Won't the nappies smell while waiting to be washed?

This is a common concern, but when a disposable nappy is removed it sits in a bin in just the same way, for probably a greater length of time! You will most certainly find that a bucket full of disposable nappies smells far worse than a bucket full of reusable nappies. The aroma generated when urine interacts with the chemicals in disposable nappies is incredibly strong, you simply do not get this with cloth nappies.

My Nappies smell of Ammonia - Help!

An ammonia smell on your nappies is not normal and indicates a detergent build up. Place them on a hot wash without detergent to help clear the build up. Try reducing the amount of detergent you use in future and check the rinse cycle at the end of the wash for any soap suds- if you see any, rinse again.

It may also help to do a cold rinse and hold cycle before the wash. Hold the nappies in the rinse for a few hours- I find this really helps to clear them out properly before you do a hot wash cycle. 

Smaller wash loads will help too - modern day washing machines are designed to minimise the amount of water used, but unfortunately this is not always conducive to washing cloth nappies! Super absorbent nappies such as bamboo soak up any water very quickly, so smaller loads will help the water load to go further!

A further tip is to hang your nappies out on the line on a rainy day. The rain water will help significantly to clear out any smells or build up on your nappies.