Breaking my hiatus to ask question

[sociologygeek]

I know I said Id be gone for 90 days, but i have an important question to ask. Internet use is allowed for serious reasons. I left my cloth diapers unwashed for days and now they all smell like ammonia. Any tips on getting rid of the smell? So far, Ive done an extra prewash on cold before the main wash on hot. Could I be overloading the machine? I'm asking because I did a pre wash yesterday and they still smelled like ammonia. Would the smell come out in the main wash?

[Ellyn]

I try to wash in Hot water with tide, detergent booster (24 mule team), and non-chlorine bleach (Clorox 2) within 12 hours of ‘wetting’, if possible. If I can’t do a regular wash, I at least try to do a ‘quick wash’ or a rinse and spin as a minimum. If the diapers begin to smell badly, I substitute non-chlorine with chlorine bleach, though I try to avoid chlorine as much as possible.
On occasion, I’ve had to wash twice, without drying in between.
The detergent booster seems to help with whitening and odor removal a lot.
I hope this helps.

[Patrick]

While my diapers are in the washer, I wipe the pail down with PineSol in hot water.