Why do my cloth nappies smell?

Not using enough detergent, washing in cold water, and over or underloading your washing machine can all lead to smelly cloth nappies. If your cloth nappies have a barnyard or ammonia smell, or smell strongly of urine as soon as your child wees in them, it is time to reassess your wash routine.

All laundry, including nappies, should smell completely clean out of the washing machine. With adequate agitation, the right amount of quality detergent, some laundry booster/stain remover and warm-hot water (40-60⁰C), nappies should come out of the machine smell free.

If your cloth nappies smell, check that you’re doing the following:

• Are poo nappies being rinsed within 24 hours?
• Are you doing a separate pre wash cycle?
• Is the machine loaded correctly? See Front Loader Wash Routine, Traditional Top Loader Wash Routine, High-Efficiency Top Loader Wash Routine.
• Are you doing a daily pre wash cycle?
• Is enough detergent being used in both pre and main wash?
• Is the detergent strong enough to remove poo? See the Detergent Index.
• Is the water temperature at least warm-hot (40⁰- 60⁰) for pre and main wash?
• Are there excess suds in the front loader?

Perfect your wash routine

Use our resources to get your nappies smelling great again.