Ins and Outs of Our Cloth Diapering System
I’ve answered questions about cloth diapering and what we do via email/real life conversations to so many friends and blog friends in the past; I figured it will be easiest just to put it all in one place. And since Lynsey asked for more information, here is more than you probably ever wanted to know.
We went around and around about the whole idea of cloth diapering when I was pregnant with Josiah. It would save on trash, but what about water? What kind do you get? How do I know if they are good ones? We ended up putting off our decision until we met some people in real life who actually used them, let me watch them in action, and even let me borrow a few to try out. We bought our first set of diapers when Josiah was seven months old and haven’t looked back.
The cost has probably been the same as we would have spent diapering him in the cheapest disposables full time, but New Baby and Subsequent Baby(s?) will be diapered for almost free. It isn’t nearly as much work as you probably imagine it to be, and Josiah has a nice, healthy little bum. Our water use has stayed almost the same, in the summer we use one more unit of water than we did before we had a kid, so I know it isn’t just wasting tons of water and we don’t live in a place prone to drought.
If any of this upcoming diaper lingo confuses you, you can learn more about different types of diapers here.
If you have a newborn, or even an older baby, prefolds and covers are the cheapest way to go. I haven’t used them yet, but we will be using prefolds and Bummis Whisper Wraps and ProWraps for New Baby, who will be cloth diapered those first six to nine months for cheap, cheap, cheap. I really like pocket diapers–waterproof outside, wicking inside with a pocket in the back to stuff in the absorbent layer. I have had great experiences with Fuzzi Bunz, which you buy in different sizes (small, medium, large), and I really like Bum Genius diapers, one-size, pocket. It has snaps and adjustments so it fits a baby from 8 to 30+ pounds. They are a great diaper, and we have a lot of them. Also, I’m enjoying sewing pocket diapers to supplement our stash.
One of the best parts about cloth diapering is the wipes. It is amazing how much better they are at cleaning up than those other flimsy, thin excuses for wipes. I made our own wipes out of an old towel on one side and flannel on the other. I soak them with water and a little squirt of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint, squeeze out the excess and store them in an old wipes box.
What about the poop? The most pressing question! Basically, you just take the poop-filled diaper to the toilet. Shake off whatever you can get off into the toilet, but don’t work too hard at it. If it doesn’t shake off, it WILL come out in the wash. I have a diaper sprayer that I used for a while, but it really makes more of a mess than it’s worth, in my opinion. For pockets, pull out the insert, and place the soiled insert and outer cover in your diaper pail (I use a flip-top plastic trashcan). If your pail stinks, shake some baking soda in it. Wash at least every three days to prevent nasties from growing legs and eating everyone in your house. If your baby is strictly breastfed, you don’t even need to bother with the shaking until they start solids.
When it is time to wash, dump the entire contents of your pail into your washer. Some people line their pail with a wet bag, but I don’t because I never bothered to buy one, but I plan to for the next baby. I just dump it out and then rinse the pail with my kitchen sprayer and dump the water into the washer. Then I spray the pail with some vinegar/tea tree oil spray and it removes the ammonia smell. I keep my pail in the garage since my nose is so sensitive these days.
For washing, I do the second smallest/medium load setting and run an initial cold rinse. There is a cycle on my washer for “second rinse”. After that is finished, I run a long wash cycle on hot. I add 1/2 of the recommended amount of Purex Free and Clear (like 1/4 cup), a shake of baking soda (about 1/2 cup?) and that’s it. After that wash cycle, I run another second rinse cycle on cold with about 1/4-1/2 cup of white vinegar. The vinegar gets rid of any extra soap buildup and breaks down the urine smell. The poop will all come out, but you might have something interesting like grape skins on the side of your washer.
It is important not to use just any laundry soap that has fragrances or dyes, and NO fabric softener. Excess soap and fabric softener cause buildup on the diapers, making them less absorbent and VERY stinky. I was using too much soap for a while and the diapers reeked as soon as they got wet (this problem can be remedied and is called “stripping” the diapers.)
After they are done, if it is nighttime, rainy or winter, I hang the covers to dry on a line of thin rope that Thomas hung above our washer and dryer, and I throw the inserts and wipes into the dryer and dry them on medium-high for 40-50 minutes. If it is warm out and not night, I hang everything on the line, but it takes the inserts a good 3 hours to dry in this humidity. The sun does an amazing job at brightening everything up and removing any stains.
If you made it this far, you deserve a pat on the back! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. There are so many different kinds to chose from out there, so I’d be sure to read reviews of them before you buy them. If I know you in real life, and you want to see and feel them, you are more than welcome to, just ask.
Yea!! thank you for putting this up. I was wondering about these, me and carlos have been thinking about this. I have no idea what’s what, i think if we do this we will do the velcro ones, the snaps look to hard to do when a child is rolling. I was wondering about how much the cost is when you start up? also is it possible to buy some locally, that way i save on shipping. i think we might try these on the next baby, but have some disposable ones in the diaper bag for visits with parents, that way it’s easier on them. I know this is odd, but i saw the “try it out” package on the Bum genius site, do you think that’s a good idea, or would it be best to look at consignment shops? I think i’d like to try it before i just jump in. thanks!!
Great questions, Kaylene. The snaps can be difficult with a rolling baby, but the downside is that the velcro wears out after a while (like some of ours are wearing out but we’ve used them for over a year–if you can sew you can replace it). Depending on how old your baby is, you could get by with fewer diapers. If they are a newborn, they tend to need changed 10-12 or more times a day. As they get older, they need fewer and fewer. We started with 6 diapers and now have like 12 or so (per stage/age). We often keep disposables around for emergencies in the car, diaper bag and traveling on trips.
Locally, you can buy BumGenius at Cloud 9, the baby store on Harvey across from the mall. She carries some other types of cloth diapers there as well, including prefolds and covers. You can also find used diapers online at diaperswappers.com if you want to try them out. I don’t know if you’ll have much luck finding any at consignment stores, but maybe? I didn’t see the try-it-out package except for a prefold and cover package. It sounds like a pretty good deal, not a ton of savings, but a good starter for trying!
Hey Rachel…
I don’t know a thing about cloth diapers, but I got this in my e-mail today, it is 15% off Rainbow cloth diapers…it’s not a coupon or anything, just a sale. I immediately thought of your post when I saw it.
http://naturalbaby.stores.yahoo.net/nbweeklyspecials.html
By the way…you have a VERY handsome model!
Maybe the photo of him dancing in his diaper should be on the new calendar.