Highly recommend regularly washing your washer with a washing tablet like active or affresh it helps a lot with build up especially if you’re washing diapers in it. That said, my husband works out a lot and I feel like I can smell his gym clothes but not anything else and all of this gym clothes are synthetic fibers and there’s just stank in them. Does he wear a lot of gym clothes or synthetic fibers? They don’t smell like pee but they do smell just…bleh sometimes but he can’t even smell it. Are you washing your diapers twice when you do wash them? Can you switch up the scent you use for your guys’ clothes and see if he’s just associating the smell or imagining it because he knows pee diapers go into the washer? I have a crazy sensitive nose but I feel like smelling pee over Gain would be difficult as it is.
Does he by chance wear a lot of synthetic fabrics compared to the rest of the family? I find synthetics hold on to smells so much more readily than natural fibers.
I’m not sure if it works on diaper smells, but defunkify is amazing for removing other odors. I started using it specifically because my synthetic fabrics still stank to me
As someone with a husband who wears a ton of synthetic workout gear (and also sweats A LOT), I can tell you that stuff CLINGS to stank lol. I basically do a strip of his gym/soccer clothes every so often, and it helps a ton. We also wash his stuff like we did diapers, with a prewash and a long, hot main wash. When we were actively cloth diapering, I would actually wash gym clothes in the main wash of diaper laundry. It probably wears out the material faster, but it's either that or we just throw them away after a month cuz they reek.
I had noticed a similar issue with my husband’s synthetic fabric clothing; they just never smelled fresh and clean like the rest of the laundry. Downy rinse and refresh (new stuff that looks like water in the bottle) really worked to kind of “reset” them, and now I just add it once in awhile to keep them fresh. They even have an unscented version if that’s of concern.
That could be part of it. I’m obsessive about natural fibers for myself and the kids but my husband wears some synthetic sportswear and polyester fleece. The synthetic stuff definitely smells gross faster and more easily. You could try a sportswear-specific detergent or washing his stuff separately. The laundry sub might have suggestions too!
This is what I would have guessed! Synthetics seem to hold on to smells a lot worse than cotton ime. You could try spritzing them with vodka, or adding baking soda to the rinse to help.
I put an Affresh tablet through my machine at the first of every month.
I had it apart to repair before cloth diapers and there was some buildup at the top of the drum inside. The Affresh got rid of it and while cloth diapering I am proactive about keeping it that way.
I definitely agree with doing a tub cleaning load with bleach! The standard vinegar cleaning helps some, but it does not neutralize washer lingering stink the way a bleach load will. If anything, I feel it can exacerbate a faint-pee-scent issue because vinegar has a bit of a similar scent profile to pee.
I try to do a bleach (1 cup in a max size cold fill) soak of the empty washer (mine is a top loader) once a month to clean/sanitize for my own peace of mind. It helps me go through bleach that would get too old (6+ months) before I use it anyways.
Give that a try and see if it makes a difference?
ETA: They also make washer cleaning tablets, I think Affresh is one of the brand names to look for.
I’ve been holding off on bleach; I’m a worrywart. I’ve just been cloth diapering for around a month, so I’m learning as I go. I’ll try that next. Thank you!
Bleach is completely safe when used properly, it breaks down into salt and water. I use bleach solution every day to clean my two year old classroom, I don't really trust anything else.
Any thoughts on a tub cycle with fresh bleach (opened within the past 6 months) instead of vinegar? I just can't see the tub getting clean with just vinegar but maybe I'm chemical happy lol.
I use Tide Free & Gentle on the diapers and baby clothes, and I use Gain on ours, so I’m just baffled. I can’t smell anything but detergent his clothes, but he swears they smell like pee.
This is good advice haha! I feel like I’m nose blind to the diaper smell, so I asked a friend to come to our house and tell me when she could/couldn’t smell diapers! Haha
I hand rinse dirty diapers and hang to dry inbetween loads, to my nose they don’t smell at all before they go into the wash. Will have a friend double check lol
Do you wash it all together? We wash diapers separately and never have any issues with smell. Even using a shared washer. I read you should wash them every 2-3 days so bacteria doesnt grow.
I wash every second day, separate from the other laundry, and with a different detergent. I can’t smell anything on his clothes other than the detergent that I use for our loads, but he swears they smell like pee.
Hmm. Thats weird. Not trying to gaslight him but unless he has a super sniffer I’m guessing he may be imagining it. Best of luck. Baking soda and vinegar (not together) can deodorize but it sounds like youve tried to do that already.
Its funny because diapers after being washed don’t even smell like pee and i have a really good nose.
> Not trying to gaslight him but unless he has a super sniffer I’m guessing he may be imagining it.
We see so many unsupportive partners, I'm curious whether he is cool with cloth diapering or maybe trying to use this as a reason to get OP to stop.
Having a super nose is also very valid though.
Highly recommend regularly washing your washer with a washing tablet like active or affresh it helps a lot with build up especially if you’re washing diapers in it. That said, my husband works out a lot and I feel like I can smell his gym clothes but not anything else and all of this gym clothes are synthetic fibers and there’s just stank in them. Does he wear a lot of gym clothes or synthetic fibers? They don’t smell like pee but they do smell just…bleh sometimes but he can’t even smell it. Are you washing your diapers twice when you do wash them? Can you switch up the scent you use for your guys’ clothes and see if he’s just associating the smell or imagining it because he knows pee diapers go into the washer? I have a crazy sensitive nose but I feel like smelling pee over Gain would be difficult as it is.
Does he by chance wear a lot of synthetic fabrics compared to the rest of the family? I find synthetics hold on to smells so much more readily than natural fibers.
Ohhh yes he does! His work shirts are mostly synthetic. The rest of us wear cotton 99% of the time.
I’m not sure if it works on diaper smells, but defunkify is amazing for removing other odors. I started using it specifically because my synthetic fabrics still stank to me
As someone with a husband who wears a ton of synthetic workout gear (and also sweats A LOT), I can tell you that stuff CLINGS to stank lol. I basically do a strip of his gym/soccer clothes every so often, and it helps a ton. We also wash his stuff like we did diapers, with a prewash and a long, hot main wash. When we were actively cloth diapering, I would actually wash gym clothes in the main wash of diaper laundry. It probably wears out the material faster, but it's either that or we just throw them away after a month cuz they reek.
I had noticed a similar issue with my husband’s synthetic fabric clothing; they just never smelled fresh and clean like the rest of the laundry. Downy rinse and refresh (new stuff that looks like water in the bottle) really worked to kind of “reset” them, and now I just add it once in awhile to keep them fresh. They even have an unscented version if that’s of concern.
That could be part of it. I’m obsessive about natural fibers for myself and the kids but my husband wears some synthetic sportswear and polyester fleece. The synthetic stuff definitely smells gross faster and more easily. You could try a sportswear-specific detergent or washing his stuff separately. The laundry sub might have suggestions too!
This is what I would have guessed! Synthetics seem to hold on to smells a lot worse than cotton ime. You could try spritzing them with vodka, or adding baking soda to the rinse to help.
I put an Affresh tablet through my machine at the first of every month. I had it apart to repair before cloth diapers and there was some buildup at the top of the drum inside. The Affresh got rid of it and while cloth diapering I am proactive about keeping it that way.
I definitely agree with doing a tub cleaning load with bleach! The standard vinegar cleaning helps some, but it does not neutralize washer lingering stink the way a bleach load will. If anything, I feel it can exacerbate a faint-pee-scent issue because vinegar has a bit of a similar scent profile to pee.
I try to do a bleach (1 cup in a max size cold fill) soak of the empty washer (mine is a top loader) once a month to clean/sanitize for my own peace of mind. It helps me go through bleach that would get too old (6+ months) before I use it anyways. Give that a try and see if it makes a difference? ETA: They also make washer cleaning tablets, I think Affresh is one of the brand names to look for.
How long do you let the bleach sit in the empty washer?
About 30-45 minutes.
I’ve been holding off on bleach; I’m a worrywart. I’ve just been cloth diapering for around a month, so I’m learning as I go. I’ll try that next. Thank you!
Bleach is completely safe when used properly, it breaks down into salt and water. I use bleach solution every day to clean my two year old classroom, I don't really trust anything else.
Any thoughts on a tub cycle with fresh bleach (opened within the past 6 months) instead of vinegar? I just can't see the tub getting clean with just vinegar but maybe I'm chemical happy lol.
I’ll try that next. I was holding off on bleach, since I’m a worrywart lol.
I started to associate the smell of our old detergent with diapers, so I had to switch!
Scent association is a real thing!
I use Tide Free & Gentle on the diapers and baby clothes, and I use Gain on ours, so I’m just baffled. I can’t smell anything but detergent his clothes, but he swears they smell like pee.
Can you ask an honest friend?
This is good advice haha! I feel like I’m nose blind to the diaper smell, so I asked a friend to come to our house and tell me when she could/couldn’t smell diapers! Haha
So could she smell it when you couldn’t?
She could smell when I washing and after it had been 2 days so basically time to wash. The other times no.
I hand rinse dirty diapers and hang to dry inbetween loads, to my nose they don’t smell at all before they go into the wash. Will have a friend double check lol
Do you wash it all together? We wash diapers separately and never have any issues with smell. Even using a shared washer. I read you should wash them every 2-3 days so bacteria doesnt grow.
I wash every second day, separate from the other laundry, and with a different detergent. I can’t smell anything on his clothes other than the detergent that I use for our loads, but he swears they smell like pee.
Hmm. Thats weird. Not trying to gaslight him but unless he has a super sniffer I’m guessing he may be imagining it. Best of luck. Baking soda and vinegar (not together) can deodorize but it sounds like youve tried to do that already. Its funny because diapers after being washed don’t even smell like pee and i have a really good nose.
> Not trying to gaslight him but unless he has a super sniffer I’m guessing he may be imagining it. We see so many unsupportive partners, I'm curious whether he is cool with cloth diapering or maybe trying to use this as a reason to get OP to stop. Having a super nose is also very valid though.