Newb question

stellasmommy412

I didn't see a newbie blog for this board, so I have what is probably a dumb question.

We used disposable diapers with DD, but with our next one (due in December!), we would love to CD. We use a laundromat (our home is set up on a septic/well, so I am just more comfortable using the laundromat because I don't want to use too much of the well water in a given day). Is it feasible to use a laundromat for CDing? They don't even like sandy clothes, so I can't imagine they want my baby's pee and poop in their machines. Is there something I can do to get rid of some of the waste before throwing it in the wash to minimize the poop in the wash? What about doing a rinse and spin cycle at a laundromat?

If this is feasible, then how do I know how many diapers to buy for each size? I would ideally want to only do a load of laundry every other day or less, so I'm not spending all my "free" time there.

Any other tips for this newbie??? This whole idea is so foreign to me!

unaveragejane

Congratulations on your BFP! Now to your questions...using a laundromat for CDing could get tricky and expensive. Is there a particular reason you are worried about using too much water from the well in one day? We had a well growing up, and we never had an issue with running out water. The only issue that I have heard of with wells is that the water can be extremely hard (i.e. filled with minerals) but I'm not a well expert by any means.

CLLDLL

I think a lot of people who use laundromats for regular clothes end up buying a portable washer for CDs because it's more convenient and you can control what residue (or lack there of) is in the washer. That doesn't sound like it will work for you.

My advice would be to consider prefolds and /or flats. They can take more abuse laundry wise than pockets or AIOs.

You want to aim for 36 changes in the newborn size and 24 changes once they get to around 4-6 months and start pooping less often. That's for washing every other day. Aim for 6-8 covers in NB and 4-6 covers in bigger sizes.

I love www.greenmountaindiapers.com and the Cloth Diapering 101 (7 part series) on YouTube for info on CDs.

stellasmommy412

Thank you! We are thrilled!

We have a washer and dryer at home, so I suppose I could use that just for the diapers and wash the rest at the laundromat. I was wondering how expensive that would get at the laundromat myself LOL.

So what are your recommendations for CDing?

Aurora_Borealis

I'll be totally honest. If I had to use a laundromat, I would not CD. It would negate any cost savings over disposables and be a ton more work.

Most laundromat machines do not have a rinse & spin option. Or if they do, it would end up costing the same as a regular load, so each load of diaper laundry would cost double what a typical load of laundry would.

You can be diligent about spraying poo/pee off the diapers with a diaper sprayer hooked to your toilet, but with EBF/EFF poo this is not really a necessary step as it normally gets rinsed away in the prerinse of a wash routine. Plus, I don't see how spraying every diaper would use less water than just washing them in your washing machine.

If reducing water use is a concern for you, there are ways to cut back that are actually far more effective than doing fewer loads of laundry. Install low-flo toilets if you don't already have them. Take shorter showers. Water the yard less. Employ the 'if it's yellow, let it mellow' flush rule.

A load of laundry in an HE machine uses about 20 gallons. So, with 3 loads per week with a rinse & spin and an extra rinse is say...120 gallons. If you flush your toilet 2 fewer times per day, that will offset over 20 gallons of that. If you & YH each reduce your shower time by 2 minutes, that can save about 10 gallons per shower, so if you both shower every day you've already offset your diaper laundering.

Obviously, these are using average calculations for water use and an old-school top loading washer will use more water, but still. I would look for other ways to reduce your water usage than bringing a newborn to the laundomat every other day.

stellasmommy412

Aurora_Borealis said:

I'll be totally honest. If I had to use a laundromat, I would not CD. It would negate any cost savings over disposables and be a ton more work.

Most laundromat machines do not have a rinse & spin option. Or if they do, it would end up costing the same as a regular load, so each load of diaper laundry would cost double what a typical load of laundry would.

You can be diligent about spraying poo/pee off the diapers with a diaper sprayer hooked to your toilet, but with EBF/EFF poo this is not really a necessary step as it normally gets rinsed away in the prerinse of a wash routine. Plus, I don't see how spraying every diaper would use less water than just washing them in your washing machine.

If reducing water use is a concern for you, there are ways to cut back that are actually far more effective than doing fewer loads of laundry. Install low-flo toilets if you don't already have them. Take shorter showers. Water the yard less. Employ the 'if it's yellow, let it mellow' flush rule.

A load of laundry in an HE machine uses about 20 gallons. So, with 3 loads per week with a rinse & spin and an extra rinse is say...120 gallons. If you flush your toilet 2 fewer times per day, that will offset over 20 gallons of that. If you & YH each reduce your shower time by 2 minutes, that can save about 10 gallons per shower, so if you both shower every day you've already offset your diaper laundering.

Obviously, these are using average calculations for water use and an old-school top loading washer will use more water, but still. I would look for other ways to reduce your water usage than bringing a newborn to the laundomat every other day.

Thank you for your response. I have a washer and dryer at home (came with the house), so I could definitely use those for CDing. We need to get the well dug deeper because the water table where we are at is getting shallow. We are hoping to get that done this summer, but just in case, I wanted to know what my options were. It's expensive to do! LOL