Okay, so I'm going to break from the original intent of this blog (to keep family and friends up-to-date on our lives) and share my knowledge and experience with cloth diapering. Have you ever wondered why people are passionate about cloth diapering, especially when they have to deal with poopy diapers? Have you ever met someone passionate about disposable diapers? Well, I have tried both and I have to say, I definitely prefer cloth diapering and perhaps am a little passionate about it. How can you be a little passionate, you ask? Well, I love them and feel good about using them, but I'm not going to push my views on everybody else. The only reason I am sharing this now is because someone has asked me to and now ya'll get to benefit from it.
First, let me tell you why I chose to cloth diaper. I am not a "green" fanatic though I try to use more natural methods of cleaning, bagging my groceries and now I cloth diaper; I simply want to be eco-conscious and save money for my family. Every time I would throw away a disposable diaper two things would cross my mind: (1) guilt over sending a poop-filled nasty diaper wrapped in grocery plastic bags to sit in a landfill to decompose for hundreds of years and (2) there goes 20 cents down the drain (now more due to today's rising costs).
I'd thought about cloth diapering for a long time but thought I couldn't handle washing them so frequently and dealing with nasty diapers. After almost nine months of cloth diapering, let me tell you that it isn't as bad as I'd imagined. I've dealt with some really, really gross diapers but, I have figured out ways to clean them that doesn't involve me scrubbing poop in the toilet for twenty minutes.
*Warning: The next paragraph might get nasty.
Typically, I wash the diapers every three days. I have 18 cloth diapers and that seems to suit me just fine. Usually, there are three or four nasty diapers in the lot and I just let them harden so that I can just peel them into the toilet using a flannel wipe or regular wipe. I have used a squirt bottle filled with hot water to get the poop off, but I find the harden method much easier and cleaner, though it might stain the diapers a little. While on the topic of stains, yes they do happen, but you can use bleach once a month and/or lay your diapers in the sun for a few hours and let the sun bleach the stains out. I have had diapers I thought were ruined but the bleach and sun both helped to remove the brownness from the white liner and microfiber inserts.
Besides cleaning diapers, many people I have talked to have been concerned about the cost of cloth diapering. I will talk a little more about what I use and what's the cheapest, but for me the initial start-up cost is so worth it. I spent around $330 for 18 diapers and 36 flannel wipes. I've been tracking our water costs and it has only gone up a few dollars since I started cloth diapering. I buy my detergent for around $2.50 and it lasts me forever (I'm still on my second bottle).
Back when I first started diapering Jaren, diapers cost around 12-13 cents a diaper at Sam's Club. I was spending around $35-40/month on diapers and wipes. Now the same diapers cost 22-23 cents cheap with today's rising cost which would mean about $10 more/month than a few years ago. If you spend $45/month on diapers and wipes, you will spend $540/year. Multiply that by 3 years and you've spent around $1600 to diaper one child for 3 years. Wouldn't you like to save over a thousand dollars for your family?
Are you starting to feel better about cloth diapering? Good. Now let me tell you how varying cloth diapers can be. I will also post a few links to websites that I have found very helpful on my journey to cloth diapering.
Gone are the days when our grandmothers and mothers would have to use prefolds and safety pins to cloth diaper. Cloth diapers these days are so much easier and cooler. You can still use prefolds but now you can use Snappi fasteners instead of safety pins. I'm not brave enough to use prefolds though it is the cheapest way to cloth diaper. And you could sew your own out of old shirts and sweatshirts, but then again, I'm not brave enough and I don't sew well enough. Instead, I use the BumGenius 3.0 One-Size cloth diapers and BumGenius Deluxe 2.0 All-In-Ones. What's the difference between the two? The One-Size is a pocket diaper, meaning that there is pocket for a diaper insert and it has snaps on the outside so that a baby can wear it from newborn until they are potty-trained. So essentially, it is a one-size fits all diaper. The All-in-Ones is a diaper that has the insert sewn in, so you never have to take it out and wash that too. These diapers are more similar to disposable diapers than any other cloth diaper. Unfortunately, you will need to buy the different sizes to fit your baby as they grow, which can kind of get expensive. I bought six of them in size medium for when I'm out and about and when the babysitter is watching my kids. I prefer not to use them often though because Dallin has been leaking in them as he' s probably a size large now. To stop leaking problems, you can put extra inserts in the diaper, but I prefer just to use my other diapers.
Here are some links to cloth diapering websites and articles:
- the store I purchased mine from
- the store my friend bought her's from
- very comprehensive cloth diapering website
- articles
- cloth diaper facts
- cloth diaper reviews
- sewing your own
6 comments:
I thought I was the only one who loved quoting that guy from Waterboy!
This was a great blog and thanks for the information! I did have another question though. How do you deal with the smell in-between washings? I can still smell Rae's when they are all wrapped up in two grocery bags. I can't imagine what a large pile would smell like. Do you have any tricks?
Oh, the smell. Forgot to mention that. Fortunately, even the smelliest poopies are better contained in the cloth diapers I use than in regular disposables, therefore, the stink problem isn't as bad. Some people still toss their diapers in diaper pails. I don't because mine won't fit. I hang a thick, waterproof laundry bag in the closet and most of the time, the smell isn't a problem. When it is, I shut the closet doors. But, usually by that time, it's time to do a load anyway. You can also use a hamper with a lid.
Oh, and most of the time the poopies are tossed in the toilet. That helps too. There are usually 3-4 stinky diapers in the bunch because his poop wasn't solid and I'm using the harden method. So, it's not like there are 20 stinky diapers collecting together into one big stink. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah for cloth diapers!
So, I know your post was a long time ago, but I can tell you now that you inspired me, and we officially started cloth diapering TODAY! I remembered your post and came back to see how you dealt with the laundry part of it... :) Where do you let them harden (would this apply to breastfed poo or just older poo?)? I'm picturing a yucky diaper just lying on the counter... I've read a bunch on the internet but you're the only one I remember who lets theirs harden! It seems like a good idea though... This is Andy's wife, btw... although I guess you can see that from the username. :) Oh, and since we're in school, I'm using mostly covers and prefolds. For the one day (haha) that I've done it, it seems easy and great. But then, I'm doing EC, too.
Sorry for the long comment! :)
And, in case you don't know what EC is and google it (like I just did to see what would come up), I mean elimination communication, NOT emergency contraception... just a little clarification!! :)
And, I just read your most recent post--Congratulations!!
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