Stripping cloth questions

Okay, it's a long one so here we go...

Over time my LO's nappies have been developing a musty/fusty odour, it isn't like the ammonia smell. They come out the washing machine clean and smell clean, but once they are dry on the line the smell is there.
Only a few nappies out of the stash, such as the Easyfits v3's are developing leak issues.
I decided to strip wash today and my that took a loooong time! I run a cold wash, then a hot wash with full dose plus soda crystals then rinse...
I did two loads, and separated them into inserts and AIO's, pockets and wraps. The insert rinses had bubbles and the AIO rinses did not. I would have though that the Easyfits would have coughed up some build up?
Interestingly whenever I wash the nappies with Ariel Actilift there are no bubbles in the rinses at all, which makes me question whether the washes are sufficient enough.

This is my routine and I live in a very hard water area of the UK:

cold rinse 12 mins.
drain
full wash 40-60deg with 40ml ariel actilift and heaped tbsp soda crystals, extra water; 1hr21
drain
2 x cold rinse

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[clothmama]

Hi @sophDC perfecting the balance when washing cloth nappies - always a delicate balancing act !!

Firstly you are doing the right thing by doing the cold rinse first as hot water can set odours like urine. The next thing that jumps out at me is to stop using liquid - it is the worst thing you can do for washing nappies as it builds up terribly (from what I understand it is not great for your machine either!) and is notorious for causing odours. If you have a very hard water area I'd try a 1/2 dose of powder and see how that goes and then you can adjust up or down. I used to use 1/2 a tablet in France where we had soft water (it was 2 tablets to a load so that was a 1/4 load). When we moved back to Oz we were living with quite (not very though) hard water and I needed a 1/2 dose of powder so it can vary and if you are very hard you may even need 2/3 or something like that. I honestly suspect that making that switch may well solve your issues. Try it and if it doesn't come back and we can suggest other options

Thanks Tory!
I do use powder, the ariel measuring cup uses ml, sorry for the confusion, should've stated that.
I reckon we have very hard water here, when you say 2/3 of a dose are you referring to a tablet, or 2/3 of the recommended dose for normal laundry?
The inserts are spending as much time outside on the line as possibly, I really hope they are okay.
I have noticed that on other forums that quite a few people have had smell issues with TB Easyfits v3 in particular :s

Tory means 2/3 of the recommended dose I would imagine.

It might be worth trying a different powder too, if the Ariel isn't working for you.

Thanks Sim
I used Bold2in1 with my daughter's nappies during her newborn and small size nappy stages. Perhaps i should return to using Bold...
Will switching detergent cause any immediate problems i.e build up?
Thanks