Solving stinks

Ammonia build up

Cloth nappies can start to smell if the wee is not being cleaned out of them properly (ammonia build up). This is smelt when a baby wees in a clean nappy. A nappy storage basket should not be "smelt" in a room. It`s very distinct and must be dealt with asap, not left. It`s caused by something amiss in the wash routine.  Go through the checklist below to identify the cause, then correct it. Nappies must be "stripped" with chemical or oxygen bleach to get rid of the ammonia. This is easy and safe.

Wash routine checklist

1. Is the machine ¾ full? Not more or less. Nappies need agitation to get clean.

2. Are you using a detergent on our list? 

3. Is the machine cycle on the cotton / longest (2 hour cycle).

4. Are the nappies being rinsed in the machine before the main cycle?

5. Are night nappies being prewashed in the machine the day they come off the bum? This really works. If the nappy is only hand rinsed and left in a basket, the chances of build up are quite high. See our wash page on how to wash night nappies.

6. Do you have hard water? Nappies must be washed at 40`C if hard water is present. Powder detergent must be used and 10% more than the recommended amount. Never wash our covers on 40`C. You can add the covers to clothes below 30`C.

7. Too much detergent can lead to "soap build up" which causes stinks. The way to assess this is to watch the machine on the last rinse/spin- there should not be any bubbles. Wash the load again with no detergent. Again watch for bubbles. Continue to wash the nappies (no soap) until all bubbles have disappeared (this can take as many as 3 x machine cycles). Strip them and correct the detergent amount going forward.

How to fix stinks and strip nappies here.