Cloth diapering tips

[Anonymous]

I’m pregnant with my first child and considering cloth diapers! I’d be grateful for any tips you have about how you stored dirty diapers before doing laundry, how you laundered them, how many you would recommend to get, which brands you liked (and why), and any other advice to make it seem less overwhelming! Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I don’t know what your funds look like or what area you live in, but a diaper service handles a lot of the logistics for you. My parents who were in Silver Spring used one and I’m doing so for my baby.

[Anonymous]

I recommend starting after the newborn phase- they grow out of those quickly and there’s so much else to learn that cloth diapering can wait. We liked bumgenius all in ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what your funds look like or what area you live in, but a diaper service handles a lot of the logistics for you. My parents who were in Silver Spring used one and I’m doing so for my baby.

+1 My mother got me one as a gift for my first baby and it was WONDERFUL. More than the convenience of not having to do my own diaper laundry, the fact that they limited the options of what I could choose/how I should store/etc really really helped. Unfortunately they closed before my second kid but I had a routine by then. FWIW, I use a trash can with locking handles lined by a simple PUL bag (got it on Etsy) for laundry storage. It doesn't smell nearly as much as I expected and I do diaper laundry 1-2 times a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend starting after the newborn phase- they grow out of those quickly and there’s so much else to learn that cloth diapering can wait. We liked bumgenius all in ones.

I loved using prefolds for my newborns (they don't grow out of those nearly so quickly and I found the fit easier/better than pocket diapers). They go through SO MANY diapers in the first three months and it's much easier than later because you don't have to worry about liners or rinsing out actual poop or anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m pregnant with my first child and considering cloth diapers! I’d be grateful for any tips you have about how you stored dirty diapers before doing laundry, how you laundered them, how many you would recommend to get, which brands you liked (and why), and any other advice to make it seem less overwhelming! Thank you!

It is a pain and I did it with my first. Ended up doing what is easiest and most convienent which is buying diapers like everyone else. If you are doing it for the environment it isn't that great either. O( rat least more complicated.

https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friendly-kids-products/cloth-diapers-vs-disposable-which-is-better-for-the-planet/

[Anonymous]

Two kids and cloth diapered both. We start when they are 10 lbs (about 4 weeks for both of mine) so they fit in the Alvababy. We do disposable at night and when out of the house for long chunks of time (not just hanging at the neighborhood park, but when we are out for the morning or whatever). We change every 2 hours. Wash them every other day and you can get by with about 20. Cloth seems like a big deal at first but like so many baby things, you will look back and think it wasn’t worth stressing out about.

[Anonymous]

My kids are high school age and older now, so I am probably out of the loop on what's new...but I'll tell you what worked for me.

Mother-ease is a brand I used and they are still going strong! I preferred the "Sandys" style with the air flow covers.
https://mother-ease.com/

In the house we lived in when my kids were in in diapers, our laundry room was basically just a small hallway between the garage and the main house. I kept the diaper pail in the garage, and like a pp I just used a trashcan lined with a PUL bag.
Before putting a poop diaper in the diaper pail I'd shake off any solid poop into the toilet and flush. That's it. I never "swished" (gross!)
Wet diapers and diapers from breastfeeding babies (so nothing too solid) just went directly into the pail.

I'd wash diapers every other day, and the instructions on the mother ease site are pretty much what I did.
The only difference is I always did an extra rinse at the end, Motherease says that's too much wear and tear on your diapers. Also, I always line dried the covers.

[Anonymous]

^^. Like the poster above me my kids are high school aged too but I cloth diapered. I basically did the same thing and pocket diapers were my favorite, fuzzibunz to be exact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend starting after the newborn phase- they grow out of those quickly and there’s so much else to learn that cloth diapering can wait. We liked bumgenius all in ones.

This 100%. Don't bother with newborn diapers. You'll be exhausted and worth it. We liked the bum genius all in ones but wait till baby is here and try a few different brands and styles. I had maybe 40-50 of them as I had a set to use, and a set to dry as I hung them so they wouldn't wear out. BG used to have really good second sales. Don't buy used.

Do a pre-rinse in cold, then a good wash in hot with a free and clear detergent, and two additional rinses. Every few weeks strip the diapers with vinegar or bleach or they smell. If you line dry and have a dehumidifier, put them in the room with the dehumidifier and they will dry quickly. The Ikea octopus hanger clothing dryer is great for drying diapers with. Don't overthink it. Get a sealed pail. Don't bother with inserts or bags and just wash the pail every week or two - bathtub with simple green or soap. Wash every 4 days or so or the smell is bad. Use inserts at night.

Use disposables when you are out of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two kids and cloth diapered both. We start when they are 10 lbs (about 4 weeks for both of mine) so they fit in the Alvababy. We do disposable at night and when out of the house for long chunks of time (not just hanging at the neighborhood park, but when we are out for the morning or whatever). We change every 2 hours. Wash them every other day and you can get by with about 20. Cloth seems like a big deal at first but like so many baby things, you will look back and think it wasn’t worth stressing out about.

I was basically going to say everything this person said. We started at around 4 weeks when they fit the adjustable size options. We wash when the pail fills up. We just hit pre wash and then extra rinse. Every month or so we use grovia pods for an extra super wash to address mineral build up. We are happy with the Ubbi. We got the vast majority of our cloth diapers for free on neighborhood list serves. People try them a few times and decide they aren’t into it. Once your kid is older and pees a lot more, I’ve learned I really like hemp/cotton inserts at the second layer. I personally prefer the paper towel thin bamboo liners to other approaches to rinsing poop.

A month into cloth diapering my husband announced it was way easier than he expected after being drawn into it a bit begrudgingly. There are numerous ways to make it work and you’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thank you so much!!! Was also wondering if/how your routine changed once you started solids? Did anyone use a toilet sprayer attachment to spray off the diapers before putting them into the diaper pail?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thank you so much!!! Was also wondering if/how your routine changed once you started solids? Did anyone use a toilet sprayer attachment to spray off the diapers before putting them into the diaper pail?

I never got a sprayer but I rinsed diapers in the toilet bowl for a while before switching to flushable liners (you flush them for poopy diapers; throw them in the trash for pee). It's perfectly doable either way and dealing with poop from solids is honestly gross in any diapering configuration. I ended up sticking with liners because they were quicker and I didn't have to worry about dripping poop water on the floor when transporting the diaper from toilet to bin.

[Anonymous]

Will your kid be going to daycare? I have found that there are very few daycares willing to cloth diaper, but I did find one with my first. We tried several kinds and landed on Bumgenius all-in-ones as being easiest for daycare workers (and grandparents) to handle. Bought enough to last for 3 days. We also use disposables at night and when we are out and about. Never found a cloth solution that could come even close to lasting through the night.

Once we started solids, we added a disposable liner to the diaper and just tossed them in the trash along with any poop. I would definitely not recommend flushing any liners down the toilet and especially not if you have older pipes!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thank you so much!!! Was also wondering if/how your routine changed once you started solids? Did anyone use a toilet sprayer attachment to spray off the diapers before putting them into the diaper pail?

I never got a sprayer but I rinsed diapers in the toilet bowl for a while before switching to flushable liners (you flush them for poopy diapers; throw them in the trash for pee). It's perfectly doable either way and dealing with poop from solids is honestly gross in any diapering configuration. I ended up sticking with liners because they were quicker and I didn't have to worry about dripping poop water on the floor when transporting the diaper from toilet to bin.

[Anonymous]

OP - yes we will be sending her to daycare (we are on several waitlists now). I have not asked about cloth diapers yet but we are okay with using disposables at daycare if needed. I know it cuts down on the cost-savings and other benefits of cloth diapering, but we are okay with that. Thank you!