Help - I don't want to give up on cloth!!!

[blissieblue]

I stopped using detergent a couple of months ago cos I just couldn't get them rinsed properly and was having ammonia burn problems (new machine too!)

I dry pail and wash every 2 days, I'm then running a cold rinse with vinegar and finally a 60 wash with a scoop of mio fresh and an extra rinse.

I rinse off any poo in the toilet before I chuck them in the bucket and have recently started rinsing through night nappies and any others that are a bit smelly before putting those in the bucket.

Yet I'm still getting stinky ammonia nappies and DS2 is spending more and more time in disposables because of the rash he gets from his clothies.

I'm at my wits end - I'm constantly washing nappies (trying to strip them) and DS never seems to be wearing them for longer than a couple of days before he has to go back in disposables.

I'm close to giving up on cloth and he is my second DC in cloth so I'm pretty committed.

Is there anything else I can try??? Please??!

I find that a tumble dry occasionally seems to blast out any residual smells - is this an option for you?

Why could you not rinse them properly when using detergent?? I use Ariel non-bio and don't have any probs with rinsing, it also leaves them smelling great afterwards!

I'm also doing two rinses, one with the poo only nappies, then chuck in the wet ones and rinse them all, then wash, followed by extra rinse.

Don't give up on your lovely cloth!! The warmer weather is coming and you can leave them out on the line for a whole day (or maybe two) that's bound to help

could it be the mio fresh, I think it can be quite harsh?

I usually tumble for about 10-20 mins to soften them up - it doesn't help.

The mio fresh I thought was definitely not harsh - it's not nappysan - s'posed to be enviromentally friendly!

I don't want to give up on cloth. He's nearly 14 months old and this has been going on most of his little life. I'm starting to think I'm being selfish by insisting on using cloth -because I like them! He had blisters on his bottom the other day

Telly addict - maybe I will try Ariel non bio. I just always seem to have suds in the machine at the end of a wash when I use detergent. I bought a new machine last year and I chose it because it came out top for rinsing in the Which tests.

Please???

Flame gives good advice. Go to her thread in the small business ads section. Should be easy to find - if not come back here (I will check later) and try and do you a link.

Bumfluff Nappies she is under - about the 6th thread down on that section. hth

She is also known as FlameSparrow.

How much detergent were you using? I only use 1/4 to 1/2 the normal amount.

Also what nappies are they?

Thanks lollipop - will try to raise her!

BBM- I was using about 25 mls of detergent in a dosing ball in the machine - tiny amount. The nappies are mostly Tots Bots - a mix of Rainbow bots and Cottons. I use the Cottons at night as they're more absorbent but night nappies are always the worst - so stinky DH maintains they could be used in chemical warfare - and they're on my baby's bottom!

I use powder rather than liquid detergent - and often biological.

I have read lots (on here and other sites) to say that if your skin/baby's skin seems to be reacting to washing detergent, it is highly unlikely to be the bio/enzyme aspect of it.

liquid detergent could very well be the problem. It's not good stuff for nappies for some reason. I used it for a little while a long time ago and had to stop as it wouldn't rinse out well and it made my machine and nappies smell . It took a long while to get them back to a better state.

I agree Biological powder is not the root of all evil and could be worth a try.

The only other thing I can think of (but isn't very helpful) is that I find smells tend to stick to older nappies a lot more than newer ones - I treat all my EHDNs the same but find the older ones tend to hold any smell more.

I use liquid because I thought it dissolved more easily (although not sure where I read that). Why is powder better?

I do have some bio but I'm a bit wary of using it on nappies as he did seem to have a reaction to it once before. Could have been other factors though so am willing to try again. What do you use Lollipop?

My dds all had really really stinky wees and in the end I got rid of it with cold rinsing first and then a 50 degree wash with bio powder (tesco own usually) then and extra rinse. It got rid of it for me so perhaps it is the liquid stuff?

have you tried wet pailing as well to help soak out the wee? new machines use so little water it is hard for them to do a decent rinse job on nappies - not what they were designed for I guess.
sensitive question perhaps but how often are you changing them? does he still get a rash if you change every hour or so? dd is terrible every now and then for acid nappies, maybe cos of teething?, but the only thing that works is changing her after practically every wee.
another factor could be the liner? fleece allergy?

I'm not 100% sure why powder is better but I think it is the opposite of what you are thinking. I had a washing machine engineer out to my machine last year and he said steer well clear of anything liquid as it commonly leaves a residue inside the machine as well as on clothes. The gel tabs are the worst culprits as the gel coating doesn't dissolve properly either so at least you haven't been using those!

have you tried giving him teething powders to reduce the acidity o fhis wee?

Also put powder in the drum then put the washing on top, don't use the drawer as it clogs up the tubes over time. I tap the drum so the powder goes into the holes.

I've thought about wet pailing but would rather not if I can avoid it. Was hoping rinsing the nappies out before the bucket would be good enough.

I change him about 4 -5 times a day and always straight after a poo. It seems to be the night nappies which do the most damage. When he's in the same nappy for 12 hours or so his skin is quite red and burnt looking and after a couple of days it starts to go flaky.

Fleece allergy?? I'd never even considered it - would you recommend flushable liners instead? I'm not keen on handwashing silk liners. As much as I love them I don't want my nappies to become a full time job

I ended up with mine in a disposable overnight and cloth during the day I think some skin is just more sensitive than others and benefits from the break?

CarGirl - was considering doing that today. Will also try bio powder - thank you all for your ideas!

does he drink a lot of juice at all?

If it is only the night nappy, could you not just use the nappy linerless, or does your DS regularly poo in it?

I'd run your machine on 90 degrees empty to clean it and then switch to powder and use just a 1/4 of the amount suggested on the box.

only has really well diluted juice with breakfast and water or milk the rest of the time. Is it possible though that despite this he does have "toxic wee"?

Why would a linerless nappy make a difference? - is it the fleece allergy thing? Could I use a fluhable liner instead? He usually does poo after his milk in the morning - which I give him first thing

Hi Blissieblue,

I had the exact same problems as you when I first started using terries. It sounds like you are not fully removing all the ammonia. I found personally that things became easier when I stopped dry pailing! I know have a nappy bucket filled with water and a few drops of tea tree oil beneath the change table. Wet nappies are put in straight away. I swill out poopy nappies in the toilet and then put them in the bucket as well. Ever two days, I drain the bucket into the toilet and wash the nappies in my machine. This is what I do:

1. Put all nappies through a rinse cycle
2. Add a teaspoon of Bio D Nappy Fresh and HALF the amount of Persil Non-bio
3. Run a 30 wash (although once a month I do a 60)
4. Run another rinse cycle.
5. Hang to dry

Doing this has made my nappies so much whiter and fresher smelling. The woman at my local shop told me that some babies are more sensitive to ammonia and for those babies, dry pailing is not enough to remove all traces of the ammonia. Also, by soaking them, your nappies will last longer too!

Hope it helps!

try here it's about washing machines and other appliances

All kinds of interesting stuff about washing machines and why powder is better and how to get rid of smells etc. Someone posted the link ages ago and apparently it (the website) is written by engineers.

I use whatever bio powder is on offer. Generally the supermarket's own (but not the value/cheapo range) or sometimes ariel or whatever is cheaper when on offer. Have not had a problem, I read somewhere that if you react to it, it is far more likely to be the fragrance or some other factor.