Cloth diapers

[StillPraying]

I have hard water, it's awful lol a lot of detergents leave a film on clothes with the hard water, so frustrating. I haven't tried powder detergent before though. My plan is to wash every other day since I will be home, but I want enough diapers to wash every 2 days because I do have 2 other little girls to chase around lol

 

[wrapunzel]

Well that's easily solved, you just need to add a softener every time you wash your cloth diapers. Borax works great for me, we have extremely hard well water, so bad that bleaching whites stains them orange/yellow from iron. Calgon works too but it's more expensive. Have you seen fluffloveuniversity.com

 

[MyFavSurprise]

I used Cheer, it's a good one, but everybody has a different experience. The right amount of Tide in my wash caused build up and barnyard stink, and everyone kept saying "it cant be the Tide, I've always used Tide" blahh... but it was. Then I tried Foca and everything came out dingy . I honestly really liked Country Save and Rockin Green, but they are expensive and I much prefer being able to go to the store and grab what I need! I used to hear that the store bought detergents would ruin my diapers but soo glad to learn that isnt true. Gain has been good for us, I will probably switch smells frequently because I cant decipher good from bad smells in the diapers when they come out of the laundry, I'd prefer an unscented for the diapers... I always have to ask someone else if it smells fine or no lol... been paranoid since the barnyard stink issue.. my husband likes the scented detergents.

But even with the stink issue I never used bleach, I just washed with a new detergent and went through multiple cycles and made sure all of the bubbles were gone. Grovia Mighty Bubbles or Funk Rock or something like that would be better to have on hand, though I only used the Funk Rock with the microfiber I had a few years ago.

I also use a spray called Kids n Pets, its cheap for a big bottle and it has enzymes in it to get any bodily stink out, the one fabric that holds the stink the worst is the fleece! So I spray it down with that.

For wipes I got flannel and I put two pieces together and did a zig zag stitch around the edges. I love them So sturdy. I fold them together so they come out like regular wipes. I started making my own wipe solution after they stopped carrying the one I liked. We bought some family made goat milk soap from a Farmers Market and loove it, so I cut tiny cubes out of part of a bar and I put one or two in hot filtered water (i was told filtered helps avoid mold).. then i steep a chamomile tea bag or two in the water with the soap.. and I add in other things that I find beneficial, tonight I added a cap full of apple cider vinegar, some witch hazel, a small amount of coconut oil, enough epsom salts to drip some quality essential oils on - I did lavender, tea tree, and frankincense. I pour it over the wipes in a warmer and I find that we go through them fast enough. I tried spraying on but I like when the wipes are warm and fully saturated, my son even seems calmer when I use them instead of the disposables.

Google "what to put in wipe solution" and zany-zebra has a great list of ideas, even just chamomile and honey

I made my own cloth safe diaper ointment too after having no luck with anything else and my son has super sensitive skin and would get horrible open rashes.. I put in coconut oil, just enough beeswax to keep it on his bottom but it spreads nicely, evening primrose oil from capsules I already had, chamomile tea, a tiny bit of tea tree and lavender, and honey... we dont have rashes anymore and it smells so good. I like that I can put anything in it that works for him. CjsBUTTer is also good, but even that wasn't enough for his rashes.

I know, it all seems so overwhelming in the begining but really you just do what works for you, it will all come together. A lot of people talk about it like it's so easy to screw it up but, especially with natural fibers, we're just talking about cloth that gets pooped and peed on. Just make sure they get clean, make sure the soap is rinsed all the way, and do what works for you

Oh yeah, as far as folding prefolds, i just lay LO on it while flat, then fold the prefold together and pull up between his legs and that's it.. its called the newspaper fold. The jellyroll is better for runny newborn poop, just lay baby on it, then take the sides by baby's legs and roll, pull up between the legs, and snappi or pin.. it sounds like a lot but soon enough it will be something you dont even think about while you do it. Today my 5 year old decided he wanted to learn how to fold our flats, I showed him once and he did a bunch! Easier than it looks

 

[Maries_s]

I have hard water, it's awful lol a lot of detergents leave a film on clothes with the hard water, so frustrating. I haven't tried powder detergent before though. My plan is to wash every other day since I will be home, but I want enough diapers to wash every 2 days because I do have 2 other little girls to chase around lol

How many cycles are you going to do? I think that I'm going to use rinse/spin for my pre wash in warm water and heavy duty for my main wash. I don't think I'm going to use another rinse but I guess I will figure it out is that necessary later.

Well that's easily solved, you just need to add a softener every time you wash your cloth diapers. Borax works great for me, we have extremely hard well water, so bad that bleaching whites stains them orange/yellow from iron. Calgon works too but it's more expensive. Have you seen fluffloveuniversity.com

Fluffloveuniversity have a good advices there but I have the feeling that I can't follow them religiously since they are so destined to make you believe that tide is the only detergent that is good and bleach is the only way to sanitize your cloth diapers.
Last night I read that bac-out is good for take away any smells and is safe.

 

[Maries_s]

Myfavsurprise:
Choosing the detergent has been hard for me. By one side my sister swear that store detergent are the one that cause problem in the cloth diapers. By the other side, almost every page and person that I consult said that is a myth and you can use whatever detergent you want. (Except fluffloveuniversity that dislike rocking green and Charles soap)

I've been planning to make a solution of water, coconut oil, my DD soap and maybe add witch hazel.

 

[wrapunzel]

Yeah I take FLU advice with a grain of salt. I'm allergic to bleach and I had a huge disaster using the wrong scent of pinesol instead to sanitize, I got a rash from touching the diapers and clothes washed with it but fortunately my daughter did not!

Their recipe for stripping is spot on though it works better than the RLR pods I bought. Borax, washing soda, detergent, and they suggest Calgon but I've been adding double the borax and it works just the same.

After we started solids I had to use Biz alongside my Arm &a Hammer Sensitive Skin or poo stains remained after washing no matter how well I'd rinsed before putting in wetbag. Switched to Tide Free & Gentle and no longer needed Biz!

 

[StillPraying]

I have a huge washing machine with all kinds of fancy options so I'll probably have to try a few different things before I figure out what works. Not sure about an extra rinse, maybe if you wash like 2 days worth at once you may want it? Are you planning to line dry or use the dryer?

Tide is pretty expensive where I'm from so for me it's spend the money on tide or spend almost the same amount on cloth diaper detergent, and it gets delivered for free thru Amazon! It is confusing reading so many mixed reviews on what detergents are okay, and I wonder if that has to do with what kind of water you have?

 

[jessmke]

I never did prefolds or newborn cloth, I used disposable newborn diapers for the first 6 weeks until DD was big enough for the pocket diapers we have. I just use water with my cloth wipes, just spray her bum with a small spray bottle of water and then wipe with a cloth wipe. Sometimes I add a splash of witch hazel but not very often. You don't need anything fancy. DD gets a bath every night so we soap her bum then. I just use coconut oil if I need diaper cream, but I can probably count on one hand the number of times we have had to use it on her, the vast majority of the time we don't use any diaper cream at all.

We have soft water and I use Gain detergent. You can use the expensive cloth diaper detergents if they work for you, but I had nothing but horrible stink and ammonia and was having to strip my diapers monthly, or sooner if I couldn't stand the stink. Rockin Green was super expensive and I may as well have not used detergent at all. I stopped using it for my diapers and used up the rest of it on our clothes and it couldn't even get lightly soiled clothes clean, and that was using 4x the amount of suggested detergent and using the formula for soft water. Funk Rock was also a waste of money. Diapers are heavily soiled items and need to be washed as such. The only people I know who have had success with the cloth diaper detergents are those who use the disposable liners so the diapers themselves don't actually get too dirty. I haven't had to strip my diapers in over a year since switching to an appropriate detergent, and I have microfibre inserts which are notorious for getting stinky. I used RLR for stripping and never used bleach.

Just also wanted to point out that Fluff Love University doesn't push the use of bleach or harsh chemicals, it actually says all over their website that with an appropriate wash routine you should NEVER have to strip or bleach your diapers. They only recommend bleaching if you have a yeast problem with your diapers, or if your baby has a bacterial infection that is shed in feces. They do like Tide for washing diapers, but they also give more natural detergent options if you look through their detergent list and they give the amount of detergent that you need to use for it to actually be effective. You can use free and clear type detergents, you just need to use a lot more of it for it to actually get your diapers clean. But all means use whatever works for you. If you try the cloth diaper detergent and your diapers get clean and aren't smelly then go for it!

 

[StillPraying]

Jess appreciate the comments that these are heavily soiled items that should be treated as such. I think a lot of people are more focused on the chemical free aspect that they forget that you need to remove the bacteria from bodily fluids! That's not going to go away with water lol
I'm not overly concerned about chemicals in detergent, but I don't like bleach, so plan to avoid that.

I love the smell of gain so I may try that, plus I always see coupons for it! It's hard when there are so many mixed opinions about different detergents! I have medium hard water that is not filtered, so tide always left a film on our clothes. We currently use arm&hammer for our clothes, and I've read mixed reviews on using it for cloth diapers.

I haven't decided what to do for the newborn stage. The idea of buying diapers that may only fit for a month tops doesn't sit well with me, and I'm not sure about prefolds yet, still researching. I may do disposables for the 1st month when they have that tar like poo lol

 

[MyFavSurprise]

We will be doing disposables until the meconium is gone, we do have a newborn stash from ds2 but they fit him until about 3 months (he was 8.10 at birth, and stocky shape).. we will be using that once home from the hospital.

I don't see anything wrong with Country Save other than it really didn't get the stains out and I wasn't using liners at the time. As far as detergents it is hard to plan ahead because it does really depend on your water and washer. When I first used cloth diapers I lived in a different state, and now where I am is known for its hard water.. but the gain has been great without a softner and the tide wasn't good. I spent a ton of time worried about detergents and ruining the diapers but as long as they are cleaning all the way through and rinsing clean it is fine. What we have found works for us is a light wash on cold and a small amount of detergent, then a heavy wash on hot with a regular amount of detergent and a 'deep rinse' (as said on my washer settings). I've been told that too much rinsing with hard water can cause a mineral build-up and I only rinse again if I feel all the soap hasn't rinsed for some reason.. I check the pul/tpu for bubbles and see if the fabric feels sudsy at all, if it all checks out then all good.. but that is just what works for us. It took trial and error to figure it out but no diapers got ruined or bleached in the process

In my cloth diaper group they've been talking about a new Arm & Hammer with enzymes that they've been using and they really like it for their cloth. Ive also heard people saying that Tide must have changed their formula because it has stopped working for them. We used unscented liquid Ecos for a while, I liked it but my huaband didn't.. he prefers the scented detergents.

I agree that wipe solution doesn't need to be fancy, it's totally about what works for you. I use the chammomile and stuff because LO is so sensitive. Usually when he poops I take him straight into the tub, take the diaper off in there, then turn the water and spray his bottom off and then quick bath or wash up.. I use the wipes for pee or minor solid poops that don't leave much behind on him.

 

[Maries_s]

I have a huge washing machine with all kinds of fancy options so I'll probably have to try a few different things before I figure out what works. Not sure about an extra rinse, maybe if you wash like 2 days worth at once you may want it? Are you planning to line dry or use the dryer?

Tide is pretty expensive where I'm from so for me it's spend the money on tide or spend almost the same amount on cloth diaper detergent, and it gets delivered for free thru Amazon! It is confusing reading so many mixed reviews on what detergents are okay, and I wonder if that has to do with what kind of water you have?

I'm planning to line dry my cloth diapers but I live in an apartment so I will see how it goes. Also I haven't read enough about how to dry natural fabric best.

I never did prefolds or newborn cloth, I used disposable newborn diapers for the first 6 weeks until DD was big enough for the pocket diapers we have. I just use water with my cloth wipes, just spray her bum with a small spray bottle of water and then wipe with a cloth wipe. Sometimes I add a splash of witch hazel but not very often. You don't need anything fancy. DD gets a bath every night so we soap her bum then. I just use coconut oil if I need diaper cream, but I can probably count on one hand the number of times we have had to use it on her, the vast majority of the time we don't use any diaper cream at all.

We have soft water and I use Gain detergent. You can use the expensive cloth diaper detergents if they work for you, but I had nothing but horrible stink and ammonia and was having to strip my diapers monthly, or sooner if I couldn't stand the stink. Rockin Green was super expensive and I may as well have not used detergent at all. I stopped using it for my diapers and used up the rest of it on our clothes and it couldn't even get lightly soiled clothes clean, and that was using 4x the amount of suggested detergent and using the formula for soft water. Funk Rock was also a waste of money. Diapers are heavily soiled items and need to be washed as such. The only people I know who have had success with the cloth diaper detergents are those who use the disposable liners so the diapers themselves don't actually get too dirty. I haven't had to strip my diapers in over a year since switching to an appropriate detergent, and I have microfibre inserts which are notorious for getting stinky. I used RLR for stripping and never used bleach.

Just also wanted to point out that Fluff Love University doesn't push the use of bleach or harsh chemicals, it actually says all over their website that with an appropriate wash routine you should NEVER have to strip or bleach your diapers. They only recommend bleaching if you have a yeast problem with your diapers, or if your baby has a bacterial infection that is shed in feces. They do like Tide for washing diapers, but they also give more natural detergent options if you look through their detergent list and they give the amount of detergent that you need to use for it to actually be effective. You can use free and clear type detergents, you just need to use a lot more of it for it to actually get your diapers clean. But all means use whatever works for you. If you try the cloth diaper detergent and your diapers get clean and aren't smelly then go for it!

DH want to use disposable for the newborn stage and I have mix feeling. I remember that newborn clothes didn't last much and I switch diapers size very quickly even when she was born weighing only 6 pounds.

Jess appreciate the comments that these are heavily soiled items that should be treated as such. I think a lot of people are more focused on the chemical free aspect that they forget that you need to remove the bacteria from bodily fluids! That's not going to go away with water lol
I'm not overly concerned about chemicals in detergent, but I don't like bleach, so plan to avoid that.

I love the smell of gain so I may try that, plus I always see coupons for it! It's hard when there are so many mixed opinions about different detergents! I have medium hard water that is not filtered, so tide always left a film on our clothes. We currently use arm&hammer for our clothes, and I've read mixed reviews on using it for cloth diapers.

I haven't decided what to do for the newborn stage. The idea of buying diapers that may only fit for a month tops doesn't sit well with me, and I'm not sure about prefolds yet, still researching. I may do disposables for the 1st month when they have that tar like poo lol

I hate bleach! I don't how I even convinced myself that I could try it. I always messed up my clothes with bleach even unintentional as a teenager.

 

[StillPraying]

I saw a great hack where they used one of those hangers with clips from Ikea to hang the diapers to dry. I thought that was a great Idea.

 

[Maries_s]

I saw a great hack where they used one of those hangers with clips from Ikea to hang the diapers to dry. I thought that was a great Idea.

I bought it! Also bought the sprayer and is already installed! Can you tell that I'm so excited to start cloth diapering? Haha

 

[StillPraying]

Haha! I cant wait to start buying stuff. DH said no buying anything until after 15 weeks but I want to try some on my dd since we just started potty training lol

 

[Maries_s]

The cloth diapers just started to arrived. Now I'm so scared of washing them for the first time.
Now I have another question the CD are more bulky than disposable. Is this a problem for her to walk? I can't give a good judgment since I just experimenting on her with a disposable on so I wouldn't see how different they look until I try without the disposable.

 

[Maries_s]

Haha! I cant wait to start buying stuff. DH said no buying anything until after 15 weeks but I want to try some on my dd since we just started potty training lol

DH don't want me to buy more CD until I pass the experimenting period. after sewing 28 cloth wipes I don't think I'm going back

 

[wrapunzel]

Yes cloth is a lot more bulky. People argue about whether it affects mobility/milestones and I think (as a huge fan of cloth!!!) the obvious answer is yes. That's part of why I splurged on Newborn/Small all in ones. They've got those soaker pads so there's no bulk whatsoever up in the "wings" (at the baby's hips) and they don't have all that bulk from folded/overlapped PUL like one size options.

You can also give baby 1hr a day naked to help achieve mobility milestones on time

 

[Maries_s]

Yes cloth is a lot more bulky. People argue about whether it affects mobility/milestones and I think (as a huge fan of cloth!!!) the obvious answer is yes. That's part of why I splurged on Newborn/Small all in ones. They've got those soaker pads so there's no bulk whatsoever up in the "wings" (at the baby's hips) and they don't have all that bulk from folded/overlapped PUL like one size options.

You can also give baby 1hr a day naked to help achieve mobility milestones on time

Oh thank you for letting me know. Some people said that it doesn't affect mobility but I was kind of worry. Anyway, so if I use AIO I don't have to add anything else and my LO is not going to have any leak? My Thirsties pocket came with to insert and my imagine AIO came with just one and I'm not sure if it going to hold well. The tots bots has bamboo but have a pocket to insert a prefold or another insert and I'm afraid to use my cotton prefold since they look so bulky.

 

[StillPraying]

I hadn't heard they affected mobility, that is a little concerning.....gonna have to research that now. Well that makes me lean more towards sized diapers rather than one size lol

Poop cuuute diapers!!! Let me know what you try out!

 

[Maries_s]

I hadn't heard they affected mobility, that is a little concerning.....gonna have to research that now. Well that makes me lean more towards sized diapers rather than one size lol

Poop cuuute diapers!!! Let me know what you try out!

I think pockets and prefolds are bulky. When I tried the AIO in my little one didn't felt like that. However, I will update when I put the Cloth diaper without the disposable on.