I first started thinking about cloth diapering when I was pregnant with my (first and only) son, but quickly dismissed it because my husband wasn’t on board (and I wasn’t sure I was, either, to be honest.). It took us three months of pouring money into disposable diapers before we were both ready to take the plunge. So we started researching our options…and quickly became immensely overwhelmed. We had no idea there was so much to know about diapers. Thankfully, I have several friends who were able to help me in person, and then I stumbled upon quite a few helpful websites to fill in the blanks.
Since then, I’ve had several people ask me about cloth diapers. It’s hard for me to feel confident answering questions about cloth diapers sometimes for two reasons: 1, I have a hard time remembering sometimes what it was like when I was brand new to cloth diapers and felt so confused and overwhelmed by all the options, all the information, all the jargon, and 2, there truly is so much information out there that I just can’t cover it all (without inevitably leaving out some probably very important details) in a simple conversation. For those reasons (and because I had two friends I don’t see regularly ask me to help them switch to cloth and had to do it via e-mail), I decided to type up everything I could think of that might be useful to someone new to cloth diapers. I tried to cover all the basics but if I left anything out or you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Cloth Diapering Systems
When you cloth diaper, there are a lot of decisions to make. The first decision on your cloth diapering adventure is what kind of diapers you will use. There are 3 main cloth diapering systems: Diapers (Prefolds, Flats, Fitteds, or Contours) & Covers, All-In-Ones, and Pockets, which I will discuss below.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Storage Systems
Now that you’ve decided which diapering system(s) you’re going to use, you will need to make a few other decisions.
Storage Systems
There are two main ways to store your soiled diapers until laundry day: in a wet pail, or in a dry pail. The wet pail is the more traditional system that most of our parents used. However, because of the drowning hazard of having a bucket of diaper water sitting around (not to mention the grossness factor!), this method is becoming increasingly less popular. To use a wet pail, fill with water (and maybe some essential oils with antibacterial properties such as Tea Tree Oil) and add your diapers to soak in the pail until it is time to launder them. Then dump the whole thing into the wash. If you do use wet pail method, please make sure you have a securely-locking lid on your pail to keep baby safe. Most people now use the dry pail method (which is simpler, in my opinion). A dry pail is just that, a diaper pail that is not filled with water into which you put soiled diapers to store until laundry day. Just about anything can be used as a diaper pail; we use a regular old 13-gallon trash can with a hinged lid. With dry pail method, you place dirty diapers directly into the pail, with no prewashing or presoaking. With soiled diapers you will want to dump any solid waste into the toilet first (this is not necessary with exclusively breastfed babies). Some people like to use flushable diaper liners or a special diaper sprayer for this purpose (and some people do dunk and swirl in the toilet…), but many people do neither and do just fine. Most people who use the dry pail method also use a pail liner in their diaper pail. You can use a special waterproof pail liner made of PUL or you can use a normal non-waterproof cotton laundry bag. When it is time to wash diapers, simply dump everything, liner included, into the washing machine and wash them all together.
There are many options for keeping smells in your pail at bay. You can add a few drops of essential oil or you can periodically add a few shakes of baking soda to your pail. You can also get special air fresheners made for diaper pails (Citrus Disks, or Deo Disks). You will also want to keep your pail out of direct sunlight and away from other heat sources (which would make smells stronger). Some people like to keep the pail open for proper ventilation but I prefer to keep the lid closed to keep smells contained in the pail. Finally, washing frequently will help keep smells to a minimum.
Storage Systems
There are two main ways to store your soiled diapers until laundry day: in a wet pail, or in a dry pail. The wet pail is the more traditional system that most of our parents used. However, because of the drowning hazard of having a bucket of diaper water sitting around (not to mention the grossness factor!), this method is becoming increasingly less popular. To use a wet pail, fill with water (and maybe some essential oils with antibacterial properties such as Tea Tree Oil) and add your diapers to soak in the pail until it is time to launder them. Then dump the whole thing into the wash. If you do use wet pail method, please make sure you have a securely-locking lid on your pail to keep baby safe. Most people now use the dry pail method (which is simpler, in my opinion). A dry pail is just that, a diaper pail that is not filled with water into which you put soiled diapers to store until laundry day. Just about anything can be used as a diaper pail; we use a regular old 13-gallon trash can with a hinged lid. With dry pail method, you place dirty diapers directly into the pail, with no prewashing or presoaking. With soiled diapers you will want to dump any solid waste into the toilet first (this is not necessary with exclusively breastfed babies). Some people like to use flushable diaper liners or a special diaper sprayer for this purpose (and some people do dunk and swirl in the toilet…), but many people do neither and do just fine. Most people who use the dry pail method also use a pail liner in their diaper pail. You can use a special waterproof pail liner made of PUL or you can use a normal non-waterproof cotton laundry bag. When it is time to wash diapers, simply dump everything, liner included, into the washing machine and wash them all together.
There are many options for keeping smells in your pail at bay. You can add a few drops of essential oil or you can periodically add a few shakes of baking soda to your pail. You can also get special air fresheners made for diaper pails (Citrus Disks, or Deo Disks). You will also want to keep your pail out of direct sunlight and away from other heat sources (which would make smells stronger). Some people like to keep the pail open for proper ventilation but I prefer to keep the lid closed to keep smells contained in the pail. Finally, washing frequently will help keep smells to a minimum.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Washing Systems
Which brings us to…
Washing Systems
There are as many different washing routines as there are cloth diapers. Each person will have a different wash routine that works for them. I suggest starting with a simple routine and tweaking it based on your needs. A good one to start with is a PreWash or Soak cycle with just cold water, no detergent (to get rid of all the poopies), followed by a long Heavy Duty (Sanitary, if your machine has one) cycle in hot water with extra rinse feature turned on with detergent, followed by an additional rinse with no detergent. When washing diapers, you will only want to use half the recommended amount of detergent (less if using a front-loading washing machine). Using too much detergent (as well as not rinsing diapers completely) will result in a detergent buildup on your diapers which, in addition to possibly irritating baby’s delicate skin, can cause leaking and stinking issues in your cloth diapers. When washing diapers, make sure that the rinse water after washing is free of soap suds and bubbles. You may need to make some minor adjustments to the above wash routine, depending on what kind of diapers you are using, how hard your water is, what kind of washing machine you have, which detergent you choose to use, etc. Generally, with softer water you may need to use less detergent, and more with hard water. With a front-loading high efficiency washer you will need less detergent but may need to do more rinsing because they use significantly less water.
Washing Systems
There are as many different washing routines as there are cloth diapers. Each person will have a different wash routine that works for them. I suggest starting with a simple routine and tweaking it based on your needs. A good one to start with is a PreWash or Soak cycle with just cold water, no detergent (to get rid of all the poopies), followed by a long Heavy Duty (Sanitary, if your machine has one) cycle in hot water with extra rinse feature turned on with detergent, followed by an additional rinse with no detergent. When washing diapers, you will only want to use half the recommended amount of detergent (less if using a front-loading washing machine). Using too much detergent (as well as not rinsing diapers completely) will result in a detergent buildup on your diapers which, in addition to possibly irritating baby’s delicate skin, can cause leaking and stinking issues in your cloth diapers. When washing diapers, make sure that the rinse water after washing is free of soap suds and bubbles. You may need to make some minor adjustments to the above wash routine, depending on what kind of diapers you are using, how hard your water is, what kind of washing machine you have, which detergent you choose to use, etc. Generally, with softer water you may need to use less detergent, and more with hard water. With a front-loading high efficiency washer you will need less detergent but may need to do more rinsing because they use significantly less water.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Other Factors
Other factors to consider:
You should use caution when using bleach with your diapers. Bleach can eat away at the fibers in your diapers. I recommend not using it, ever. If you do decide to use bleach (to help strip your diapers, or after a yeast or bacterial infection, or to disinfect used diapers), add no more than 1-2 small capfuls to one large load, and be sure to rinse well.
Never use conventional diaper rash creams on cloth diapers. They can stain and can cause buildup on your diapers. If you do need to use cream, consider using a fleece liner to protect your diaper from staining.
You should use caution when using bleach with your diapers. Bleach can eat away at the fibers in your diapers. I recommend not using it, ever. If you do decide to use bleach (to help strip your diapers, or after a yeast or bacterial infection, or to disinfect used diapers), add no more than 1-2 small capfuls to one large load, and be sure to rinse well.
Never use conventional diaper rash creams on cloth diapers. They can stain and can cause buildup on your diapers. If you do need to use cream, consider using a fleece liner to protect your diaper from staining.
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