New here- with questions

LaBellaVida

Hi ladies!! 

So I am considering doing CD. I haven't bought any yet, but have a few on Ebay I am watching, also a few in my shopping carts on a few websites. Right now I am looking into Kawaii, Rumarooz, BG, and Thirsties. I am thinking I am going to like the AIO for when we are out of the house, or for when MH is taking care of LO, to make it easier on him. I am also looking into the pockets. 

From what I hear (from a few friends) they don't care for Microfiber inserts. They said they worked great for a while, then they started to leak. They recommended I use Hemp and Bamboo inserts. 

Can you recommend what diapers you use? 

What kind of inserts?

Can I use different inserts with different brands of diapers?

I have hard water. 

What detergent do you recommend for hard water?

Does anyone use the wool dryer balls? How do they work for you?

 

TJ1979

The problem is you are going to get a different answer from every single person.  Different people like different types of diapers, and among the same type of dipe, different brands fit different babies differently.  So while my two favorites are BG Freetimes (AIO's) and Best Bottoms (AI2's), neither of those dipes might work for you.  I hate pockets with a passion, but lots of people love them.  Honestly the best bet is to buy a bunch of different types and see what works for you.
As far as inserts, you can swap out inserts for pocket diapers, if they fit.  For my AI2's, I use a MF insert for daytime, and a MF doubler with a cotton/hemp insert for night time.  MF absorbs faster, but natural fibers hold more.
I have hard water also.  I currently use Tide, and haven't had any issues with it.  And lots of people use the wool balls.  Since you can't use fabric softener, they are great. 

CLLDLL

I agree with everything @TJ1979 said. 

FWIW my favorites are AppleCheeks pockets (with bamboo inserts), SoftBums pockets, EcoPosh Fitteds, and GMD prefolds with Blueberry Coverall covers.

We also have hard water & I've had really good luck with Lulu's and a bit of Calgon added.

KarBear

Agree with TJ, but here are my answers:
Can you recommend what diapers you use? It's more like what DON'T we use   During nb stage, we liked Osocozy prefolds, GMD workhorse, & Thirsties and Flips covers.  Hated all nb AIOs.

Now, we use BG 4.0 for DC, GMD workhorse/flips covers and a few random pockets (Charlie Banana, Fuzzibuns, and Swaddlebees simplex) for home, and Sbish fitted/wool covers for night.

What kind of inserts? For our pockets, we just use the microfiber inserts.

Can I use different inserts with different brands of diapers? Usually, yes

I have hard water. What detergent do you recommend for hard water? We use Rockin Green Hard Rock or a home-made one.

Does anyone use the wool dryer balls? How do they work for you? We use them ONLY because we CD.  I hate them.  I have 6, they don't dry faster, they don't prevent static, and they are always getting stuck in clothes.

jane8188

I mainly use flats and covers, but I have a few rumparooz pockets in aplix that I really like. I like how they have double gussets on the inside. I also have a BG elemental and its ok. I stuff my pockets with cotton prefolds, I hate the feel of micro fiber and I have ridiculous hard water so I don't even want to try using it. BTW my favorite covers are rumparooz and blueberry. I don't like the single row of snaps on the thirsties.

I'm trying to find a detergent right now myself. I recently started using tide, I add calgon, but I have really sensitive skin and started breaking out just from touching the dipes so I have to change it.

I love my wool dryer balls. I have 4 & I use them for all of my laundry. The only time I have static problems is if I over dry.

Good luck finding what works & have fun! Oh also be careful buying stuff on eBay, my friend bought most of hers off of there and they aren't in very good condition.

LaBellaVida

Thanks ladies!! 

I went ahead and bought a few different ones for now. I got a Rumparooz pocket. A Happy Heiny's pocket. A flip and the lady gave me a free econobum cover for free. I bought an organic cotton prefold, and a hemp soaker.

I think I will like to happy heinys best, but haven't actually used it yet. I just like how it's not as bulky as the other diapers. I plan to buy a few more diapers in different brands, and styles to really give it a go- and see what will work best for us, and also what works best for certain situations. 

The lady told me she washes her CD is Tide Ultra- the powder and she said it works better then CD detergent. She gave me some detergent to sample, but I have read and seen allot of people say not to use regular detergent. I just don't want to ruin my diapers, and I have no clue really what I am doing at this point.  

Also-  this might be a dumb questions, but when I am ready to prep, can I wash all the diapers and inserts together, including the hemp and organic cotton? 

Pale liners- what ones do you have, and recommend? 

the lady wanted to sell me one for $18. I thought that was way to expensive, however looking around online...looks around the same price other places sell them for. I just want something basic, solid color- for cheap, but good. 

jane8188

Right now nickis diapers have planet wise pail liners on sale for $10.99 I think, free shipping on those too.

CLLDLL

You need to prep natural fibers (cotton, bamboo, hemp) separate from all the synthetics for the first wash or two.  They have oils from processing that you don't want to get on the synthetics. After that they can be washed together.  Natural fibers also take a good 5+ washes to reach full absorbency.  You can either just wash a couple times and start using them, knowing they won't be at full absorbency yet.  Or a lot of people will wash them with other laundry like sheets or towels, but be sure to use CD safe detergent and no fabric softener. Synthetics only need to be washed once to be prepped.

As far as what detergent to use, it's almost like what diapers are best, everybody has an opinion.  I really think that it's probably ok to use something like Tide, but it may reduce the life of your diapers.  So maybe you end up only getting to use them on two kids instead of three or whatever.  I used the Pinstripes and Polka Dots website to see what was in each type of detergent so I was sure not to use something that would for sure cause build-up!