Smelly Nappies-when clean Some parents report that their nappies start to smell after a while, even when clean. It isn't an overly common problem, but it obviously isn't so pleasant if you are affected. The nappies most prone to this seem to be those containing some polyester in the fibres, such as 85% cotton/ 15% polyester. I am not sure why this happens, but here are a few suggestions to help with this problem. Experiment to see which is most effective for you. Check the temperature you wash your nappies at, nappies washed regularly at 40 degrees seem to suffer from this more than those washed regularly at 60 degrees. Do a one off 90 degree wash. The most effective way to deal with this is to do a biological wash occasionally. However, since biological detergents can be quite irritating to sensitive skin, either do a normal non bio wash afterwards, or do a second wash cycle (cool will do), but with no detergent. This will ensure that the nappies are very well rinsed before you use them on baby again. You won't need to do this all the time, usually about once a month is enough, but the best way is to only do it when you feel the nappies are getting a bit whiffy again. Try soaking with tea tree oil. Sometimes a build up of detergent may have occurred. Try washing the nappies without any detergent, then rinsing again. If the nappies seem softer after this, reduce the amount of detergent you use in future. Try a different detergent brand. Try drying in direct sunlight as often as possible. Reduce the number of nappies in each wash to give them more room to circulate in the washing water. I'm afraid it's trial and error, and if you are reading this before buying any nappies, remember that 100% cotton nappies don't seem to suffer from this problem.
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