Stinky Fuzzi Bunz

[melody]

I've been using Fuzzi Bunz for about seven months now and lately they have begun to stink. They smell very strongly of urine. Any suggestions?

[magoo]

Is it the insert or the diaper itself?

My jamtots hemp inserts started to smell, so I boiled them for 5 min, and it worked like a charm. You can't boil anything with snaps, though.

When the actual FB started to smell, I added 1/4 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser on my machine.

[Brandi]

I had this same problem. There are a lot of ideas at mothering.com - maybe too many ideas. But, that's where I started. Here are some things that I can think of off the top of my head:

Are the diapers stinky when they come out of the dryer or when they get peed in? If they are only getting stinky after they are peed in, then my guess is that the soap is not getting totally rinsed out of them.

Do you have a front loader or a top loader? Front loaders use much less water and some people resort to adding more water to help rinse. The delicates cycle is supposed to use more water so I always use that instead of the standard cycle.

The type of soap you use is a huge factor. Too much soap is bad. I think a lot of people recommend about a tablespoon of soap. I found that a tablespoon wasn't enough for me so I upped it to around two tablespoons. I use Arm and Hammer powder. I can't remember what most people use - I think it varies. Some really love Tide, other absolutely hate it. You just have to try some different ones. Just use a small amount. Also, I guess those Free and Clear detergents are horrible.

Also, hot water rinses much better than cold. Our washer doesn't have a hot/hot setting. So, I end up washing on hot/cold and then rinsing an extra time on warm/warm. It's better than nothing.

Soft water rinses a ton better than hard water. I use water softener. You can buy it in a container much like the detergent containers. I find it in the detergent aisle. I think it's calgon, but I can't remember exactly. It's a white bottle. That helps me a lot.

The ph of the water and urine can be a problem. Some people add baking soda to the wash and vinegar to the rinse to neutralize the baking soda. I found that baking soda really helps, but the vinegar makes things much worse. I add around a 1/4 cup or a little more to the wash.

Some people use Sportwash (I found it in the hunting section at Walmart). It is supposed to get out ALL smells. It didn't work for me though.

Some people use BacOut, which I believe is similar to Sportwash. Again, it didn't work for me, but we use it for other things, like dog peeing on the carpet and such.

Do you use a wet pail or dry pail? If you let the diapers sit too long, they might get stinky from that. I know most people recommend going only 2 days.

Some people really like using tea tree oil. It is quite expensive though, but you only need a handful of drops. It is supposed to kill germs and give everything a nice smell. I don't use it though.

I end up boiling my diapers every 6 months or so. I got a huge pot and just boil them in there for about 20 minutes. It seems to help a bit. But I only boil the inserts, not the actual fuzzi bunz. I use hemp. Hemp tends to hold in the detergent much more than other stuffers. It's SOOOO absorbent.

So, here's my routine. I have a front loader also.
1. Dry pail - wash every 2 days
2. First set to cold/cold wash. Heavy soil. Delicates setting. Add 1/4 cup baking soda (you can get large containers of this - sometimes in the detergent aisle).
3. Second wash on hot/warm. Same settings otherwise. I add a tiny bit of Arm and Hammer powder - like 2 tablespoons maybe. Also, I add the water softener - like maybe a half cap to full cap.
4. Warm/warm rinse with extra rinse.
5. Put inserts into dryer and hang dry the fuzzi bunz.

I hope this helps in some way. I'm sure there are probably other answers, but this was off the top of my head. I know how frustrating this is. I thought that talking with my friends in my area would help since we are all using the same water, but no. I had to figure it all out on my own. It's different for everyone. Good luck! I'll try to help more if I can. And don't just give up right away either. I finally got a system down that works for me. It was just a pain getting here.

[Michal]

The title of this thread makes me laugh whenever I read it :lol: Stinky Fuzzi Bunz......hehehe.