Dry pailing, how to reduce odour?

[echidna]

What can I do to reduce the smell that builds up when I dry pail? I wash nappies every third day, and I soak the dirty nappies (anything soiled). The ammonia smell almost knocks me flat on my back.

[christy]

mmmm it can get bad. I put bicarb soda at the bottom of my pail... and the only other thing would be to wash more frequently.

[Visitor8]

I wash every day. I wont leave them for longer than 2 days and I wouldn't reccomend it. A lot of people have problems with wee eating the boosters etc. I haven't had a problem with smell because of that

[Macca79]

I use a nappy bucket with a lid which helps and baking soda with a drop or two of lavender oil in the bottom. It doesn't get rid of the smell completely but I find it does help a little.

I have also heard of people soaking a piece of muslin in a small amount of water and lavender oil. Wring it out and place it over the top of the bucket. Place nappies underneath the muslin. As it drys it retains the smell of the oil.

If possible try washing every second day.

[MantaRay]

I used citrus circles - little scented circles with a sticky holder so you stick it on the lid of the bucket (on the inside!). It helped a bit. A couple of the online nappy stores have them.

[Olive]

i leave the lid off and the laundry window open, only get knocked off my feet when i get to the bottom of the bucket

[echidna]

I don't want to have to wash more frequently, as I only wash 12 nappies at the most at a time, which is a half load in my machine. I will try putting bicarb in the bucket. Would this affect the wash if I use vinegar instead of fabric softener (another thread) ?

[Snacks]

I was going to suggest a couple of drops of lavendar oil on a strip of fabric too. (And hold your nose when you open the lid of your bucket!)

Oooh, fabric softener isn't a good idea for your nappies, echidna. Are you using MCNs or terry flats? Terry flats are ok to soak, but it's not a good idea to soak your MCNs in anything (if its just water, no worries there.) Using fabric softener in the wash and using soaps for soaking tend to coat the fibres of your nappies and make them less absorbent.
I use vinegar in my washes but not every time. The vinegar wears out the elastic so it's not recommended, but I find it helps stop my nappies from smelling after they've been washed, so for me it is worth it.
I haven't used bicarb before so don't know if that would affect anything. I would think with the amount of water used in teh wash it \wouldn't make too much of a difference.
HTH!

[echidna]

I have some pocket nappies that are second hand and the majority are flats with fleece covers.

[*Lisa*]

I wash everyday and I put tea tree oil in the bottom of the pail, this hides the smell.

[storm]

I just stuck one of those duck toliet disc thingies on the lid of my bucket.I'm stick of getting overpowered when I open the lid.I hope it still smells nice even without the water running over it.

I'll let you all know how it goes in a few days LOL

[Nai]

I use tea tree oil too.

[MummyTummy]

I've experimented a little with this and actually found that just dumping in a bucket with no lid and allowing the air to circulate round the nappies has worked the best. They only stink while they are fresh and when you disturb them i.e. getting them out of the bucket to put in the washing machine.

Everytime I use the lid on the bucket the smell gets so overpowering and the condensation build up in the bucket just makes it worse. I have tried various smelly (or de-smelly) things in there and found that although they masked the smell a little I still found it didn't completely overpower it so then I had two smells combined which I hated!!

HTH

[echidna]

Not sure if DF will be ok with the open bucket. As its me who washes them, I guess I have to deal with it. But I have found the smell to be tolerable now, as I'm not opening the back door in the morning, letting sun into the laundry. So now the bucket is in the shade, its not smelling so bad. I put eucalyptus oil in the bucket, letting it drip around the rim, and that helps.

[Pandora]

I wash every day. I wont leave them for longer than 2 days and I wouldn't reccomend it. A lot of people have problems with wee eating the boosters etc. I haven't had a problem with smell because of that

I was planning to wash every 2 days, so you think every day is necessary? or just more than 2 is bad?

For DS' when he was little I did the lavender oil drops in the bucket and that seemed to work well.

[Ezz]

Every two day ss fine & managable when they are little. I have found as DS is older that I don't nee dto wash so often though as he uses a lot less nappies. I wash mine every 2-3 days - but if it's going to be the 3rd days before I wash, I put them into the machine on day 2 & fill it with water (sometimes I do this after day 1 if the bucket is stinky). Then I just add them straight into the water as I use them - I figure that makes it ok going a bit longer - but maybe I'm ruining my MCNs?

The other thing I do is to rotate the buckets - I have a few & leave them out in the sun when they are empty to kill the germs & get rid of smells.

Hey, has anyone tried sticking one of those lemon dishwasher deodorisers into the lid??

[leesha]

I'm new to the MCN and was wondering if it is ok to soak the nappies and boosters in a small amount of just cold or warm water till they are washed.(Nothing in the water at all) Will this damage the nappies at all over time? I have read my instructions and they say you can soak in small amount of water but I wanted someone's experience!!
I wash every 2nd as my stock pile isn't very big yet!
I dry pailed a few times but the smell was pretty bad.

[Ezz]

I wet pail the pooey ones & dry pail the wet ones. Never had any problems doing this. As I posted before I sometimes leave mine soaking in the machine for a day or two in water - which I guess is equivalent to wet-pailing. My nappies are still going strong after over a year. No problems with leaks, worn elastics, faded colours etc.