Stinky shminky! I give a “meh” to the stinkies. The cloth diaper stinkies that is. Usually the cloth diaper stink refers to the ammonia smell that lingers in the diaper pail. I prefer this smell to the disposable diaper pail rotten poo smell. Is it weird to prefer one bad smell over the other?
The diaper pail I use for my cloth diapers has a little filter that allows some air flow to help keep the stinkies from partying like it’s 1999. And I know the ammonia monster is contained in the pail. It doesn’t sneak out and tap you on the shoulder like a sposie pail. There’s nothing worse than a slight cloud of stale poopy diapers in the air. Care bears need to breathe after all.
Sometimes I wonder if the things I talked about before having kids sounded this gross. Talking about snot and poo doesn’t really bother me. Puking might be another story. But luckily I haven’t had to deal with that yet. Oh wait, there was that time I had to pull over and let my husband puke out of the car. I was hoping I’d forget that sound.
If you are reading my blog for the first time and these things gross you out, I hope I haven’t scared you away.
So as I was saying, “pheeewwie!” I’ve tried all the stripping tricks I know of to combat the ammonia smell. I’ve soaked them in Rockin’ Green, Charlie’s Soap, done multiple washes with no soap, added bleach (which is generally a no no), tea tree oil, dawn, and I always add extra water to the cycle and do extra rinses. The good news is my diapers always smell fresh and clean after each wash. They only smell like ammonia after sitting in the pail a few hours or when Clara wakes up in the morning with a diaper that probably weighs 10 pounds. I suppose it could be worse. Some people say they smell ammonia as soon as their baby wets. Luckily I don’t have that problem.
I have a few theories as to why my diapers might get that smell. Perhaps the free and clear laundry detergent we use for the rest of our laundry leaves a residue in the washer, finding its way into the cloth diapers. Perhaps the very hard water with a lot of minerals affects the diapers. Perhaps my HE front loader washer doesn’t clean/rinse as well as our old top loaders since less water is used.
Either way, I still give a “meh” to the stinkies. It doesn’t grind my gears and it’s really the only complaint I have about cloth diapering. What works for you to get rid of the sshtinkies? I’d love some ideas!