Tiny Tush one sizeYou can read Cloth Diapers Part 1
here.
Wash and CareWhen I tell people I cloth diaper most want to know if I use a diaper service.
Actually, I wouldn't recommend a diaper service. I have heard stories (at least at our local place) of diapers that weren't getting all the way clean. Your baby's diapers are being cleaned with lots of other baby's diapers and with their poop. Gross, right?
When I wash my own diapers I know they are getting completely clean.
I use
Country Save detergent and then wash the diapers through three cycles:
1. A cold soak cycle. Water only, no detergent. It's ideal to soak them all night, so I'll start the load before I go to bed and leave the lid up. At the very minimum I soak for an hour.
2. A hot wash cycle on the longest time your machine uses. This is where I use the detergent. Use a little more than half a scoop.
3. A cold, short wash cycle. Water only. By the third cycle the diapers are clean, but this is to make sure all of the detergent is off. Detergent can build up and minimize absorbency.
In the summer I hang the diapers outside on a clothes rack. In the heat of the summer the diapers dry really fast (especially the pockets) and the sun also bleaches any stains.
When it's raining outside I put them in the dryer on low (you can do medium, too, but my dryer doesn't have that option) until they're fairly dry, then hang them up inside. Don't use dryer sheets, which can build up on the diaper and, also, prevent absorbency.
I don't use one of those sprayers that attaches to the toilet. They're not necessary and I definitely wouldn't want my kids getting ahold of a poop sprayer. (I have enough to worry about.) I, also, don't use the disposable liners. I have some and I have used them, but, again, they're just not necessary. Washing cloth diapers is not as disgusting or as complicated as one would think.
Fuzzi Bunz one sizeCloth WipesYou can use regular wipes with cloth diapers, but you might as well use cloth wipes. They're easier because you won't have to throw the wipes in the trash and the diaper in wet bag and you can buy them or make them yourself.
You can find cloth wipes in most places that sell cloth diapers (I got mine locally at Eco in Chico/Baby's Boutique) or make them yourself. I saw instruction for making them by cutting up an old receiving blanket and then serging or finishing the edges. This was in my pre-sewing days, so I just cut them up and that was that. They do shred a little in the wash, but it's not a big deal.
These wipes from Goodmama are too cute. I think I just might need to buy them.
Wet BagsA wet bag is a (usually) a zipper or velcro bag with a plastic liner for storing dirty diapers. At the minimum you need two large ones for home, two medium ones for your diaper bag, and one small one for cloth wipes. You need two, so while one is being washed the other one can be used.
There are lots of cute wet bags on etsy and tutorials to make your own online, but my favorite wet bags are from
Goodmama.
Just to clarify, I use the small tiny wet bag for clean cloth wipes in my diaper bag. At home, I use a spray bottle with water and a few drops of tea tree oil to wet the wipes. When I go out I don't want to carry a spray bottle, so I get them wet ahead of time. Then, I put dirty wipes in the bigger wet bag with the dirty diapers.
If you are thinking of cloth diapering I definitely encourage you to go for it. There is a learning curve at first (like anything) but after a few washes it becomes second nature.
I'd love to answer any questions you have.
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