I wish my aunt was awake LOL. That is where she lives! She is about to move back to TX and has an awesome house for sale hehe.
found this info on another board and it seems pretty informative.
Hi
I was having the same problem about a month ago. First check your detergent. You can go to:
PinStripes and PolkaDots your Diaper Shop
Next, this was the method suggested to me on the old BBC site. I have saved it for future referrence on a Word document (hey, I'm a geek!)
Hope it helps!
Ammonia can be caused in two ways:
1. Chemical formation because urine contains urea ((NH2)2CO). The body really wants to get rid of ammonia (NH4+), but ammonia is toxic, so it is converted to urea in the liver. Over time and with sufficient heat, urea will convert back to ammonia in your diapers;
and
2. Biological formation due to bacterial buildup in the diapers. Often older babies have more ammonia problems, probably because they have started solids and have more bacteria in their intestines and therefore in their feces.
You can do a few things to keep ammonia at bay.
1. Keep an open pail. Many of the reactions that turn urea back into ammonia are anaerobic (don't use oxygen), so keeping the lid off will keep a higher concentration of oxygen circulating around your diapers.
2. Wash frequently with vinegar in the pre-rinse. Ammonia is basic and vinegar is an acid. An acid plus a base makes a salt and water. Usually the salt is water soluble, which makes it easier to get rid of in your wash.
3. Keep your diaper pail somewhere cool. Reaction rates double for every 10 degrees celcius rise in temperature. Therefore, if your house goes from 20 degrees in the winter to 30 degrees in the summer, you will get ammonia problems twice as often in the summer.
4. Don't use baking soda unless you want to have to use more vinegar. Baking soda is a base, so you will need more vinegar to neutralize both the baking soda and the ammonia.
5. Use enough soap in the wash to actually get your diapers clean. Getting rid of the bacteria (soap doesn't usually kill bacteria, just interacts with their ability to adhere to the fabric), will keep your ammonia problems at bay.
6. After your cold prerinse/soak, wash in the hottest water you can to completely dissolve the ammonia salts that are present in the diapers.
What type of soap you use probably won't affect things much. Some people find that Bac Out seems to get rid of their problems. It has no caustic ingredients (no bases), so it will not contribute to the problem anyway. Your cheapest method will probably be to find cheap vinegar in bulk and a laundry detergent that you can buy locally that has no dyes, brighteners or enzymes.
I just use normal, cheap white vinegar. I buy it in 4 L (I think that's about a gallon?) jugs and go through 1 every 2 weeks.
4 L divided by 14 days means that I use approximately 1 1/3 cups per load. I have a front loader, so keep that in mind.
I add it to the cold pre-rinse I do before washing.
Linear Mode
