Stinky diapers no more!

After 2+ years of cloth diapering 2 kids, I considered myself somewhat well-versed in the realm of diaper laundry. But for the last 5 months or so I have been stupefied at the awful smells the diapers were generating as soon as they got wet. One (not even poopy) diaper was stinkier than the whole dirty diaper pail used to be.

I tried almost everything. Extra pre-washes. Extra rinses. Extra soap. Less soap. Turning the hot water heater way up. Tea tree oil. The only things I did NOT try were boiling, and washing them in the dishwasher. (The only reason I didn't try the dishwasher trick is my new dishwasher does not give you the option of skipping the rinse-aid.) Some loads were better, some were worse, but they all had SOME kind of smell about them...

Finally, my former-chemistry-tutor genius husband decides to tell me "anything that smells like THAT has a bacteria problem." He was thinking it was actually in the kids' system and not in the diapers. But because certain things I did in the wash made the problem a little better, and other things made it worse, I felt pretty sure that the problem was with the diapers, not with the kids.

I really try not to put anything chemical in/on/around my diapers, but I was soooo desperate. I am happy to report that just one wash with ~4 oz of Pursue Disinfectant Cleaner (plus an extra 2 rinses to make sure there was none of it left to irritate sensitive bottoms) and the problem was gone. G-O-N-E. The diapers coming out of the wash smelled like nothing. It was awesome. I'd forgotten how smell-less clean diapers were supposed to be. I really am past ready for these kids to potty-train (and Katie is in the process, slowly, and Sammy says he will use the potty when he is 4. Which is in just a few weeks!) but I do really love cloth diapering! I am glad I get the opportunity to do it all over again here in a few more weeks!