The Great Cloth Diaper discussion

roo_baby

Already using cloth diapers? Considering but want to know more about it? Need help with brands, styles, quantities, wash routines, etc.? Chat away about all things fluff butt related here.

kimbo262

Your meme is actually what pushed us to switch to cloth! We were having blowouts all the time in disposables and cloth fixed that for us! 

jwhite3116

Us too! 
I'm a fan of AIO and shells. I guess I'm to lazy to stuff pockets  I really like Thirsties NAIO and I'm also looking at their Duo this time around. I also like using softbum echos as shells as they are so soft and fit newborn and up.

roo_baby

@jwhite3116 we got some pockets handed down to us and stuffing wasn't as bad as I expected. But I definitely prefer the AIOs. We did a lot of Thirsties, and probably need 1-2 more NAIOs. They are great for long car rides and naps, but I could never get the poop stains out of them. I love the fleece/microfiber lined ones for how soft they are and how easy they are to spray, but they aren't so good for the environment. We did the Duos with prefolds a lot, too. They had a really nice fit for us. I never used the duo inserts, though. 

emiliadkay

This is so fun.

General background on us: We cloth diapered DS starting around 2 weeks old and used a newborn diaper rental from Jillian's Drawers for the first couple months. For $40/month, you can rent as many (new) diapers as you need in as many different styles as you'd like to try. Then you return the diapers (which you do have to pay for up front) for a full refund in store credit. If you're relatively certain you want to cloth diaper long-term and like the brands they carry it's such a good deal; the credit is easily used to cover the cost of your go-forward one-size stash. Anyway, through the rental program we learned that (i) prefolds were not as scary as we thought and (ii) we didn't want to do AIOs after all (we wanted a quicker drying time that would let us avoid using the dryer as much as possible, for environmental reasons as well as hopefully extending longevity so that we could use the same diapers for hypothetical kid #2). We decided to use prefolds + covers at home but needed something more plug-and-play for daycare, so got enough pockets to cover that. We've fallen in love with GMD clotheez prefolds and Thirsties duo wrap covers, but we chose Rumparooz for our pockets and I think I would go a different way if I could do it all over again. They're just really, really bulky and we've had some issues recently with snaps breaking off. I've also come to prefer velcro closures over snaps.

My initial question for the group: Have any of you used cloth wipes? If so, thoughts? Any brand recommendations, thoughts on how many you actually need, or other tips?

roo_baby

@emiliadkay yes we love cloth wipes! We still use them almost daily for wiping hands, snotty noses, minor clean ups, etc. I will of course sanitize before using for this baby. I bought them along with a batch of newborn prefolds from another mama and I think we probably have 50+, which is way more than we need. They are just squares of flannel (about 6") that she cut and surged the edges. If you aren't crafty (I'm definitely not) maybe you have an older relative with time on their hands who would make them for you? You also don't need any fancy solution for them, just water in a spray bottle.

emiliadkay

@roo_baby Genius. I am not crafty, but my mom is and I now know what I'm requesting for my birthday this year!

jwhite3116

@emiliadkay I've been doing some research today and people seem to love all things GMD! I'm just hesitant to keep having to buy larger sizes of things.

[Deleted User]

@emiliadkay we use cloth wipes!  I may have over paid for my Geffen ones, for how simple they are to make, since they really are the easiest thing in the world to sew yourself, but I have 50 and that's been plenty.  I use the LüSa Organics baby wipe juice and I am still working on the same bottle.  I love it!  I just had a couple empty spritzer bottles from VS body spray, or something like that, so I mix up 8 oz. at a time in the spray bottle and mostly spritz it right on her bum, with a wipe underneath to keep the table dry, spritz a second cloth directly, and then I use two wipes per change.

FD, we ended up switching to disposables for daycare, much to my dismay, (and even when we did start off with cloth at daycare, sent disposable wipes so our cloth wipes didn't accidentally end up in the garbage) but lately I've also been keeping a pack of disposable wipes on the change table as well, which I will use for her face, or sometimes if there's heavy stuff to wipe clean, I will use the disposable first and then use my spray to get her all nice and clean.  I keep a pack of Burt's bees face wipes in the kitchen for after meals, too.

ETA we love our cloth wipes, and even DH says he feels like they just get her cleaner, so that's cool that he's on board with some of this stuff, too.

riatortillaxo

We do cloth wipes but I just bought a bunch of inexpensive thin wash cloths and then I mix up my own spray in a glass spray bottle- a few squirts of baby soap, some baby oil, water, and a drop or two of tea tree oil. I'd say we have around 50 wash cloths and it is plenty with how often we wash the diapers and wipes. 

coldlife

I agree with that meme! We use cloth, but we used disposables for things like vacations or the occasional really long car ride. I've tried a lot of different brands, and my children blow out of them all. Sizing up didn't make a difference. Some people say different brands are better for differently-shaped babies. That didn't make a difference either. My two are very differently shaped, and they both blow out. 

We used mostly fitteds and covers with some prefolds. I like fitteds better. I feel that the extra elastic (three layers at the legs - fitted elastic and the two layers for double gussets on the cover. Two layers at the back - one on fitted, one on cover) really helped contain the poop. 

I made my own cloth wipes. I used a variety of materials - old sheets cut into squares and zigzagged (I don't own a serger), washcloths cut into squares and zig zagged, too small scraps of whatever soft fabric I had on hand. There's really no reason not to use cloth wipes if you are CDing. They just get tossed in the bag and washed with the diapers. 

wildrainbow

So I'm interested in CD, but I have zero idea about any of it. What is AIO? Prefolds? All of it. I'm a total noob.

jwhite3116

@coldlife what brand fitteds did you use? I was looking at the GMD work horse.

@wildrainbow AIO is all in one. It's the most like a disposable. You put it on the baby, the go to the bathroom, you change them and it goes in the laundry. Prefolds are like super absorbent towels in varying sizes. You fold them in thirds and put it in a diaper cover. The nice thing about these is if the baby only pees you can take the prefold out, put it in the laundry and reuse the cover (aka shell). This can save you money and prefolds are easier to get clean than AIOs.

Here is a link to a girl who does a whole series on cloth diapering. Nice, short, to the point videos. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0n-kcQuuwTY&list=PLD5E1175A23AD31DC&index=1

[Deleted User]

@wildrainbow Try not to get overwhelmed either about how many CDs you need.  My stash is definitively way too big lol.  I may have just the right amount of prefolds, but I also have 64 or so OS (one size) AIOs, and lots of fitteds and wool.  The AIOs don't all fit in her shelf, so many are still in storage. 😬

They say you want about 32-36 newborn size diapers, and maybe 24-28 bigger "one size" diapers, but that can be in any combination of prefolds, fitteds, all in ones, you don't need 24 of each kind like I did lol And then let's say you go with 28 prefolds, you only need 6-8 covers, so that's definitely one of the most economical ways to do it.  I overbought absolutely everything so of all the like.... 100+ covers I probably have, I have only ever used a fraction. 🤠

DH actually prefers the prefolds + covers best because of the simplicity and ease of drying.  I could hang them all to dry when the drier broke and not really miss a beat.  But other caregivers, daycare (if they let you use cloth at all) may prefer AIOs.  I was surprised actually how much I liked using my newborn AIOs tho, but really there's no wrong way to do it.  You can definitely fall into choice overload with cloth, but I would just do a little research to get started, and try whatever you gravitate towards.  You'll figure out a lot as you go, too. ;)

Depending on how much budget may be a factor, you can find a lot of pre-loved fluff on FB groups, eBay, craigslist etc. too, of if you want to support WAHMs, there's also a lot of handmade sellers on Etsy!  I bought mostly from a variety of online shops like mysweetpickles, Nicki's, and a couple others that have since closed. 😥

hypermusic

@wildrainbow Here is a good breakdown I stole from the interwebs to get you started:

jwhite3116

@BusinessWife if you ever decide to purge let me know! I sold all of our CD after my oldest potty trained because I thought we were done having babies. Oops

hypermusic

I'm glad there are so many CD folks on here! I am a CD dropout; we cloth diapered DD for the first few months and then just dropped it around the time we got serious about moving (basically when she outgrew her Thirsties Duo size 1 covers). I'd love to really commit to it this time around! We had some Green Mountain Diaper prefolds and some OsoCozy and definitely preferred the GMD (the rectangular shape of the OsoCozy was awkward to work with). Both DH and I found prefolds and covers (Thirsties Duo) to be the easiest, but to be fair, we never had to deal with cloth diapering a baby eating solids.

I made a bunch of cloth wipes from some old flannel pajamas and those worked well. I made them double sided and then zig zag stitched over the top. I think they were 8" squares? I tried a few single ply ones but preferred the double layer. If you have any old fabric and sewing materials lying around (and time), making your own wipes makes sense, but packs of washable wipes are not super expensive either.

A few questions: what type of washing machine, detergent and settings do you use to clean your diapers? My new house came with an older front loader that has definitely seen better days and my biggest concern is that it won't clean adequately compared to my old machine and I don't know if a new washer is in my budget in the next few months

For people that use AIO; do those clean up fairly well? I feel like all the layers would take forever to dry and trap stink but I know a lot of people swear by them.

This is probably a dumb question; but how do you know when an older child needs a change in cloth (well for pee, generally for #2 it's pretty apparent)? I only CD'd through the early months so I basically just changed the diaper every time I nursed, and I've gotten so used to the handy blue line now.

coldlife

@JWhite1517, I've used a variety. I bought some second hand at a sale that was a variety. I think I have quite a few workhorses, sbish, kissaluvs, sandies. I also tried sewing some. I think they all worked about the same. I can't say any were that much better than the others. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

@hypermusic, and don't forget good ol' fashioned flats!

I had 26 fitteds and 6 covers. That was fine, but I would have preferred more like 30-32 fitteds for an every-other-day wash cycle. 

To newbies, if you CD, you will need a roomier diaper bag. They take up a lot more space than disposables. 

emiliadkay

Thanks all for the cloth wipe info and suggestions! Totally agree, it seems like they're basically zero additional effort if you're already cloth diapering, and I honestly don't know why we haven't made the switch before now.

@jwhite3116 I really like GMD, both the clotheez brand and the company itself. They're real sticklers about making sure the products they make and stock are high quality and use natural fibers. And I find them hilariously terrible at marketing. I love the instagram posts that are like "we're having a sale! Remember: don't buy things you don't need just because they're on sale." So good.

@wildrainbow There are some good introductory graphics and blog posts and videos out there, some of which others have already shared. What initially helped me wrap my head around it was the realization that every cloth diaper has two parts: something to absorb and something to make the diaper waterproof. These can be attached to one another (AIOs), made to fit together but come apart for washing (pockets), or totally separate (waterproof cover + an absorbent (i) fitted, (ii) prefold or (iii) flat). As listed, these are generally easier --> more involved and more expensive --> less. Hope that helps orient you a bit as you dig in! 

@hypermusic We also found our sweet spot with GMD prefolds and thirsties covers, and honestly I find solid poop even easier to clean off of a prefold than a shaped diaper. We have a he front loader and use Gain liquid detergent (which I've never seen recommended, but it's what we were already using for clothes and has always worked fine so we never switched). And as far as knowing when the kid needs a change, my system is the very scientific occasional sticking of a finger down the back of his diaper to make sure it's not soaked. DS has never seemed to mind being wet, so I don't worry about it as long as he's not leaking. At school, they change him every 2 hours. At home, I do it much less often and sort of know his patterns and whether he's going to need a change ahead of the next nap/bedtime based on how much liquid he's taken on.

[Deleted User]

I use Tide powder and we have an old top loader, works great!  I found wash settings custom to my machine at fluff love u.

https://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/how-to-wash-cloth-diapers/washing-machine-index/

@coldlife and flats, too!  Lol I just haven't been curious enough or had time to prep them and give them a go, but I have 24 or 36 FSTs (flour sack towels) I found on Amazon.  Talk about quick drying!

@hypermusic AIOs will come clean, but you do need a good wash routine and depending on your climate and the ambient humidity, air drying may not be recommended for the reasons you said.  I always tumbled mine, but I would try to check and pull them out as they were ready so I didn't have to cook the PUL / elastic too much.  Where my prefolds I don't worry at all if they "overdry."  The more I was using them, I got to know which ones took a little longer, but lately ived been sticking with my prefolds. 🤷 And then I hang the covers.

ETA I mostly pat her bum and feel if the diaper is firm i.e. saturated, or still has some fluff or bounce back in the pat pat.  And we'll, the old sniff test still works for No. 2sies lol

wildrainbow

Wow, thanks y'all. This is a lot of info, lol. I see why CD can be overwhelming. Looks like I have some serious research in my future. 

ziggymama06

Yes, thank you so much girls for all this info.  I, like @wildrainbow, have no clue about CD.  I'll watch that video later tnt at home.  I have a few questions... do you get an attachment to the toilet to rinse to diapers prior to throwing them in the washer?  I assume wash on warm/hot with a double rinse?  Do they need to be lined dry?

coldlife

Washing - I always did my wash routine in the evening. Then, I'd line dry them inside overnight and stick them in the dryer for the rest. The covers I machine dry only once in a while, per the instructions. 

@ziggymama06, you don't have to, but, yes, a lot of people do. I have one. It does make it much easier! I would do a hot rinse followed by a warm wash. 

[Deleted User]

@ziggymama06 we eventually got a sprayer but you really don't need it for some time, till the kid is on solids. ;). Check out your specific washing machine model for wash instructions; I start with a cold rinse, then a wash cycle, then a heavy wash with extra rinse.  But that is going to depend on the specific settings of your machine.

roo_baby

We used puracy detergent and have a new-ish front loader machine. Our routine was pre-wash with a tiny bit of detergent, hot cycle with normal amount of detergent, extra rinse, dryer or line dry (for covers). We washed 1-2x/week. 

Definitely recommend a diaper sprayer attachment for your toilet. I think ours was around $25 and it's also been useful for getting vomit off clothes before putting in laundry, cleaning out the little potty and getting skid marks off the big potty. We got the spray pal shield as well so the water doesn't get everywhere, but you could probably DIY something similar. As others have said, you won't need this until they are 6+ mo old and eating solids. 

@BusinessWife I've heard that Fluff Love often makes bad recommendations and encourages too much detergent, so just be careful if your routine suddenly stops working for you. I find it weird that they are one of the biggest resources for CD and yet not that well regarded. I think the hardest part of CD is finding consistent, reliable info about wash routines. The actually changing the baby part is pretty easy.

What are you all planning to do to make sure your stash is clean and ready for the new baby? Just a normal wash cycle or will you strip? 

riatortillaxo

I also love my diaper sprayer. I used it before he was eating solids because I just liked seeing the diaper get clean before dropping it in the bag. It does have a lot of uses outside of cleaning diapers too.
I made my own spray guard. I bought a cheap little office trashcan. I had my husband cut out the rectangle on the bottom. I use clothes pins to pin the diaper to the top of the trashcan and just spray. It's a life saver. 

roo_baby

For FT mamas - it can seem super overwhelming. I would start with 25-30 diapers that will fit a newborn. Try a combo of different brands if you want, or buy some pre-loved to save some money. Pre-loved prefolds are ideal because they are more absorbent. For AIO and pockets, you need to be careful with pre-loved that the waterproof layer hasn't cracked or the elastics are stretched (though you can replace elastics pretty easily). 

I might suggest to start:
2 dozen newborn prefolds and/or fitteds with a set of snappis
4-6 covers (the Thirsties Duo size 1 is a good newborn fit, but you can also get some OS that fit well and last longer)
2 different newborn AIO, AI2 or pockets
4 different OS AIO, AI2 or pockets

Then see what you like and buy more of those. We had a small baby so the newborn AIOs lasted us a while, but if you have a bigger baby you can probably skip those. 

emiliadkay

@ziggymama06 We did get the diaper sprayer when DS started on solids. I would have been ok with a dunk and swish method, but the sprayer was necessary to keep DH doing his half of things We installed in our main/guest bath and I do regret that -- our bathroom would have been a better home for it and avoided constantly answering the "is that a hand-held bidet?" question. I think we're outliers on this, but we just do a single hot wash and it's surprisingly worked fine. If it's an extra gunky load or I've gone 3 days in between washes I might do a warm rinse cycle before the wash.

@roo_baby I think just a normal wash cycle? I've never stripped our diapers but should look into it. I'm jealous you're able to do diaper laundry just 1-2x/week! We've started stretching slightly from EOD to 3x/week, but I've never considered going longer -- would need to up our stash size a bit to do that, but it might be worth it.

[Deleted User]

I know the Thirsties duos are a go to for a lot of people, and they were fine, but to my mind, I found the blueberry Capri covers to be much nicer overall, by comparison.  They cost a little more, but for just a handful that you buy, it's worth it, IMHO.  But as always try for yourself and see what you like!  I also totally loved our nb sweetpea covers - so so super soft and stretchy.

ETA oh, and the Rumparooz nb covers were nice; never tried the Joey AIOs tho.

I know flips get a certain rap for only the single gusset, but honestly I've been on a kick with them for OS, and I haven't even bothered pulling any of my other size 2 covers out of storage yet.  Flips have been great for us!

coldlife

I've never done a real strip. I've used bleach a few times if they're kind of stinky. I probably will this time. Mine are wearing out two kids in, so I'm probably going to try to make some more myself (it's not fun sewing. Repetitive and boring) or repair them, replace elastic, or buy more. Not sure yet. 

Same about fluff love, @roo_baby. I've heard they can be very "my way or the highway" - there is one routine and a best detergent for your machine and anything else is wrong. Which just isn't true. 

wildrainbow

Random question, y'all, how tiny do the newborns run? Like will they fit a preemie? Can you get preemie sizes?

roo_baby

@wildrainbow yes the newborn sizes will fit a preemie. We used them on our preemie and she grew into them pretty quickly. They also make preemie sizes, but we didn't know we would need them until we did. We used disposables for the first 2 weeks anyway while we adjusted to being parents, and that gave her some time to gain a little weight. 

We did a "strip" once before using the Grovia mighty bubbles so I guess we will do that once more before baby comes. The AIOs I have can't be bleached, but this is fine to use. Not sure if it counts as a real strip or not. It's been a while since I washed a diaper. 

@emiliadkay we were washing every 2-3 days when she was a newborn, but once she started holding it longer we could go close to a week. I also did very casual EC after naps, meals, etc. once she started truly eating solid food, so her diapers stayed clean a lot longer. We could have gone more than a week between washes by the time we potty trained, but I didn't want them sitting that long. 

@BusinessWife I never tried the blueberry or sweetpea covers, but maybe I will get a few this time! 

Does anyone have any brilliant overnight diaper solutions? We were fine until she started sleeping 10+ hr stretches, and then we had all sorts of leaks and adding layers didn't really help much. We ended up just doing disposables at night for our sanity, but I'd love to try cloth at night again if we can make it work. 

jwhite3116

@BusinessWife honestly there is nothing as good as an I'll old fashioned top loader. I truly miss ours!  Also have I'll have to look into those covers.

@roo_baby I just saw where someone recommended a GMD fitted with a bamboo insert. We could never get past the leaks at night either, once he started sleeping long stretches and we did the same thing with the disposables.  

coldlife

I agree, a top loader is way easier for cloth. I've used both. I prefer a front loader for everything else. I think my ideal washer, as long as I have babies, is a top loader with no agitator.

[Deleted User]

@roo_baby We love our sloomb sustainable babyish fitted / wool cover combo for overnight, but it's time for us to size up again.... I'm just too lazy to get up to the attic / don't want to see my baby grow up.  😭  Rumparooz and Grovia ONE also work well for us, with the same sloomb wool cover overtop.  We just wear a LS top, diaper with wool cover, socks, and sleepysack (no pants over the wool) and then change into a trimmer prefold + cover and pants or zip jammies in the morning.

emiliadkay

@BusinessWife I've wondered about wool covers and using them for overnight makes a lot of sense! I'm now super curious about these blueberry covers -- are my eyes tricking me or do they have double leg gussets? Their newborn AIOs didn't, and we were so wow-ed by the gussets on the thirsties covers we switched and never looked back, but maybe that was premature...

@roo_baby We addressed our overnight leaking issues partially with a hemp doubler outside of the prefold (extra fluff wasn't otherwise working for us because of compression leaking) and partially by switching to sleeping in onesies and just throwing them in the laundry if he leaked a little bit. It's a struggle, though, and only really got better once we dropped the nighttime nursing session/bottle.

Oo oo I have another question! What do y'all use for your diaper pail(s)? For the first year or so we had large hanging bags that did great containing stink but were a little hard to use one-handed. We then switched to a kitchen garbage pail + liner but it's not airtight and a bit stinky. I've read that you actually need/want some air circulation, so not sure what to try if we switch it up again.

roo_baby

I've always been curious/terrified of wool. It feels like CD is such a big learning curve and that was one more thing I didn't want to have to learn. I guess we will see how it goes this time, maybe I will be brave enough to try it. 

@emiliadkay we used a Diaper Dekor Plus with the cloth liner bags they sell with them. It worked well for us. It did get a bit stinky when we opened it or put a new diaper in if it sat more than a few days (pee stink mostly), but it didn't stink nearly as bad as the matching pail we had for disposables. Not sure why, but sposies smell so bad! 

[Deleted User]

@emiliadkay I actually never used the blueberry aios, just their covers, and yes! They DO have a double gusset!  The feel is just sturdier to me than Thirsties, and the cotton ones are really dreamy.  I have a wicker hamper with an ordinary open can wastebasket inside, and a regular pail liner. 🤷 We also have various sizes of wetbags for other parts of the house, or in diaper bags, or weekends etc.  I don't really notice a stink unless she makes a real doozy, and then I try to wash asap.  Plus spraying helps.

fitandnerdy

Such great info on this thread! I've been going back and forth between CD and disposables and I'm not quite sure what will win out in the end. Doing laundry is one of my most hated tasks, so I feel like that might end up being a deciding factor for me. Thanks for all the info/resources here! Now I have more knowledge to make a decision! 

[Deleted User]

@fitandnerdy the great thing to me about it, is it really is set it and forget it.  Diaper laundry is SO. Easy.  I throw it in, start the cycle, and come back later to start the next cycle again.  So I mean, it's running for a while, but what I actually have to DO is pretty minimal. ;)

cornichonmam

I'm a bit late to the convo, so I thought I'd cover a few topics.

Our Stash: We use Bambi no Mio, and we use both kinds. We have about 12 prefolds with 10 covers (5 small size, 5 larger size),12 all in ones (AIO), 6 microfiber overnight boosters and their nappy bucket.

Prefolds or AIO: I think prefolds are better for at home, they wash better, take up less space in the wash, you can reuse the covers a few times and for us a per fold + booster is fine for overnight (heavy disclaimer in that my son dosn't wet much when he sleeps). AIO are easier to send to nursery or relatives and are easier when your out and about.

Washing: 2-3 x pw. We have a not particularly large front loader. We use biodegradable liners so that keeps the nappies fairly clean. We then put them on a rinse then a 60C wash with one scoop of the Bambino Mio nappy wash and regular non bio detergent, then we hang up the covers to dry and put the rest in the dryer.

Newborn: We used disposable until he was about 5w then I started putting him in CD some of the time then at about 8w I took the plunge and bought most of our stash. I got most of them in the blackfriday sales so the timing worked out great. I think we'll start out with disposables again this time but I'll switch them over quicker, I'm just going to allow my self not to worry about it for the first few weeks.

Starting out: I really don't think you have to be all or nothing with CD we do about 70%/30% cloth to disposable and it has worked well for us. Sometimes dispossible is just easier when they have stomach issues, if your out, on holiday or if you just haven't done the washing. I also don't think that you need to buy a full CD set from the start, we started with a few, and then we've added over time. About 4 AIO would be good for starting out you can get a feel for it and in terms of washing, and in the beginning I always found that I had other things with poop/vomit on them that would make up the load of washing.