Deciding whether to cloth diaper?

[Megamegan]

Hey all,

I have been reading up on cloth diapering. I am interested in this, but I would love to hear from other moms who are not SAHM's, because DH is worried about 2 things:

1. that I won't keep up with the cleaning/it would be too much work for me,

2. that washing poopy diapers in our washing machine is "gross".

I told him you dispose of the bulk of the poo before you wash it, but he still feels it is gross to wash these diapers plus regular clothes in the same machine. Even though we have a new wonderful front loader washing machine. Does anyone have issues with the machine smelling bad after washing the diapers?

I would really love to hear from those of you who work away from home and still had time to clean and prepare cloth diapers. How much preparation is involved?

THANK YOU!

 

[JenX]

I can't answer the first one as I am a SAHM, but just wanted to mention that you should make sure your child care provider will accept cloth diapers before you make a decision. Many will not.

As for your second question, no- never had any issue. Breastmilk poo is water soluble and does not even need to be removed- it all just washes away. When we started feeding solid food, I began using a diaper sprayer to remove any poop before washing. It's really no big deal, and not gross.

 

[Megamegan]

Thanks!

I figured I will try it out and see if I like it. Most likely, we'll be using a nanny at home for as long as possible, so we'd only hire someone who is cool with cloth diapers if we go that route. If we choose daycare, we will be sure to look into it- I figure most won't want to deal with saving the diapers, but it's worth asking.

 

[JenX]

If you're using a nanny you should be fine then. Have you thought about using a cloth diaper service? They do all the washing for you and deliver clean diapers every few days, I believe. I see you are in New York so there are probably plenty of options in your area. Here's one I found with a quick search: https://www.naturespremiere.com/Cloth-Diaper-Service_ep_75-1.html

 

[Megamegan]

Wow thank you JenX!!! That's so cool, I had no idea that was an option. I'll look into it. Yes, living in NY there are tons of resources. I don't live far from NYC, which is nice because still lots to choose from but somewhat lower prices usually.

 

[adrie]

If I were in your situation, I would buy a few diapers and try them out first. And you're right, pretty much all of the poop is washed off before the diaper goes into the diaper pail. Personally I would do that even if I BF my baby to ward off staining. There is no poop or pee left in the washing machine; our clothes never smell like diapers or anything of the sort (and we have a FL).

Also, in terms of washing, all that is really entailed is a set schedule of sorts. Personally, I wash every other day or after 3 days of diapers to get a proper load size (not too little or too many). Really, washing 2 to 3 times per week is not a big deal; in fact, it has helped me to be more organized with all of our regular laundry as I also don't allow it to pile up either

Diaper services can be convenient, just be aware that they may very likely equal the cost of paying for disposables, and oftentimes the kinds of diapers you may be able to use are limited as they need to sanitize them from baby to baby to ward off any infections--which isn't always an option with diapers containing materials like PUL, microfiber, etc.