April 2019 Moms
lyse01
member
All Things Cloth Diapering
lyse01
member
...plus whatever other cloth questions/products there are.
diaper product spotlight: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12738320/product-spotlight-diapers-and-wipes#latest
Other previous diaper discussion: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734300/diapering-cloth-disposables-changing-table-what-are-your-plans
whatcha got by way of advice and questions, ladies?
diaper product spotlight: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12738320/product-spotlight-diapers-and-wipes#latest
Other previous diaper discussion: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734300/diapering-cloth-disposables-changing-table-what-are-your-plans
whatcha got by way of advice and questions, ladies?
Re: All Things Cloth Diapering
As with any parenting thing, everyone is going to have different favorites and different advice, you gotta do what works for you. If that means using disposables when you're out and about or at night (we had to at night with DS because he would get such bad diaper rash otherwise), or using all-in-ones with disposable liners, or going full cloth all the time, whatever works for your family! Don't feel guilty about it either way.
As far as diapers go, I think my favorite brands were Kawaii and BumGenius. We used a newborn diaper rental (and will this time also) for the first three months since you don't want to have to buy newborn size cloth diapers unless you're planning on using them through multiple kids.
Sunning is definitely the way to go, it works miracles on stains. I did run into problems with some of my cloth diapers that they would smell no matter how much line drying I did, but I think that was because they were hand me downs who had been through at least two kids previously. I also had enough of a stash that I probably only washed every third day, which may have attributed to the stank.
I'm happy to answer any questions new mamas have, although I've only raised one kiddo with cloth so I'm sure other moms on here have better insight! I love the idea of reducing waste in landfills and, bonus, cloth diapers just look so cute on baby bottoms
OK. So I am 100% new to this. So far I have bought (off recs from friends) BumGenius pockets and BumGenius AIOs. So far, only preowned, so I know I need to wash and strip. But whenever I look at that one website it tells me to check my washer model? So basically...
How do I strip? Once I've stripped these, how often do I strip?
How do I wash? What detergent? How do I dry if I can't line dry? The washing is what really confuses me. I don't mind washing often, since with new twins I will be doing tons anyways, but can I wash with other things?
Should I buy some new diapers as well?
How do I make sure they're fitting right?
Some have velco and some have snaps? What the heck?
i love you.
okay:
How do I strip? Once I've stripped these, how often do I strip?
In theory, just once, and then a solid wash routine will keep them in good shape. In practice, as rarely as possible because it damages the fibers but as often as necessary to keep the tiny butts happy. I follow stripping directions on fluff love university’s website.
How do I wash? What detergent? Fluff love (they also have a fb group) has washing directions too, and lists of detergents that do/don’t work well. General guidelines include: nothing with fabric softener (it coats the absorbant fibers), free&clear is usually slightly less effective but also good for sensitive butts, homemade detergents often don’t clean well, do a prewash first to get rid of the worst of the bodily fluids then do a regular wash to really suds it up. Remember that there’s an optimal water/detergent/cloth ratio, and it’s worth bulking up your load to get things to rub against each other and get clean.
How do I dry if I can't line dry? In the dryer. The high heat can damage the elastics and the PUL (waterproof lining), but over time. You may just need to replace slightly more often or get less money back when you resell.
The washing is what really confuses me. I don't mind washing often, since with new twins I will be doing tons anyways, but can I wash with other things?
Sure. You’ll have plenty of other stuff (burp cloths, the rag that wiped yogurt off their faces, pee soaked changing pad covers) that could be used to bulk up a prewash. I always just then collected whatever other laundry was in the house to make up the regular wash.
Should I buy some new diapers as well?
your call. You’re going to need a lot with twins, so a mix is probably good. Throw some cloth on a registry.
How do I make sure they're fitting right?
i will find a fit video and get back to you.
Some have velco and some have snaps? What the heck?
and some have neither! Choose whatever you like.
Velcro pros: adjustable to intermediate positions, easy to deal with at night/low light, easy to replace when worn out if crafty
velcro cons: repeated washing takes a toll, you have to remember to close the Velcro before washing or it catches on everything else
snap pros: adjustable to many positions, durable in washer/dryer, no extra pieces needed, resale value high
snap cons: can be difficult in low light/wriggly baby situations
snapless pros: infinitely adjustable, no wear and tear around snap grommets or in Velcro, resale value high
snapless cons: need snappis or boingos (or I suppose safety pins if old school) to attach
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g05CxMquFQY
Oh, and with twins, you can probably discount anyone who says to skip newborn sizing “because babies grow out of it too quickly”...we were in newborn and small foreverrrrrr (started cloth at 4.5 lbs).
I preferred snap diapers, since as lyse01 mentioned, Velcro tended to catch on everything (plus the hand-me-down Velcro ones I had were at the end of their lifespan anyway).
I used Grovia when loads were really stinky ( https://www.amazon.com/GroVia-Bubbles-Laundry-Treatment-Diapers/dp/B009LGDGX2 ) and washed with Rockin' Green detergent since we had hard water/a high efficiency washer ( https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Detergent-Rockin-Green-Unscented/dp/B005DL7LGM/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1547236206&sr=8-2-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=rockin+green+laundry+detergent&psc=1 ).
My washer didn't allow me to do this, but some websites suggest soaking in a SUPER hot prewash first if diapers are getting stinky. Generally, normal rinse/wash/rinse/spin cycles and line drying if possible are sufficient. We ended up using the dryer in the winter and line drying in the spring/summer.
As with everything, if you can find a routine that works for you, you'll get faster at it with time. I would do a load every other day or every third day, then usually stuff the diapers as I was watching TV/relaxing before bed that night so they would be ready for the changing table in the morning. Also, if line drying and you have snap diapers, you don't even need clothes pins because you can just snap the diaper around the line. I remember feeling like a genius when I figured that one out, haha
Also, I've heard from several moms that tide is best. Anyone have good experiences with using tide for their cloth diaper stash?
I had bumgenius inserts, which I loved. We had extra charcoal inserts but didn’t need to use anything more than the doubled up microfiber until baby was a little older (maybe like a year old?). For washing, I just used my regular unscented arm and hammer detergent. My washing routine was basically to just double wash with extra rinses. So i’d do a wash in hot water with detergent and 2 extra rinses, then just start it over and do the same a second time. It worked great.
@mighty_montgomery I’m gonna say no. You don’t need to wash your diapers more than once (at most twice) before you use them. For one thing, you do not need maximum absorbency when your baby is a month old. By the time your baby is peeing that much, you’ll have washed your diapers about a million times anyway.
The cloth diapering accessories I do recommend are a dirty diaper bag that has a zip bottom, and a sprayer attached to your toilet. I used a regular stainless trashcan lined with a zip bottom dirty diaper bag. Sprayed diapers out in the toilet using the sprayer before putting them in the hamper.
https://www.amazon.com/FuzziBunz-Hanging-Diaper-Pail-Dragon/dp/B00NC1J500/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_75_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GNE90EZK10TCY9MDM8WP
Wet bags are also just nice to have if your kid spits up on clothing or has a blow out or whatever.
I got so sick of stuffing the pockets and waiting all day for the AIO’s to dry so I’m just doing prefolds this time around. They work really well for washing your car and burp rags for when you’re done with them too
As as far as using the dryer, we used it. At first i hung all the covers (we did mostly covers at first) then I needed more bulk so we did pockets too. Those took longer to dry and I ended up just throwing things in the dryer. To protect the elastics I was careful not to stretch them while they were still warm. And they are all fine after 2 years.
We we started with tide, but I switched to arm and hammer powder because it was so much cheaper and I’d say it worked just as well. Our water is not hard or soft so that also matters.
Liners.
I like the absorbency of hemp and cotton the best, but use all sorts. I made a bunch out of old reviving blankets and plan on making several more for the newborn and small g-diapers. They are great for adding absorbancy later too.
The microfiber ones seem to get stinkier and loose ability to absorb faster. More leaks. But not as bulky.
Wetbags. Get a bunch, they are small and highly useful. We have about 5 good ones for day trips and such. And then A trash can with a lid and a wet bag in it in the bathroom for at home or dumping other wetbags into.
Wash routine:
I try to wash every 2-4 days. Any longer and it’s too stinky for me. We have enough diapers that I can spend a day washing and restuffing without having to worry about running out of diapers.
I follow fluff love science on Facebook (need to rejoin, I think that’s the name??) and per their advice
I do a prewash with less soap and hot water and then the regular wash with full soap and I still use hot water.
Dry in dryer: usually I remove the covers and such after one dry and have to run it again because my liners and all in ones are still damp. But the dryer is working better now so we will see.
Stripping as needed and rarely. I plan on doing a strip soak with the liners from dd because I put them away clean but didn’t deep clean and especially the overnight diapers.
I'm curious about thoughts on storing dirties:
Diaper pail vs. regular trashcan? Or just use the hanging bags? (like the one @professormama linked above)
Seems like benefit of the diaper pails are that they are specialized for holding in odors, but given that cloth diapers are bulkier and just need to be washed every couple days, maybe it doesn't matter? But why not save on both and just have the hanging sack sans bin?
I really like hanging things on walls to get them off the floor, though.
@harveyisaboysname I'm glad to see you are liking your prefolds already! I have osocozy prefolds on my registry so it is nice to see that I will most likely find them worthwhile! And I love the cost :-)
used with them. I highly recommend search your local b/s/t groups and mama sell groups for cloth. Newborn diapers are gently used usually and it’s not hard to find them for $1-3
I didn't like that the gdiapers seem to need to be used with their inserts only, which are disposable - the flushable/compostable liners. It seems like the sling would work as a double gusset but I wouldn't like to try it out with prefolds or cloth inserts to find out that it leaks if not used with their disposable absorbent liners. Have you experimented with not getting their disposable liners and just using prefolds, flats, or inserts instead?
I found several used Newborn CD for sale on offer up (none on local Craigslist and I don't have FB), but they were generally $5-$10 each, at which point I might as well buy new. I did see a handful of offers around $4/diaper shippable from out-of-state. $1-$3/diaper is an awesome deal! Is b/s/t only found on Facebook? Also, what did you use once your baby was out of the newborn size since Alva OS leaks?
My number 1 reason for cloth diapering my LO is to save money.
https://www.primary.com/shop/baby/the-clearance-cloth-diaper-baby-pant?color=tangerine&size=0-3
we used whatever inserts fit. I have tons of random ones and prefolds fit, basically as far as the small and up the standard size of insert fits. Pretty well, some need to be folded down some. I cut up and sewed a bunch of old recieving blankets to be tiny newborn inserts. It was super fast. Anyway, we only used a few of the disposable variety that are made for gdiaper, because I got some form free.
I have some of the prefold inserts and they fit fine. I can also double the microfiber onesfrom flip or thirsties or whatnot. in the gdiaper sling.
We used a random selection of diapers.
Here are my thoughts on brands
Flip covers and thirsties covers are useful and if it wasn’t a heavy pee you can just switch the inside and reuse the cover. Flips are a bit larger and didn’t fit well until about 13lbs.
Rumoaroos covers have a double gusset, fit sooner as OS and still fit her at 2T-3T pants size. But they seemed to get peed on faster (on the binding) and I couldn’t use them twice in a row as often but I like them a lot. they also when bought new, lasted the full 2.5 yrs with little wear or stretching.
All in ones are great and rarely leaked but they took longer to dry.
Pockets. All of the pocket diapers seem to leak sooner than covers. Alva baby is great and cheap and we did have to change her a little more often but they were fine otherwise. We tended to do covers and Liners in town and pockets at home.
Fitted/fitted hybrids are awesome once baby can skip diaper changes at night they can hold 12 hrs of pee. We ended up using disposable diapers at night for 6-8m until I discovered fitteds and we bought some used ones ($10-$20) and I loved them. I am hoping to get some small ones and be able to use them at night from the start, anyway we got nighttime covers with Velcro for those and they were fantastic. I’ll go grab some amazon links and make a new post with those.