Noxious Nappies - Beat Nappy Odour Issues

One of the most difficult and dreaded aspects of ‘fluffy bum parenting’ (or cloth nappy-ing) is dealing with the infamous dirty nappy smell in your house all day long. In fact, its not exclusive to cloth nappies – disposables pong just as much!

Nappy odour is one of the pains of parenting

Rest assured that the fact you dread nappy smell doesn’t mean you aren’t a good parent or that you love your kid any less!

It is something every parent dreads and finds difficult dealing with, especially if it’s their first child. The good thing is that you can actually make this dreaded smell disappear if you have the right tricks up your sleeve. We've put a short list together for you to help start you out in the right direction :)

To help you with this parenting nightmare, here are some tips on how nappy smell can be avoided;

Ask Others if the Smell is Really There

First of all, you need to take the honest opinions of your family or friends to find out whether your home is really having a lingering smell or not. A common fact is that most parents usually smell things when others can’t simply due to a psychological paranoia. So, asking someone who doesn’t have to deal with changing nappies regularly is a good way to know if your house really smells or if it’s just you imagining things.

Create a Single 'Smelly Room'

If the smell is lingering in the room you use for changing nappies, a baby-friendly cleaning spray is what you need. However, this will work if you limit nappy changes to a single room only and have a separate changing station at one spot in the house. This would keep the lingering smell in one particular area, making it easier for you to clean it up later. With a separate area for changing nappies, you can then use all natural air fresheners like the range available in our Online Store in that area regularly to avoid any lingering and unpleasant odours.

Learn to Tackle the Nappy Pail

The worst case of nappy smell happens around the area you have kept the nappy pail in. The best thing to do to keep your pail from smelling really bad is to empty it regularly. I place a paper or cloth towel soaked in water soluble tea tree oil at the bottom of the pail, then place the nappies on top. I then use a deodouriser such as the one mentioned in our blog post here.

Get Rid of Low Quality Nappies and
Choose the Right Stuff

If there seems to be a long lingering smell in your nappies even after washing, strip washing or soaking, then there may be something happening with either:

A)     Your baby’s diet and / or urine and feces.

B)      The brand of nappy you are using

C)      The type or fabric of the nappy you are using

For example, teething babies are far more acidic than non-teething babies in terms of urine, so your nappies will have an overpowering ammonia smell during this time. Double up on Tea Tree cloths in your pail and empty every day or two. Try to alkalise your baby’s diet with greens and cut out sugar.

If the brand of nappy you are using seems to smell no matter what you do, then perhaps consider a laundering service or a nappy library to assist with this. A professional laundering service like ours can ensure your nappies are lovely and clean smelling without compromising shelf life.

Fabrics such as microfiber and bamboo are prone to holding in odour because they are so absorbent. These fabrics need to be laundered extra carefully to ensure they are fully clean before reuse. Soaking in warm water and a gentle, biodegradable detergent before washing can help release the uric acid crystals which can cling to the fibres and cause the odours to linger. Alternatively, do an extra rinse in your machine and toss in some Eucalyptus or Tea Tree oil with a  dash of white vinegar to assist in vapourising odours fast.


Smelly nappies is not just a cloth nappy issue, it is part and parcel of parenting babies. If you are having trouble with odours and can’t work out what else to do, drop us a line below and lean on our industry expertise to resolve your noxious nappy issues!

Happy Cloth Nappy-ing!
The Team at Lavenderia

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