Cloth Diapers

discohiker

SVandy14 said:

Rach604 said:

I am planning on it but it's dependent on settling on a daycare provider who is okay with it first.

Fair enough. I know in my city (we are kinda liberal though) they allow All-In-Ones but not the pre-folds with covers. So if are seriously considering, ask day cares if they allow All-In-Ones. 

For the mama's trying to figure out the lingo on that they are called AIO's.

They usually count pockets as ok as well.  Daycares love if they are velcro too! 
Anyone who has CD questions... get over to the CD board and go to a store if there is one nearby.  I love sweetbottoms for an online store.... and if you want to just try them out, search craigslist for those people who got in over their heads and couldn't do it or have already potty trained.

dogperson11

weeklyplanner said:

Very curious (not judging at all, so please don't take it that way):  Why are so many people interested in using cloth?  Is it primarily for money savings?  Environmental reasons?  Worries about chemicals in disposables?  Diaper rash?

I have experience with prefolds from my nephew.  I thought they were pretty neat in the newborn/infant stage when he was exclusively breastfed.  It seemed like he never had a blow-out and the dry pail with EBF poop was so easy.  I know they are not for me once the child starts solids.

Also, I have a high efficiency washer and dryer and all I've ever read is how people can't get their diapers clean in the HE washers or they have to run so many wash cycles that it seems wasteful on electricity and water.  Enlighten me!  

We are using cloth primarily for money savings. I bought our entire stash (more then what we actually needed - it's easy to get carried away) for about $500. We plan to reuse the stash for future children. We also won't have to worry about running out of diapers and going out in the middle of the night or something.

As for washing, you're right that some people with HE front loaders have a hard time finding a wash routine that works for them, but it's definitely doable with a little trial and error. Put friends that CD say their water bill went up about $3/month, if at all.

ETA: Wanted to add that I'm not impressed with the chemicals in regular diapers and the amount if trash they create. I've read too many horror stories about dogs eating diapers and dying (I know it's partially owner error, but it's not something I'm willing to risk).

dogperson11

trawas01 said:

cruelsound said:

FYI, for those of you who find the cost per diaper to be steep, there are Chinese-made pocket brands on ebay that are just as good as the "brand" names like BG.

I've been curious about these. Its hard to beat the price. I may get a few just to see..


I have purchased a lot of mine from co-ops and buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook. Most of them are awesome quality. I recently purchased hemp fitteds for about $10 each (including shipping, co-op charges, etc).

megmarissa

I love my cloth... we will start at around 3 week... I recommend trying one of the diaper trials... they send you 6-7 different kinds to try for two weeks and then let you return it for a 100% money back plus you get a % off any purchase. I did this and loved it.

SVandy14

weeklyplanner said:

Very curious (not judging at all, so please don't take it that way):  Why are so many people interested in using cloth?  Is it primarily for money savings?  Environmental reasons?  Worries about chemicals in disposables?  Diaper rash?

I have experience with prefolds from my nephew.  I thought they were pretty neat in the newborn/infant stage when he was exclusively breastfed.  It seemed like he never had a blow-out and the dry pail with EBF poop was so easy.  I know they are not for me once the child starts solids.

Also, I have a high efficiency washer and dryer and all I've ever read is how people can't get their diapers clean in the HE washers or they have to run so many wash cycles that it seems wasteful on electricity and water.  Enlighten me!  

For me it is a little bit of all those reasons. I'm having twins and it was projected we would spend between $200-$300 a month in sposies. That just sounds silly. My husband and I are also pretty big on making sure we don't create a lot of trash and cloth is the best for us. The chemicals make me nervous too. I grew up on cloth diapers so did my sister and my mom watched a few kids growing up and they always had cloth at my house. I wouldn't do it any other way. It is a preference and to each their own. As for the HE machines, I heard you have to trick the washer and put in a wet towel and that usually does the trick. Also, look into using a natural soap for HE washers and they seem to work better. 

SVandy14

SVandy14 said:

weeklyplanner said:

Very curious (not judging at all, so please don't take it that way):  Why are so many people interested in using cloth?  Is it primarily for money savings?  Environmental reasons?  Worries about chemicals in disposables?  Diaper rash?

I have experience with prefolds from my nephew.  I thought they were pretty neat in the newborn/infant stage when he was exclusively breastfed.  It seemed like he never had a blow-out and the dry pail with EBF poop was so easy.  I know they are not for me once the child starts solids.

Also, I have a high efficiency washer and dryer and all I've ever read is how people can't get their diapers clean in the HE washers or they have to run so many wash cycles that it seems wasteful on electricity and water.  Enlighten me!  

For me it is a little bit of all those reasons. I'm having twins and it was projected we would spend between $200-$300 a month in sposies. That just sounds silly. My husband and I are also pretty big on making sure we don't create a lot of trash and cloth is the best for us. The chemicals make me nervous too. I grew up on cloth diapers so did my sister and my mom watched a few kids growing up and they always had cloth at my house. I wouldn't do it any other way. It is a preference and to each their own. As for the HE machines, I heard you have to trick the washer and put in a wet towel and that usually does the trick. Also, look into using a natural soap for HE washers and they seem to work better. 

Natural Soap MADE for diapers. 

dogperson11

cruelsound said:

dogperson11 said:

cruelsound said:

FYI, for those of you who find the cost per diaper to be steep, there are Chinese-made pocket brands on ebay that are just as good as the "brand" names like BG.

I've been curious about these. Its hard to beat the price. I may get a few just to see..

I have purchased a lot of mine from co-ops and buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook. Most of them are awesome quality. I recently purchased hemp fitteds for about $10 each (including shipping, co-op charges, etc).

There are online ebay type places for CDs, too. Hyena Cart has one, I believe.

For me personally, pockets are all about what you stuff them with. You can buy a $17 BG if you want, but I toss the microfiber inserts right away because they are junk. Why not buy the same thing on ebay for $6?

Exactly. I spend the "big bucks" on the inserts.

PecanSam

Weeklyplanner, we do it for all those reasons.

A disposable takes 500 years to decompose. It full of chemicals and know to cause diaper rashes.

I have an HE washer and have been doing cloth for 2 years now and we have not noticed a difference in our utility bill.

When DD first came home from the hospital we were using disposable and cloth. We noticed quickly all the blow outs with the disposable and never with cloth. I don't know what compression leaks are but we don't have leaks. I quickly got tired of the blow outs.

The expense with disposable is crazy, we were saving money after using cloth for 2 months. The initial output of money is big but you quickly recoup. And we will be using the same diapers with #2.

The gdiapers are hybrid so they have a disposable insert you can use and only takes 150 days to decompose. You can flush them or compost the pee ones.