someone can help, I got some 2nd hand (could never afford them new) M.Ease nappies on ebay and after a month or so they started to smell really bad as soon as DD did a wee in them, I have tried the eco nappy san, have been giving them a pre wash on 40 and then a 60 wash, been giving them an extra spin and then hanging them on the radiators and also on the washing line outside for 4 days at ta time, I use ecover powder and no conditioner, feeling really fed up of all the effort with no results and having to do loads of nappy changes cos of the smell, its not all of them so I know its not my DD who smells bad.

Could it be that they were bleached before I got them, is this what happens if they get bleached? they seem in pretty good condition other than the smell...
:(

What sort of smell - is it an ammonia/wee type smell? And is it only when they get wet?

They probably need stripping, which I am no expert on tbh as mine have never needed it. Have a google - there are about a million different ways to do it.

I always do a cold rinse before the wash, to stop the wee smell setting.

I second the cold rinse first. Are you using enough powder? If I don't put enough detergent in I find they get smelly.

I tried Ecover with mine and the same thing happened. Switched to supermarket brand non-bio powder and haven't had a problem since. They say to use half the amount of powder that you would for a normal wash. Also you might be better off just doing a rinse first to loosen stains, followed by a normal wash (40 is probably fine), and extra rinse(s). It is the extra rinse that is most important, because any detergent build up in the nappies reacts with the wee to give the horrible ammonia smell. To strip them now, wash as normal and then keep rinsing until there are no bubbles still coming out, it might take a couple of hours rinsing!!

buy mine everything curlykate says. Only I would do a 60 degree wash with no detergent at all.

Put powder in the drum of your machine every wash as powder etc at low temps tend to clog up the internal pipes so they don't actually get rinsed in detergent free water. Soap nuts are a great alternative to detergent too.

I think you should also do a 90 degree wash every month or so with an empty machine to generally keep them detergent build up free - although if you follow the detergent tips you should have to do it as often.

oh yes def a cold rinse first if you are dry pailing, helps get rid of the wee rather than washing them in wee filled water IYSWIM

you probably need to strip them. lots and lots of washes with no detergent. i used to start with a 60 wash (no detergent); then a 40 wash; then several rinses and spins and then another 40 wash. all with no detergent.

Nothing fixed mine except soaking in vinegar and water overnight which I think got rid of the soap build up.

has it helped?

i soak mine in napisan in the nappy bucket (though i pre-wash pooey ones down the rog)

and then wash@ 60 with standard non-bio....

they aren't smelly partiularly, though summer is nicer as line-drying does give them a 'fresh' smell that tumble/radiator drying doesn't.

I had ammonia type smell in my washable nappies that I got rid of by doing a one off wash in biological powder instead of non bio. Just washed them at 60 degrees in bio, then did extra rinses, then went back to the usual non bio.

I found that I had to do this occasionally to get the build up.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am in a bit of a spin with it but have a lot of food for thought, have had a mad week so been unable to focus on doing anything but will try the vinegar and the bio powder i think, may also just try using something other than ecover for a regular non bio...hope i get there soon, feel worn out with endless viruses and cold weather and grumpy baby all day and night, like a lot of us I imagine...
thanks everyone, it really helps to have some support
Xx

Try doing a strip wash - three washes with no detergent at all. First one cold or 30 degrees, then two washes at 60 degrees straight after, no need to dry the nappies in between. All washes at the longest possible setting.

I've also got Motherease nappies, and they came out lovely when I did this. Apparently, the smell can come from detergent build up in the nappy. I was amazed how much suds came out, even in the 3rd wash!