The Mother Load: Everything You Need To Know About Cloth Diapering

 

Some chemicals found in Disposables:

• Dioxin~ a known carcinogenic that is found in bleached wood fibers (like those in disposable diapers) and is linked to birth defects and genetic & metabolic damage. It is listed as one of the most dangerous and toxic of all the cancer-linked chemicals by the EPA and is banned in most other countries besides the U.S.
• Sodium Polyacrylate is a super absorbent polymer that becomes a gel when wet that can cause skin irritations and allergic reactions as bad as fever, vomiting, and even staph infection. (Have you ever changed your babies diaper and seen little balls of gel? This is the culprit.)
• Tributyl-tin~ a pollutant that has been known to cause hormonal problems in both humans and animals in lab testing.

Flats: The original diaper. A (usually 27″x27″) piece of fabric (muslin, bird’s eye cotton, flannel), requires a cover and pins or a snappi

 

Prefolds: These diapers are flat, with multiple layers sewn down the middle, requires a cover and pins or a snappi

 

Contour/Pre-Fitted: Looks like a disposable diaper, but requires a cover and pins or a snappi

 

Cover: The best are made of PUL (polyurithayne laminate), and can be sized or one sized w/ an adjustable rise. Closes with snaps or aplix.

 

All In Ones (AIOs) : Has a waterproof barrier w/ absorbant interior fibers. Comes sized or one size. Looks like a dispoable and closes w/ aplix or snaps.

 

All in Twos (AI2s) : A waterproof outer w/ replacable absorbant inserts that lay in or snap in. Looks like a disposable and closes w/ aplix or snaps.

 

Pockets: Basically a cover w/ a liner (suadecloth or fleece) that you stuff w/ absorbant fibers. Looks like a disposable, and can be sized or one sized. Closes w/ aplix or snaps.

 

1. The Diaper Pail. This is something that you will probably need, in some form, to put your dirty diapers in until you are ready to wash. Most Cloth Diapering websites now have these available for purchase, but you can use a standard kitchen trash can and it works just as well and costs about half the price as one marketed as a diaper pail. We use a standard white plastic one that has the foot pedal and lid and it works just fine.

 

2. Pail Liner. These do exactly what they say, they line your diaper pail. Usually fabric on one side and PUL (or other water resistant material) on the other and are usually lined at the top with either elastic or a drawstring. Drop all your dirty diapers in here and when you are ready to wash your diapers just take out the bag, dumb diapers into washer, and toss bag in too. Easy. Now while these are really convenient, if you are truly trying to do the cloth diapering thing as cheaply as possible, you can always make your own or just use a pillow case.You can even use none at all.  I use to use one but found it to be more of an inconvenience.  I find it easier to rinse the pail out and let it air dry while the laundry is going.

3. Wet Bags. These handy bags are great to carry around in your diaper bag or purse for any kind of short outing. They are basically like a mini pail liner except your cute fabric is on the outside and they usually have a zipper closure or a drawstring. They come in a variety of sizes, small enough to fit one diaper (or even smaller for mama cloth) to large enough to hold several diapers. But you can also use these great bags for when your going to the beach or pool and need somewhere to store wet bathing suits, or if your potty learning toddler has an accident. Super functional even when diapering days are long gone.

4. Hanging Wet Bag. Now these bags are bees knees. Have one hanging in every room of your house for just about every use. In your nursery for those late night diaper changes. In your older child’s room (and every other bed room for that matter) for dirty laundry, bathrooms for wet towels, and one for your kitchen for all those dirty dish rags. These are fabulous, every household should have atleast one (or six) in my professional opinion, lol. Just like a regular wet bag except they can hold around 2 days worth of diapers with a zip or drawstring closure at the top and they quite conveniently hang on a door knob. Genius.

5. Snappi Fasteners. Gone are the days of safety pins. By all means, if you want to use pins like our mother’s did, go for it, but you no longer HAVE to. These nifty little diaper fasteners grab onto the diaper with little plastic teeth, not only keeping the diaper together but also creating a snugger fit. For use on prefolds, flats, contours, and some fitteds.

6. Diaper Sprayer. By no means is this necessary but it can come in quite handy. A sprayer that you install onto your toilet plumbing to help assist you in removing that hard to get off poo (aka peanut butter poo)before tossing into your diaper pail.

Now that you have your diapers, check out our cloth diaper category for ALL sorts of great tips.  Also check out our post on safe diaper rash creams, DIY diaper detergent and how to wash your diapers.

At some point you will probably run into ‘diaper issues’.

• They are repelling. This is usually caused by using a non CD safe detergent, a diaper rash cream or fabric softener.
• They stink. If they still smell dirty then they probably are, try using a little more detergent.
• Ammonia. This is usually the cause of detergent buildup. Buildup can happen to the best of us and is usually caused by using too much detergent or plain ole’ hard water.

All of these issues can generally be fixed by stripping your diapers. Set your machine to a Heavy Duty Hot Wash Cycle. You may want to adjust the thermostat of your water heater to get some hotter water in there, or you can just boil water and dump some into your wash cycle. Do NOT add any detergent. Repeat this until there are NO SUDS AT ALL in your water. No film, nothing. Needs to be nice and crystal clear. Rinse and dry.

If you need a stripping that is a little more heavy duty (like for bad Ammonia issues), you may want to use vinegar. Its all basic chemistry, acids and bases neutralize each other.

• For pocket inserts, doublers or prefolds you can fill your washer with HOT water, while it is filling dump a good gallon of regular household white distilled vinegar in there. Add your dipes and let soak overnight or at least for a good 6-8 hrs. At that time, continue on with the wash (no detergent) as normal.
• If you are having issues with ammonia build up in fitteds or all-in-ones I would stick with the basic maintenance strip (above) and possibly add a cup of vinegar to the wash cycle.

For fleece-lined pocket diapers that are repelling, you’ll want to strip with Dawn (the regular blue stuff). You can either add a squirt of Dawn in your wash cycle or you can do it by hand. I like it by hand because it seems a bit more effective to me. Fill your sink with HOT water and add a squirt of Dawn. Let your pocket shells soak for a bit then using a soft scrub brush, gently scrub the fleece lining. Rinse and wash as normal.

For all you hard water victims there are a few good options out there for you to help with your cloth diaper laundering and hopefully help prevent any unnecessary detergent buildup. There is RLR Laundry Treatment, Calgon Water Softener, and a new detergent out called Rockin’ Green.

Onto the deals.

I’m talking buying used diapers. What a great way to be even more helpful to the environment, reuse and reduce all in one. But where to go? Try this post on buying and selling used cloth diapers, but generally you type in ‘Used Cloth Diapers’ on Google and and a bunch of websites will pop up and a lot will now have sections where you can purchase gently used or seconds diapers. Remember to always check seller feedback and have fun shopping the deals… and beware, your money can go fast here!

The Dark Side : Welcome to Wool!

One thing you must understand… if you join us, you will be converted to wool. I’m talking wool soakers and longies (and anything else related, ie. skirties/shorties/covers/etc). They are a diaper cover to use instead of one that has some sort of water resistant barrier. Cloth diapering parents LOVE them because they are much more breathable than any other water resistant cover (therefore better for babies skin), they are super absorbent (down to a microscopic level) so no leaks, and they are just too darn cute! Plus, if you know how to knit (or are willing to learn) you can make your own! There, now that I’ve sold you on wool too, let me go over basic care of your wool.

Wool: A natural fiber cover (my personal fave). Wool will hold 30% of it’s weight in moisture and is self cleaning. Comes made from upcycled materials, interlock, and knitted and crochet by hand.

knit

upcycled

interlock

crochet

 

How to Wash and Lanolize your wool:
Check out this great post to learn more about how to care for and lanolize wool diaper covers.

 

Well, I ‘think’ I’ve covered just about everything, I’m sure there is something I’ve missed. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Thanks and welcome to the wonderful (and addicting) world of cloth diapering!