I've been having a feeling that I was starting to get build up. Not just because of the odors, but because of the way my diapers felt. They still felt some what soft, definitely not brand new soft, but I still felt okay putting them on my son. The ones I really wasn't too thrilled about were my bamboo fitteds and pockets. No matter how I washed/dry them they felt scratchy.
I try to keep my wash routine simple. Unfortunately, my old machine (it is almost 10 years old) does not put out much water. Yes it is a front loader, and many people say you can trick it into adding more water, but I have not been successful at that. So I do a cold short wash with no detergent, a hot heavy wash with detergent (in the past with bleach as well) then a cold short wash with no detergent to make sure everything is rinsed out. This last time I used my homemade detergent. I instinctively reached for the bleach, but I really want to get away from that. I didn't add it though in hopes that just the new soap was going to be enough. When the diapers were done in the washer, they smelled wonderful. There was just a light scent of the Fels Naptha and not a single scent of funk or poop. Even with my beloved Tide, there would still be odor problems especially with my AIO. So to smell an actual clean diaper coming out of the washer, well I felt really stoked! I decided to hang my covers this time; yeah I know, I shouldn't be putting them in the dryer, but I really felt that maybe drying would help with the stink. I tossed the inserts, prefolds, and my AIO (since they take forever to dry) into the dryer on low and hung the covers. As I was hanging them, I happily smelled every one.
Once the dryer finished I was happy to pull them out and start stuffing, and for me this is big because I kind of get weary of stuffing diapers all the time. Anyway, I would bury my nose into all my inserts, prefolds, and my AIO. I was thrilled!! My AIO smelled clean! No scent of even the detergent in them. Everything felt, looked, and smelled clean. My bamboo fitteds were as soft as they were when I first got them in the mail. I even had my husband stick his nose in an AIO and take a deep breath. He was surprised too! I knew that I couldn't get too optimistic about it because the true test would be when I put the night diapers on my kids and find out what happens when they pee in them. In the morning I didn't have to even take the diaper off to know that it didn't work. I could smell the unforgettable scent coming from those two little bodies. I still had ammonia. To say I was mad was an understatement. I even muttered the words that I was ready to give up on these dumb diapers. Anyway, after coming back to my senses (and the fact that I refuse to pay $20 for a box of diapers) I began to think about what else I can do with my diapers to fix them. So here is what I am thinking. I mentioned earlier I think there is build up, after all I have been dealing with stink for months now. So if one wash can strip the surface clean, I wonder if a long hot soapy soak will get down into the prefolds and inserts. And I want to say that it is not just my microfiber that stinks. They all stink including my cotton prefolds and flats. Yeah even my flats smell like ammonia.
So here is my plan. I have enough flats to get through at least a day. I will send my dirty diapers through a cold wash with just a bit of detergent then soak all my pockets, AIO, inserts, and prefolds in the tub with hot soapy water. Not sure how long. I will start with a few hours. Maybe for the afternoon. Then I will toss them into the washer for a hot soapy wash and end with a cold rinse. Now this is just my thoughts on the issue and I really have no idea if it will actually work, but I have to try something.
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