First, I’m sick & tired of the ammonia. It only affects Ames’s diapers, and it’s random. I already got rid of our synthetics, changed up wash routines, switched detergents a billion times, and stripped the things with Dawn. We’ll go a week without any issues, and bam – the smell that makes your eyes water. And sometimes, the pitiful burns on his bum. I’m tempted to switch to disposables for him, since he’s hopefully potty-training in the next little bit. But I figure, we made it this far… cloth should still work for us. It’s not a hassle, and we already do it for the sisters. Help!
Also, how on earth am I supposed to not pout when my husband leaves town? I know I’m uptight to begin with. I’m working on that. But seriously, I come scarily close to throwing a toddler tantrum every time he packs up. I can’t help it; I just like being around him. It’s also frustrating having five days off and not being able to do much (in or out of the house) because you’re outnumbered by tiny wild beasts. Almost like not having any time off at all! But I will stop complaining. Thankfully, he doesn’t travel often. We’re most likely going to wind up like this couple, although Chris is convinced he’s going to outlive me because he’s more laid-back.
Lastly, who can recommend a good app for video editing? iPhone or computer; I don’t mind. I’m looking to take the short videos I capture on my phone and turn them into something fun (and more polished), something that we can keep forever. Basically, an Instagram concept for videos like this:
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Our ammonia issues have been pretty much done since we started washing diapers everyday. The other thing we do is a third wash. Every second or third day, we put the diapers in the washer and do the shortest wash cycle, on cold, with no detergent. Then we do the normal cold/cold wash with detergent and extra rinse, followed by the hot/cold wash with a little less detergent and extra rinse.
It’s a lot of water, but our daughters are very prone to rash and it has helped drastically. Also, our doctor had us start using neosporin on their little bums, when they get a little rashy. It comes right out of the diapers and does wonders for the rash.
Good luck. It would be a bummer if you had to put Ames in disposables at this point.
There is an app called “8 MM” for iPhone. I don’t know if you can combine videos but I do know that it gives you the option of making the videos look like silent movies or 60s family reunions or retro, etc. There are tons of settings and you can even add an effect where the film cracks. It is so cool, and by far, worth the $1.99.
Hang your diapers over grass, the chlorophyl (sp?) that comes off the green grass will really help get that ammonia smell out, it also helps bleach them and get them white. We had to wash every 2 days or so too, and always an extra rinse cycle. My son got rashes too :( good luck, funny vid!
sarah
nittygrittymom.blogspot.com
Thanks, y’all! Keep it going.
I might play around a little more with the washing, and if I can motivate myself to get the diapers outside I’ll try that!
I have 8mm but I’ve never learned how to use it. Off to explore now!
Try using 2 to 3 squirts of bacout in a prewash before actually washing the diapers with normal deterent.
I use gDiapers with cotton pre-fold inserts. On the inserts, I do a hand pre-wash and let them air dry before throwing them in the wash. I use a couple drops of Dr. Bronners soap (http://www.drbronner.com/) for the pre-wash in the sink. We only do the cloth inserts when he’s at home (he’s with a babysitter during the day) so it’s only typically two diapers a day during the week I have to deal with (one in the morning and one at night). For the weekends it gets a little more time consuming though, with more diapers piling up, so I’ve been using a bucket of water next to our toilet with a couple squirts of Dr. Bronners for a pre-soak since I only have to wash every couple days. It really helps to cut down on the ammonia smell.
I just recently switched to using Dropps laundry pacs (www.dropps.com) for all our laundry and I love them! I was worried about how they would work on the cloth diapers but they’ve been great. No overpowering perfumes and no rashes on the baby’s bum but they get the nasty stuff out of the clothes.
I started using a wet pail and switched my detergent. Funny thing is my synthetic diapers are more fresh than my natural fibers. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around. So glad I didn’t completely switch bc I was working on it.
I do a wet pail and have zero problems with odor.
Here’s my routine:
1. Fill 5 gallon bucket 2/3 with cold water and 3 squirts of Bac Out
2. Toss dirties in bucket for 2 days
3. Dump entire contents of bucket in washing machine and run a rinse cycle on cold.
4. Add a very small amount of laundry detergent and run a “Super” cycle on hot with 2 rinses.
5. Hang dry the shells and throw the liners in the dryer.
Wala!
Good luck.
Three time honored tricks that your Great Grandma would’ve used:
1/4 -1/2 cup baking soda in the wash or prewash
1/4 cup apple cider vineger (white works too) in the rinse
hang drying in the sun and fresh air (if you have the luxury)
I’ve been cloth diapering for going on 8 years now and I always come back to these because they work better than any product I have bought and they are cheap!
Hope this helps!
Leah
I don’t have any cloth diapering advice, but that video is hilarious! You have some fun kiddos!
on the diapers… We had this same issue when oliver got bigger ( around 2-2.5) and we switched to disposables. He was only going through about 3 in a 24 hour period and we worked on potty training by keeping him naked during certain hours of the day. I personally just couldn’t handle the smell. ick.
But this Norwex detergent I started using is really amazing. It’s a little pricey but lasts a long time. I wish I knew about it while I was cloth diapering. Hit me up if you want the info on it.
Good luck!
AMMONIA IS BASICLY BASIC, TRY A SPLASH OF ACIDIC VINEGAR IN YOUR DIAPER BUCKET TO RENDER IT ALL NEUTRAL, IT MIGHT CURB THE SMELL. MIZPAH. KEN
I get the same issue when I don’t wash every day OR I try to shorten it. But, what I do is, Cold wash with detergent on largest load and heaviest cleaning cycle, then I do two hot washes and one light wash on cold. Its a lot but I think its because our landlord has an ancient washer :) But, it works! good luck!
That video made my entire weekend. So stinking cute.
I use iMovie for a lot of editing. I think it’s pretty straight forward and should be on your mac (if you have one). You can combine stills and videos in one. I think it’s pretty easy. Hope that helps.
Let me know if you have any questions. I use it a lot.
Cloth diapering is a good thing, BUT, when my baby got rashes because of it, not worth it. I will not cause my child pain just so I can go around yapping about how I use cloth. News flash: no one really gives a crap. When they get older, they have a more varied diet, add cloth to that and you get painful rashes, no matter how vigilant you are about washing them. I raised half a dozen kids, I do have just a little experience.
Thank you for all the tips! Going to try a wet pail/bucket with some apple cider vinegar, and maybe some Bac-out.
@Anonymous – None of my babies have ever had any rash issues (other than yeast-related, but that’s a whole other topic). After a particularly long/wet night, Ames occasionally has a single red spot related to ammonia build-up, which was why I was asking for the advice. But I know every bum is different. And it’s not about people giving a crap or not (nice pun, haha!)… for us, it’s about saving money and cutting down on waste, while diapering three kids.