This was posted in a CD group on FB I'm in. Figured it'd be helpful.
These are good guidelines for 1-3 days, but I would absolutely NOT go more than that between washes.
I went four days once because my daughter had been in disposables and so I wasn't running out of cloth, and the diapers were smelling really really terrible. Usually, the smell doesn't escape the bag, but they were smelling up the whole bathroom and escaping into the rest of the house. I did my regular wash (warm rinse cycle and then hot wash) on them, and there was still stink when I opened the washer, and I ended up doing an additional wash cycle.
Also, I have friends who have forgotten to wash for five or six days and have actually had their diapers mold.
Finally, getting up into the 5-6 day range, that many diapers likely would not fit in a single wash. I use fitteds and covers with some Gerber prefolds as doublers at night and naps. I do a wash every 1.5-2 days. One load is usually 1-2 covers, 4-6 prefolds and 15-20 fitteds. I have a pretty standard size top-loading washer, and I set it to a medium-load size for my diaper wash (the same amount of regular clothes, I would probably set it to small). I could fit double my current amount (so four days worth of diapers), but I would not want to do more than that. It's important to not stuff the washer too full so that things can really agitate and move around in there to get clean.
The amount of smell that comes from your wetbags as the days go on really depends. In more humid locations there's more concern about smell and mold. In general you're better off leaving the bag unzipped than zipping it which seems counterintuitive but true!
I think I have convinced DH to at LEAST try CD. So we will sign up for a service to see if we like it before we invest in all the diapers etc. Has anyone done a CD service where they bring you clean diapers every week and take away the dirty ones? Is still cheaper than disposables. Seems like the best of both worlds!
A friend of mine does it and loves it. It's actually the same company that her parents used when she was a baby. They're $22/wk. I'm considering using it for the newborn stage.
@sammierose464 Yeah, at $22/week it’s be way more expensive the disposables. We pay $30-$35 a month for disposables. But of course, there’s lot of reasons people cloth diaper besides cost.
@tinattt23 That was the general consensus I got on a CD FB page. I'm leaning more toward the service for the first month or so, just while I get the hang of CD'ing and being a mom in general. However, I've been told that it's more cost effective to buy flats and prefolds for the nb stage. But, then I'd still need some sort of cover for those...
Diaper service here is only $19 Canadian for a week's worth of diapers. Disposable diapers are around $32 for a pack of 100. How many diapers does a baby go throug?!
Me 33 DH 41 TTC since 2016 Due: October 12, 2018 Location: Ontario, Canada
how is everyone showing their DH the cost benefits of cloth diapering. I don't think he would care what we do as long as it isn't difficult to learn how to do and anyone in the family can do it. Cost savings would probably sway him the most! Any ideas for a CD starter kit to find out what you like? Or do you suggest a service to try it out not have to worry about washing them as you get the hang of it?
Another option instead of a diaper service is newborn diaper rentals. There are a few online stores that offer a month by month or three month rental options. It also gives the option of trying cloth without the commitment of buying a full stash. Some of the companies even provide detergent and all the accessories to go with. You still have to do the wash but honestly, diaper laundry is the easiest laundry I do.
Hi! Earth Day is supposed to be a great time for CD sales, right? What’s the best place to buy? I heard kellyscloset.com is good and they have rewards points. Any recommended sales or must-haves going on? I’m a FTM due on Out 24. Is it too early to buy a few CDs to test out in the beginning? If I buy now I probably won’t be able to return. Thoughts on when to buy a stash? Thanks!!
Hi! Earth Day is supposed to be a great time for CD sales, right? What’s the best place to buy? I heard kellyscloset.com is good and they have rewards points. Any recommended sales or must-haves going on? I’m a FTM due on Out 24. Is it too early to buy a few CDs to test out in the beginning? If I buy now I probably won’t be able to return. Thoughts on when to buy a stash? Thanks!!
I bought my covers on Earth Day. I got two Thirsties Duos covers and a wipe-size wet bag from Diaper Junction. I bought the other eight covers from Sweet Bottoms Baby and got two Sweet Pea medium-size wet bags (the size that goes in the diaper bag to hold diapers while out and about) as free gifts with purchase. Both sites had somewhere around a 10% discount. The diapers were cheaper on Diaper Junction, but the free wet bags made the cost cheaper for the covers plus wet bags, which I otherwise would have had to buy, on Sweet Baby Bottoms. I couldn't pick my color of wet bag, but I looked at the actual bags for sale and saw that there weren't any really ugly prints I'd hate, like skulls. I ended up getting a black and red chevron print and a raccoon print, so I was pleased.
I don't know if the sales will be any good this year. I'm on a cloth diaper forum and asked the people there what they thought of the deals last year when I bought. They said the deals, mostly free shipping and/or 10-15% off and maybe a free gift that may or may not be something worthwhile, were pretty lame compared to prior years. I expect the deals will still be somewhere in that range if that stays the trend.
Have any STM+ replaced elastics before? I noticed one of my Flip covers is getting really worn out in the legs and needs to be replaced. The idea of ripping open a nice diaper cover is a little daunting, even though the process isn't supposed to be too hard.
@chyvie I want to say, that they say average is 6-8 diapers a day (wet/dirty and I want to say even at almost 2 my kiddo still goes through about that. Maybe a little less). That's 42-56 a week. So you could go through 100 in two weeks.
@sammierose464 It's so hard to hold back, right? I definitely bought 3 more Flip covers a couple weeks ago just because they were on sale and I liked the colors. Not because I actually needed them at all!
Just for some fun, here are my favorites out of my current stash.
Thirsties Melon Party and Cactus Garden. They are such beautiful watercolors! I have these in size 1 Duo Wraps so DD grew out of them when she was around 8/9 months. I'm so excited to be able to use them again on this LO!
Flip (BumGenius) one size covers from the Little House on the Prairie collection. I have the two in the back, Patchwork and Prarie Flowers, and just love them!!
@sammierose464 DD is actually wearing Adventure Trail right now! I love that it has the dark trim. Most of Thirsties is white trim and it's so hard to keep clean.
Anyone use Alva pocket cloth diapers? I have the opportunity to get 11 Alva newborn pocket diapers and 27 inserts as well as 7 new 4-6 month pocket (not sure on brand) and 17 inserts for $100. I want to do it as DH is open to trying cloth diapers but not sure if it is a great deal.
I have a question that might be dumb: I'm an FTM and am planning on CD'ing. We've registered for mostly pocket diapers and some all-in-ones. For the pocket diapers, do I remove the insert before I put it into the diaper bag/pail (ie right after it comes off baby's bottom) or is it best to just throw the whole thing in the lined-pail and separate before wash? I assume they have to be separated before washing, but I'm not sure. Thanks!
@beverlystevens I haven't used pockets, but I've always heard that the insert will just agitate out in the wash. That would make me nervous though so I'd probably just take them out before putting them in the pail just in case.
Technically it's supposed to aggitate out. However, a friend won't use them because they never have for her. So then it's really a preference. Look up Diaper Dawgs. They're silicone finger covers meant for pocket diapers to help separate.
We always take our inserts out. I can't imagine them actually agitating out. I accidentally left a soaker in one once, and it just balled up inside the pocket. Anyone every cut up one (or more) of those cheap fleece blankets (like from walmart) and used them as liners on the inside/top for easier poop clean up? I feel like that is one of the smartest things we did! Poop came off those easier than the actual inside of the diapers. And they are great for using, if you have to use an unsafe diaper cream (like anything with zinc). I ruined 1 diaper not realizing that a lot of diaper creams aren't cloth diaper friendly and will make them repel. I was never able to fix that diaper (no amount of washing/scrubbing/stripping). So, if you didn't know, the fluff love universety page has a list of cloth diaper safe creams.
Re: Cloth Diapering
Also, I have friends who have forgotten to wash for five or six days and have actually had their diapers mold.
Finally, getting up into the 5-6 day range, that many diapers likely would not fit in a single wash. I use fitteds and covers with some Gerber prefolds as doublers at night and naps. I do a wash every 1.5-2 days. One load is usually 1-2 covers, 4-6 prefolds and 15-20 fitteds. I have a pretty standard size top-loading washer, and I set it to a medium-load size for my diaper wash (the same amount of regular clothes, I would probably set it to small). I could fit double my current amount (so four days worth of diapers), but I would not want to do more than that. It's important to not stuff the washer too full so that things can really agitate and move around in there to get clean.
TTC since 2016
Due: October 12, 2018
Location: Ontario, Canada
I don't know if the sales will be any good this year. I'm on a cloth diaper forum and asked the people there what they thought of the deals last year when I bought. They said the deals, mostly free shipping and/or 10-15% off and maybe a free gift that may or may not be something worthwhile, were pretty lame compared to prior years. I expect the deals will still be somewhere in that range if that stays the trend.
https://allaboutclothdiapers.com/cloth-diaper-earth-day-sales-2018/
@sammierose464 thanks for the comprehensive list—great stuff!
Thirsties Melon Party and Cactus Garden. They are such beautiful watercolors! I have these in size 1 Duo Wraps so DD grew out of them when she was around 8/9 months. I'm so excited to be able to use them again on this LO!
Flip (BumGenius) one size covers from the Little House on the Prairie collection. I have the two in the back, Patchwork and Prarie Flowers, and just love them!!
I have the opportunity to get 11 Alva newborn pocket diapers and 27 inserts as well as 7 new 4-6 month pocket (not sure on brand) and 17 inserts for $100. I want to do it as DH is open to trying cloth diapers but not sure if it is a great deal.
Anyone every cut up one (or more) of those cheap fleece blankets (like from walmart) and used them as liners on the inside/top for easier poop clean up? I feel like that is one of the smartest things we did! Poop came off those easier than the actual inside of the diapers. And they are great for using, if you have to use an unsafe diaper cream (like anything with zinc). I ruined 1 diaper not realizing that a lot of diaper creams aren't cloth diaper friendly and will make them repel. I was never able to fix that diaper (no amount of washing/scrubbing/stripping). So, if you didn't know, the fluff love universety page has a list of cloth diaper safe creams.