One common problem that cloth parents face when newer to cloth diapering is a lingering "bad smell" that clings to diapers even after washing. There are a number of potential causes to this problem, so let's do a little problem solving to see what might be happening to YOUR diapers.
Detergent and Water Temperature
Many cloth parents are driven to cloth diapering out of a desire to be more"natural" and limit harmful toxins or chemicals getting onto baby's skin. As a result, a lot of parents go into the diaper washing process thinking that they shouldn't use a lot of detergent. Detergents can leave residue on diapers, so by limiting the detergent, you're helping your diapers and your baby... right?
I completely disagree with this - It's extremely important to WASH your diapers. This means that you need a cleaning agent to cleanse the fabric of baby's waste - if you don't use enough, the diapers will not be sufficiently clean. Period. It is important to know what a "safe" detergent is for your baby and the fabric of your diapers, so check out my post on cloth diaper detergents to guide you.
The temperature that you're using when washing your diapers is almost as important as the detergent - for natural fibers, HOT is best - in fact, the hotter, the better. For synthetic fabrics, be sure to read manufacturer instructions when you buy your diapers - what's good for one fabric may not be good for another!
The temperature that you're using when washing your diapers is almost as important as the detergent - for natural fibers, HOT is best - in fact, the hotter, the better. For synthetic fabrics, be sure to read manufacturer instructions when you buy your diapers - what's good for one fabric may not be good for another!
Waiting Too Long To Wash
Just as important as actually washing your diapers, you also need to create a schedule for yourself on the frequency that your cloth diapers are actually making it into the washer. It's not realistic to expect that you would wash diapers daily - that would drive me NUTS - but you also can't only wash them once a week either.
The reason that it's important to wash your diapers every 2-3 days is because the waste that your baby produces can begin to breakdown the fabric of your diapers and also cause the smell of baby's waste to sink into the fabric and stick around for a while. By washing every 2 or 3 days, you are getting the waste off the fabric in time that it doesn't do any damage or leave a lingering smell behind.
Neglecting "Prep" for Wash
Another key step in the "de-stink" process for a cloth diaper is clearing it of the solid waste prior to putting it in your diaper pail. Whether you choose to spray the waste away, use a wipe to remove it, or use liners to catch the waste for removal, be sure to do SOMETHING to remove it so that the majority of it isn't just sitting in your pail. This is, firstly, gross - imagine the smell that would create! Second, as I said before, the waste that your baby produces can begin to breakdown the fabric of your diapers and cause a lingering smell.Obviously you can't get everything out and your baby's urine will be there regardless, but do your best to remove what you can quickly and then dump that bad-boy in your pail... and speaking of your pail - I am a believer in a pail that provides air flow to my diapers - my pail is a 13 gallon trash can with a swing-lid. This means that my diapers have circulation of air moving in and out of the pail 24/7 - some moms don't want their bathrooms or nurseries to get smelly so they seal up their dirty diapers to avoid it. In my experience, however, airflow helps to limit the smell both before AND after washes... but that's just me.
Build Up In Fabric
Sometimes, no matter what we do, "stink" begins to build up into our diapers - typically an ammonia-like smell. This process usually takes a while and sometimes doesn't happen at all... but if you're using diapers and noticing a weird smell that your normal wash routine isn't solving, you need to review your routine. Sometimes it's tempting to "cut corners" to save time during the wash process - see if you're committing any of the above "diaper stink errors" and get back on track to avoid any further "stinkiness" and/or damage to your diapers.
In these cases, you will need to add an extra step to remove this build up of smell - One product that has become my friend is OxiClean. {I am by NO means the first cloth parent to post about the wonders of OxiClean, so don't consider this my patented method, just friendly advice that worked for me!} Soaking diapers in hot water overnight with a few scoops of OxiClean is like a miracle for bad smells. Try the "Oxi-Soak" overnight and then wash your diapers (with an extra rinse beforehand) and you should see a huge improvement.
In these cases, you will need to add an extra step to remove this build up of smell - One product that has become my friend is OxiClean. {I am by NO means the first cloth parent to post about the wonders of OxiClean, so don't consider this my patented method, just friendly advice that worked for me!} Soaking diapers in hot water overnight with a few scoops of OxiClean is like a miracle for bad smells. Try the "Oxi-Soak" overnight and then wash your diapers (with an extra rinse beforehand) and you should see a huge improvement.
No comments:
Post a Comment