Nope… Wait, you do that?... People still do this?... I’ll research it… I’m skeptical… I’ll try it... How many cloth diapers do I need?... This is working... This isn't so bad... This is awesome… Obsession.
When I had my first child, I obviously used disposables, right? I didn’t think about cloth, and honestly didn’t know it was still a thing. Then, as I started frequenting kid-friendly establishments, I started meeting parents here and there that cloth diapered. Again, didn’t think much of it until I had my second baby and had two in diapers. While on maternity leave taking out my own trash, it was then I realized the ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WASTE my babies were creating on a daily basis. My gah!
At that point, I started aggressively researching cloth diapering, mainly for environmental reasons. Because I thoroughly research things before diving in, I probably invested about 12 hours of my time researching cloth diapers; I was scared to pull the trigger. But for me, cloth diapers were just another stepping stone for my family and I to move away from the throwaway culture that is American life. This motivated me, and my family of four got back down to having about one 13 gallon bag of trash a week after moving to cloth diapering. My family of five still averages about the same. Makes me feel light and fluffy! We could still improve…
As I mentioned above, I am an avid researcher. I am also a problem solver, reformer, and like to think I can be useful to society. A Type 1, if you will, on the Enneagram Personality Test. So, I am passionate about sharing things that will positively impact our world. There are many seriously satisfying things about cloth diapers. First, I feel like I am saving the world one diaper at a time. Second, I have become obsessed with washing them. Ha! The thing I thought I would hate has become my obsession. The fact that I can throw gross diapers into the wash and they come out heavenly clean is almost too much. Other satisfying things include chemical-free diapers, less blowouts, no weekly diaper purchase, and how gosh darn cute cloth diapers are!
I do want to start off with the main misconception: You don’t put poop into your washing machine. Your clothes will actually be just as clean as they always have been while you are cloth diapering, I promise!
So, without further ado here’s the quick-and-dirty to cloth-diapering. There are 1,000 ways to do this, but this is my tried and true way.
Side note - I clothed while working full time and sending my kids to daycare. It IS possible. With my third baby, I'm staying home. It does seem a tiny bit easier as a SAHM.
All the supplies you will need
1. Alvababy Cloth - People warned me not to get cheap cloth diapers, but they have done the trick for me. A cloth diaper is not rocket science. Pretty much every brand has people who swear by it… or hate it. Other brands are BumGenius, Grovia, or Mama Koala.
2. Diaper Sprayer - This has been great. No issues whatsoever, and I installed it myself.
3. Wet bags - I have a large-sized one that hangs next to the changing table, and I have another one I sent to daycare everyday. You can wash them in the washing machine if they get stinky.
4. A 5 gallon bucket from your local hardware store or online.
When I bought the above supplies, the total cost of cloth diapering for me was around $150.
All the moral support you will need: Fluff Love University’s Facebook Group. You need to also visit their detergent index and washing machine index. Pick a good detergent that is recommended on their list and look up your exact washing machine to learn what your wash routine should be. I did not do this initially and gave my baby ammonia burn. Yeah, not proud of that!
Here’s my day-to-day system:
A big question is how many cloth diapers do I need? I have 18 cloth diapers total. I wash them every 3 days, and I rarely have to grab a back-up disposable diaper because I have run out of cloth. There are some cloth diaper-ers who have 50 to 100 diapers and wash every four, five, six, or even seven days. I can’t imagine having this many or waiting this long, but whatever works for you!
I keep the large wet bag next to my changing table. This fills up with wet diapers. You don’t need to do anything with wet diapers. I fold them in half and toss them in the bag.
I spray poopy diapers off once a day in the evenings because my toilet with the sprayer is in the basement next to my washing machine. I took the wet bag from daycare (when I was still working) and any other poopies from the day to the sprayer. I recommend putting your diaper sprayer on your crappiest bathroom (pun intended). Spraying can occasionally have some splash. All poopy diapers are sprayed off and placed in the 5 gallon bucket along with any other pee diapers from daycare. On the third day, I collect the diapers from the large wet bag and bucket, pull out the inserts of all diapers, and put all inserts and pocket covers (shells) together in the washing machine.
My washing machine routine:
1. “Pre-wash” load - normal cycle, soil level heavy, hot water. I use Tide powder or liquid detergent to line 1-2. The pre-wash load is only cloth diapers (covers and inserts). If you have hard water, make sure to never wash your diapers in water only or add extra rinses. You need some detergent in your loads. Read about hard water here.
2. The “main-wash” load - I add baby clothes and washcloths to the main load, so my washing machine is about half-full. I put a ½ cup of Borax in the bottom of the drum (because I have hard water) and use Tide powder or liquid to line 4. That goes in the dispenser. Again, I learned this wash routine from looking up my exact washing machine here. It's a heavy duty cycle with a "soak" added.
3. To Use the Dryer… or Hang Dry: I do both. The elastic in your diapers will eventually stretch out, so the heat of the dryer could quicken this process. I typically grab as many shells as I can find in the washer and hang them. A few shells usually end up in the dryer, and then I have complete diapers available if I need them. Make sure not to stuff your pocket diapers while they are still warm. I also don't mind using the dryer sometimes because it doesn’t allow lent to build up on the diapers and get stuck on my baby’s bum.
A few last notes
You don’t have to spray off breastmilk-only poo. It should come out on it’s own in the washing machine. That being said, I always did and found breastmilk-only poo to be the most difficult to spray off. I just never trusted it would come off in my washing machine.
Staining - Again, breastmilk-only poo seemed to stain more than regular poo. Maybe “stain” is the wrong word. There just seemed to be some faint coloring, but a few washes eventually took it out. Just know the more you wash your diapers, the less they stain. To date, my diapers look better than ever, no stains.
Stuffing Diapers - I can stuff one diaper every 20 seconds (18 diapers X 20 = 6 minutes every 3 days). I used to stuff all the diapers at once when they were dry. Lately, I just take all the pieces up to the changing table, separate the pieces, and stuff a diaper on an as-needed basis. The latter seems better for me as I feel it saves time; it really doesn’t, but taking out the last step of sitting and stuffing diapers makes the whole wash routine feel shorter.
Diaper Cream - petroleum-based diaper creams will stain your diapers. You have to use one that isn't petroleum-based. I simply bought a jar of coconut oil, and that has done the trick for us. Honestly, we have had way less diaper rashes in cloth compared to disposables.
Can newborns wear cloth diapers? Yes, but unless you have a huge baby, you have to buy infant-specific so they fit. I did not do this. I switched from disposables to cloth around 4 months with my daughter (she was a tiny baby) and 3 months with my son (he was bigger!). The cloth fit fine by then. FYI - both times I had a few leaks in the first few weeks. You have to get the hang of putting them on correctly AND how often you need to change them. This depends on your specific baby.
Good Luck! Reach out if you have questions!
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