So...what's your latest run-in?

Even with all the information out there on the web, you may still have hang-ups and snags with cloth diapering (pun intended).  My latest dilemma that I came across was ammonia.  Oh, that dreaded dead fish smell that would smack me in the face some mornings when I would open my son's bedroom door or when I would open the wetbag to toss in a dirty diaper.  This had to go, PRONTO!   I guess as children get older, their urine contains more urea and so it becomes much more potent.  After doing lots of research and thinking, here's what I came up with and decided to give it a try:

After reading this post of a woman who decided to give it a try, I did exactly as she did.  After buying the smallest bottle of Top Fin Ammonia Remover from the pet store ($4), I did the following:

 First, I washed my diapers so that they were "clean".  Then I filled up my washing machine with HOT water and added 15 mL (there's a nifty measuring cup in the lid) to my washing machine with my diapers in it.  I left the lid open and let them sit and soak for 30 minutes, then closed the lid and let them run through a wash.  I followed it up with another HOT wash with a COLD rinse without anything added to make sure everything was rinsed out good.  Then followed it with another COLD rinse.

The results?  Amazing!  No dead fish smacking me in the face in the mornings anymore :)

Ammonia can build up and get pretty strong if there is no air circulating around a urine-soaked diaper.  So to avoid ammonia altogether, I make sure to change my son first thing when he wakes up (better chances of it only being soaked with urine) and then afterward I rinse out the diapers worn at night in the sink and hang it over the shower rod to dry.  Then when it's dry it either goes straight into the washing machine or into the wetbag until wash day.  Simple enough for me :)

What problems have you run into lately?