Clean diapers shouldn't smell like a barn

So I love everything about my fluff. One of my favourite things is smelling the diapers when they are just clean and dried. I love the smell of clean fluff. But what happens when you open the dryer door and you are hit in the face with what smells more like hay and barn animals then clean diapers?  Well you my friend have a problem. Not hard to solve but a problem non the less.

Barnyard smell in your diapers means that they are not clean. End of story.  Thankfully it is simple to remedy.  Whenever someone has stinky diapers I suggest that they first clean their wash machine. It is good practise to clean your wash machine periodically even if you don't cloth diaper. Think of all the stuff that the machine deals with. To clean it you can buy commercial wash machine cleaners but it is not necessary. You can do the job with either 2 cups of regular chlorine bleach or 2 cups of white vinegar. Simply run a hot wash with vinegar or bleach and no clothes added. Finish with an extra rinse and you are done.

So you cleaned your washer now what? 

Barnyard can be caused by one of two things. First the diapers are not getting clean enough because you are not using enough detergent. This is common because the cloth community seems to advertise low dosing detergent. So if a regular load uses 2 tbsp. of detergent they will tell you to use 1/4-1/2 of that... um 1/2 tbsp. of detergent to wash pee and poop?  Don't think so! I always suggest using the recommended amount for your machine. So if a regular load uses to line1 on the scoop use to line 1. Now that being said people with soft water may need to use less and people with hard water may need to use more. As a safe starting point though, go with what is instructed on your detergent.

The second common cause of barnyard stink is because either you use the right amount of detergent but it is not rinsing away or you are using a bit too much and again it is not rinsing away. if the detergent is not rinsed away it stays in the fibres along with the pee and poop residue causing the stinkies. So what do you do and where do you start? Here are my recommendations try them in the order given changing nothing else:

1. Clean your washer.
2. Swap out the cold rinse at the end of your cycle for a warm rinse or warm wash. The warm water helps remove trapped particles better.
3. Add an additional rinse to the end of your routine. Those with HE machines or front loaders may need to add water to increase the amount of water going through the diaper.
4. Increase your detergent amount slightly. ( if you have been using to line 1 go to line 2, if you use 2tbsp use 3). Keep up with the rinses from before.  If you are using the amount recommended for a large or heavy load and you are still not getting the right results maybe that isn't the right detergent for you.
5. Switch to a cleaner rinsing detergent. My favourite detergent are Country Save and Nature Clean powder. Both are super clean rinsing and very gentle.

If you are still having issues you can email me at whitehorsefluffproject@yahoo.ca and I can troubleshoot with you.