Aaaargh! Real ammonia problem and I've tried everything :(

[FrogsGoWhat]

It's doing my head in.

Previously if we had an ammonia problem with the nappies I would just half the amount of detergent and add an extra rinse or two for a week or so and they would be fine.

But this time it's just getting worse. I've just done a strip wash with a dessert spoon of fairy washing up liquid, washed again with nothing, then 2 extra rinses - and if that hasn't worked then it's disposables for us :(

I feel like giving in but DD's poor bottom keeps getting ammonia burns unless I change every 2 hours.

She's now 2, is teething a bit, and not drinking enough in the hot weather so I know it will be more concentrated - but still!

All our nappies are affected - even our terry squares which have never been affected before. Personally I think the problem is the machine I'm currently using - in a temporary rented flat (between houses) with a washer-dryer and I'm not sure it's actually washing that effectively.

I normally used 1 tab of Simply Pure in with about 16 nappies. (Rinse first, wash, rinse after) and it has been fine for months. Our nappies are a real mixture of bumgenius, totsbots AIOs, bamboozle stretches, bumbles, fuzzibunz and a handful of terry and bamboo squares.

Have I missed anything? Any advice?

My only advice would be to try leaving them out on the line (in all weather) for a week.

Or, ask someone with an excellent machine to try a strip wash.

I would start potty training but we are in a carpeted rental flat and I'm just going to wait until we're in our house (hopefully a few more weeks). Also no garden here :(

But otherwise I would be doing exactly that!

No outside line either :(

DP thinks that's what the problem is - they haven't been "UVed"

I could take them to my mother's and use her machine for another strip wash..... good idea!

Use the longest wash cycle, with an enhance button if you have it, and tiny amount of powder, a tsp or so. Do you use tea tree oil in the rinse?

I don't use tea tree oil as DD seems sensitive to it - has come out in rashes when I've used it before.

I'll cut the powder capsules/tabs in half - that will be about a heaped tsp.

• but the annoying thing is that it's not been a problem before!

We're having the same problem, they utterly reek as well. I've started chucking a bit of white vinegar on a cold rinse prewash, then bio washing powder with some bio d nappy sanitiser on a 60 degree cotton wash. It's helped a bit but not massively, but my DD is cutting 4 teeth at the minute. She's two soon.

You could use disposables for a couple of weeks, or just persevere? We use paper liners from boots and Vaseline/sudocrem/bepanthen/CJs butter for when her bum looks really sore.

I could try rinsing with vinegar - but would I have to stop using the bamboo ones? I've got a niggle in the back of my head that you can't use vinegar with bamboo... also - how much vinegar do you use?

I rinsed a few times, chucked in some napisan, washed at 60 and then a good rinsing.

One of my dds just had the most amonia nappies EVER.

I wonder about wet pailing just in plain water?

I did see Kim & Aggie clean a disgusting bath with the cheapest 'bio' laundry powder. They filled it with water & put in the powder then left it for 12 hours. Sparkling bath! Throw in the nappies?

Most of nappies are bamboo little lamb, and we have tons of bamboo boosters so far we've not had a problem but you might be r

Right in saying you're not supposed to...! We don't use it for every wash though, once the smell has gone or it's not as strong we don't. And I usually do an extra rinse after the main wash. Try sticking them on the windowsill if you want get a bit of sun to them, we do in winter :)

I used about a capful of the bottle so about 20ml I guess? If they were really foul, put another one in.

There is some advice on fixing ammonia nappies on the bummis website www.bummis.com/ca/en/tips-and-troubleshooting.php bumgenius also have a troubleshooting page that recommends washing with dawn (fairy) liquid and bleach for smelly nappies but I can't find it on my phone just now.
Maybe the reason it's only been happening recently is to do with the hot weather - the wee might be more concentrated? Maybe offer more drinks? Or teething?

As a last resort, before chucking out some very old bamboo nappies, we soaked them in a bucket of water with Milton. Wouldn't normally do this, ever. Then washed normally with extra rinses. It worked and we continue to love the nappies.

Hmmm strip wash didn't help (and it was washed once with fairy liquid on intensive wash, another intensive wash with nothing, then 2 rinses and there weren't any bubbles) - just had another smelly ammonia nappy :(

Have put the machine on a maintenance 90C wash to see if that helps.

Am going to try a wash and rinse with just some miofresh bleach as that's all I've got in at the moment, but will get some vinegar tomorrow to try.

Thanks for all the ideas...

Do they smell when you get them out of the machine or when they're dry before you put them on your DD?

Only smell once she has wee-ed in them.... fine otherwise

I'm going to hazard a guess and say its the wee, not the nappies that are the problem. We had a similar problem the other week when it was 30 degrees for a few days. DS wasn't drinking much and his nappies just reeked. Offer diluted squash to entice her. If she really doesn't drink enough, offer watery fruits as well (watermelon, strawberries etc). Weather is back to normal and DS is drinking normally again, nappies back to normal as well.

That's like ours, I'm pretty sure it's the heat and the teething with DD. I've put her in a sposie for night time while its like this, it's too bad in the morning otherwise. I've also been changing them every 2-3 hours in the day. I think it'll pass, I'm sure we had the same issue last year, and then all was fine after about a month!

Well I thought I'd fixed it - did another wash with miofresh and then 2 more washes with nothing - and they were fine!

Then just one use - wash with 1/2 tab of simply pure plus a scoop of miofresh - another wash with nothing, plus 2 rinses - and back to ammonia again!

I give up. DD is now in disposables :( I can't keep strip washing and doing loads of rinses - uses soooo much electricity!

stripwash with a finish dishwasher tab has worked brilliantly for me when I've had this problem with my nappies