The Stink. (and what to do about it)

I'm a big cloth diapers advocate (and proud of it!) but lately I've had a battle on my hands.

The Stink.  (bom-bom-boommmmmm!)

We had ammonia buildup and we had it bad. It's not just the solid foods poop that can cause stinky cloth diapers, ammonia can be a big stinky problem. I have a feeling - and I hate to blame Calgary* - but I have a feeling that the hard water we were washing diapers in at our apartment while we were there this summer was a big contributor to the problem.

So I tried all kinds of things:

• different detergents (less, more, etc)
• sunning the diapers and inserts (according to my husband, UV rays break down ammonia)
• rocking a soak overnight with Rockin' Green (btw, the scent I have is Rage Against the Raspberry and I can't smell a darn thing. I'm not talking about after the wash is done because I get that the scent is not meant to stick around. I mean, the soap doesn't even smell like anything. Huh??)

nothing. worked.

Aughhhhh, stink!

Finally, I tried the Blue Dawn solution that I'd read about online. I was hesitant to put dish detergent in my HE front loader but I just couldn't take the stink any longer. I was desperate. In Canada - at least where I am in Canada - you can find the original Blue Dawn at Dollarama. A teaspoon in a front loader's detergent drawer, a hot wash and several rinses later (until there are no suds), and - no stink!

YAY. So don't bother with the other stuff if you come across this problem. Don't hesitate and muck around like I did. Head straight to the dollar store, spend a buck on a bottle of Blue Dawn and get the stink out.

Unfortunately, poop is still stinky and there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about that. I'm aiming to toilet train the moment she hits 18 months and has sphincter control.  
Yes, I just talked about poop and sphincter control on my blog.  I have become that blogger.

*despite my weird things about Calgary I and II posts, I developed a soft spot for the city and totally miss my friends there!! I'm not sure I miss the creepy giant rabbits though. just sayin'.

Watch it online

I used to work in an office - a law firm - back before I jumped off the big cliff of self-employment. I liked working with people around me (it's pretty lonely now, working at home), but hated office politics, and the stress of my job made me sick and unhappy. I'm definitely glad I have had the experience, though. It makes the show The Office all that much more funny.

We have just caught up on watching the series. We hadn't watched it at all before last month, but our friends had recommended it, and I saw one episode on the plane on our way out west in September. So when we came home we set about watching the entire series on ninjavideo.net. My husband has hooked his computer up to the tv set, which is great. We don't have cable, just an antenna in the attic and the computer. We stream pretty much everything we watch, from tv to movies and documentaries. The video quality is amazing these days and it's really not complicated.

Anyway, I am loving The Office and wanted to say, if you've heard about it and never watched it... give it a chance. You may find some of the characters horrible and offensive (honestly, it's part of the humour, although sometimes it really is too much) but the show is kind of about that and how his co-workers deal with that. There's a reason this show is into its sixth season.

And if you're interested in watching tv online, missed an episode, are so done with commercials, want to see a program that just isn't on the stations you get, want to watch a series from the start, etc... try watching online. We have a DSL connection and it's just fine for streaming. With the streaming, too, you don't have to wait for shows to download like in the past. Just click and the show starts. It really is amazing and I can't imagine paying for cable anymore. We like ninjavideo, project free tv, and there's a site called ovguide that is like a search engine for videos if you want something a little harder to find. I find the best is ninjavideo.

Okay, that was just something I was thinking about. Random, right? Here are some giveaways for today...

For baby:

• Win a $75 Zutano gift certificate (newborn clothes) at My Four Monkeys. Ends November 10th.
• Win a Double Reversible Bib from Bebe Au Lait at Mommy PR! Ends November 15th.
• Win a BambooBaby Knit Blanket by Bamboosa at Mkokopelli. Ends November 12th.
• Win a set of infant socks (0-12 months) in a cute tin by Hank & JoJo at BabyLuxe Daily. Ends November 11th.
• Win a 4-pack of BPA-free bottles or training cups from Born Free at Jabbering Jessi. Ends November 17th.
• Win an Organic Sleepy Wrap at The Bragging Mommy! Ends November 10th.
• Win a Bummis prize pack (wet bag, diaper, diaper cover and liners) at Canadian Natural Mama! Ends November 14th.
• Win a BumGenius 3.0 and a pair of Baby Legs at Mama Momo. Ends November 9th.
• Win a Baby Kaed diaper bag at Baby Loving Mama. Love that Shyla bag! Ends November 17th.
• Win a pair of cute Classic Giraffe shoes by Foxpaws at Just for Me And You. Ends November 13th.
• Win a Halo SleepSack at Organic Girl. Ends November 13th.
• Win an Organic Lil Striper Blanket from Sweet Kyla at Canadian Natural Mama. Ends November 20th.
• Win a set of 4 aden+anais muslin blankets at Organic Girl (three winners!). Ends November 25th.
• Win a Bottombumpers AIO at Monkey Toes Reviews and Giveaways. Ends November 15th.
• Win a Thirsties Fab-Fitted Cloth Diaper and Cover at Organic Girl. Ends November 30th.
• Win a Green as Wee Grow onesie or tee at Suburban Saving Mama. Ends November 17th.
• Win a pair of pants, a bodysuit, a kimono style bodysuit and a hat from Organic Beginings at Me and My Boys! Ends November 14th.
• Win an Organic Cotton Quilt ErgoPouch at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy. Ends November 14th.
  

For grown-ups:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at Leslie Loves Veggies. Ends November 15th.
  

A note about US contests and Canada

Recently I won a contest where the sponsor was an American company. They shipped the prize (quite quickly) through UPS. The prize had a value of $62.95. When it arrived at my door yesterday, UPS wanted me to pay $40 in brokerage, duty and taxes!

I asked the delivery guy to hang on to the package and give me a phone number and tracking number so I could try to sort things out with UPS. For anyone who doesn't know, contest wins are not taxable in Canada, unlike in the States. When I called UPS they suggested I follow up with the sponsor to see if that company would pay the fees. A quick email later, the host of the contest got back to me quickly saying she would follow up with the sponsor.

This morning the sponsor emailed me to say they could not pay the fee. I called back to UPS and while they said they could reduce the preparation fees as an act of goodwill, the fees would still be $20.

What it came down to was that I can't afford to pay, the company refused to do so, UPS would not waive the fees and I ended up refusing the package.

Here is what I have learned, that might come in useful to any of us Canadians and any US sponsors for the future.

• Canada is the ONLY country that allows a small exemption on items sent as gifts but all 3 of the following criteria must be met - AT THE TIME THAT THE ITEM IS SENT - for that exemption to apply:
  1) The item MUST ship from a personal address to a personal address ( anything that you buy or win and have sent directly from a company to your recipient will not qualify)
  2) The waybill AND commercial invoice must BOTH be marked stating that the item is a gift.
  3) The value of the items must be under $60 Canadian - anything over that $60 will be assessed all duties and taxes. (This explanation is from Momoforever on Smartcanucks.ca, I have edited it a little but essentially it is her information, credit where credit is due!)
• The difference between a courier company and the postal service (USPS linking with CP at the border) is that courier services are obligated to report every shipment while CP can pick and choose at will, thus often CP will let packages through that would get dinged with a hefty charge if sent UPS. UPS is apparently the WORST for brokerage/duty fees. when I look at the invoice for the package I refused, the brokerage fee was $29.55; about 75% of the fees they wanted to charge me.
• With Canada Post, you also have the option to appeal any fees. Recently I got a package through CP with a $10 fee on it. $10 happened to be affordable at the time so I just paid it, knowing that I could fill out the form on the back of the customer copy of the shipping invoice, send in copies of the emails I received from the contest sponsor and in all likelihood get my money back. UPS - no option to appeal, or, if there is (which would be through Canada Customs directly), they sure don't make it easy. You can't appeal the brokerage fees, that's for sure. The duties I imagine you could try to deal with Canada Customs but looking on their website, it is not easy to find out how. You'd have to call and work your way through the automated system.
  

Summary: Send it as a gift, value it less than $60 CDN, use a home address as a return address. Send it USPS instead of by courier (the extra time is worth it).

I was thinking that maybe the host of the contest would simply draw another name (a US winner this time) and the sponsor would send the prize to them. Or perhaps the unfortunate conclusion would be that the sponsor had tried to fulfill their end, it didn't happen, they were done with the whole thing.

But neither of these things happened. I'm going to end with the good news that the sponsor has very kindly decided to go the extra mile and, once they get the UPS package back, they're going to re-send the package using a different method. I haven't mentioned the sponsor's name or the host but if they are reading they will know who they are. I want to extend a big thank you to them for following up and really going above and beyond my expectations! Both were extra nice to deal with and truly helpful in resolving this!