The Stinky Battle

Whether you want to admit it or not, I think every mom (and dad) has battled with stinky diapers at some point in their cloth journey. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Stink can be caused by so many different things- too much detergent, not enough detergent, not enough rinsing, too many days between washes, etc. So today, I’m going to walk you through some quick and easy things to help cure your diapers of stink.

1. Stinky diapers out of the washer

If your diapers are stinky straight out of the machine, you probably didn’t add enough detergent to start. I would run another hot wash with more detergent and an extra rinse or two (check for bubbles if necessary) and see if that helps things. You can also add a little bleach once a month or so to really kill the stinkies in your finicky pockets. In fact, bumGenius recommends it on their website here: http://www.bumgenius.com/help.php They also recommend using a little Dawn detergent, but I would tread carefully with that one if you have an HE machine. It can cause too many bubbles and create unnecessary issues with your washing machine.

2. Stinky diapers out of the dryer

One of the reasons your diapers will stink out of the dryer is too much detergent. It can build up, leaving behind stink. There are a few things you can do to solve this problem. You can add an extra rinse or two to the end of your wash routine and you can dry your diapers in the sun. Drying your diapers in the sun does two great things for your diapers. The fresh air gets rid of a lot of the stink and the sun bleaches your diapers naturally to rid them of stains. EBF poo comes out really well in the sun, actually.

3. Stinky diapers after baby pees

Personally, I would do a rinse cycle, followed by a soak cycle with detergent before your regular wash routine for this one. Again there’s a build-up of detergent and/or old waste in the diapers. When it gets wet, it stinks. I do regular soaks in Rockin’ Green for my pockets and have few stink issues now. My prefolds never seem to need it. I think this one just varies from one diaper to another.

Keep in mind for all of these things that you should be using cloth diaper friendly detergent, washing regularly (every 2-3 days at the most), and adjusting your routine based on your water type. Hard or soft water can really mess with your routine.

I hope these ideas have helped you out! Happy washing!