Nappies smelling of wee after washing

[theelephantknownasnell]

I'm using Bumgenius freetime nappies, they're a aio nappy, only been using them a month and they have a wee-ish smell about them.

I dry pail, do a cold rinse before washing at 40 degrees, use 1/4 of powder as recommended on the nappy instructions, I can't wash any hotter as 40 is the hottest temp recommended. I wash every third day and line dry whenever possible.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

You might need to strip wash them - basically just wash without detergent until bubbles stop coming out (maybe one cold wash and one-two hot cycles). The build up of detergent on the nappies holds that ammonia wee smell.

I hadn't thought of strip washing because I'd thought it was for when absorbance was reduced so thank you very much for your advice.

I just started using stronger-smelling powder... :)

And use less detergent.

I have bumgenius also, I am familiar with the wee smell... Drying in very hot sun helps too

A drop or two of lavender/tea tree oil in the wash helps too. I use ecover nonbio powder with a few drops of oil in the dispenser. A strip wash sounds sensible too.

I use terry square's with my LO you can boil wash them IMO is needed after a big poo. these "brand" one's seem to have lot's of washing instructions as they are made from microfiber cloth so loose there absorbency as soon as you put them at too high a temperature or with even a sprinkle more wash powder than recommended and correct me if i am wrong but you can't use softener on them either ?? no wonder they smell a bit and restricted fitting guidelines you can only put them on certain way way's because of popper's and velcro fasteners they have also a pre structured nappy shape too.where as terries you can fold fasten and tighten them anyway you want to I'd buy some new nappies if i were you stay clear of any with "special wash instructions" on the packet :)

You could also try using vinegar to strip out the smell.
And you could try using Napisan on them too (assuming that you're allowed to).

My cloth nappies get washed at 70 degrees, because they're made of terry or fleece, after presoaking in Napisan - they smell fine. :)

Forgot to say i pre soak to in napisan i keep the bucket by the change table and all used squares go straight into it its a must have for reusable nappies if you leave them like they are till washing no wonder they smell!!

Don't use vinegar if you have hard water

I dry pail mine, Oldfashioned - they still come pretty clean! Sun-drying helps with any minor staining though. :)

Thanks for all the further advice.

I striped washed them today, they're drying now but already the smell of wee seems to of gone but will know better once they're dry, I kept watching the washes and there didn't appear to be hardly any soap suds even on the first wash which I thought was strange.

callamia do you put the drops in with the washing powder or in the area where the fabric conditioner would go in a standard wash?

oldfashioned I'm very familiar with the nappies you use, I used them 9 years ago with dd1, it's true they have there advantages but as with all nappies they have disadvantages too. I'm happy with the ones I've got.

It's not recommended to use vinegar or napisan with my brand, when I was choosing our nappies the nappy lady said these things shouldn't be used with modern cloth nappies because it can damage the fabric especially bamboo but I have noticed that a lot of you do. Have any of you noticed any negative effects?

Thanks again

I think I usually just out some drops with the powder, but either would work ok I think. Alternatively, put a few drops on a wipe/cotton insert and stick that in your wash,

Mine were smelling too - actually I thought it was not enough powder. But anyway I switched to using an Eco ball for washing and that did the trick. Back to powder now.