Comments on: Poll: cloth diapers

By: Faiza Smith

Faiza Smith — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:33:01 +0000

I cloth diapered my four little ones (I have 5, but did not learn about cloth when my eldest was born). The one thing I did, and still do for my 11 months old right now, is to rinse all the diapers, soiled or not(I realized that the peed ones stink a day after it’s been used), before storing them for laundry day.

When rinsing, I squirt a little dollop of antibacterial handsoap. Another thing I do once a month for cloth diapers, is to soak them in water with very little bar of soap melted in it. Stains gone, and the smell of clean breeze emanates from my white diapers. Heaven!

By: Starr L.

Starr L. — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:06:47 +0000

My 3rd born was able to tell me that she didn’t want paper diapers, she wanted pin diapers. She told me that the paper diapers were HOT, HOT, HOT, MOMMY! When I had a miscarriage earlier that year, I wore a Depends undergarment. It was so HOT I could barely stand it. From then on I tried harder to use paper diapers as little as possible. If a mom is so concerned that her child is not too cold shouldn’t she try to make certain that they are not too hot?

By: MaryB

MaryB — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:24:42 +0000

A long time ago I switched from a diaper service (gasp! what’s that?) to washing my own diapers. I was a professional with a job, so I didn’t have extra time. But it was EASY, EASY. If the diaper was soiled, I just swished the contents into the toilet. As for smells, I used a little bleach in the diaper pail/laundry. We never had smells, stains, or diaper rash. I also did not fold diapers — too time-consuming. I just stuck the clean diapers in a cubicle below the changing table.
Frankly, I can’t see why families want to put up with the smell of soiled paper diapers (in the house or garage) and pay the exorbitant amount of money for paper diapers when washing diapers takes almost no more time than paper.
And yes, putting diapers in sunlight will make them (or anything else) smell great.

By: Jeff9

Jeff9 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:55:41 +0000

The best way to clean cloth diapers is to pre-rinse them off in the toilet using a Hand Bathroom Bidet Sprayer. So convenient and if you are trying to help the environment (and your pocket book) you can give it a double whammy by virtually eliminating toilet paper use by using it on yourself also. I’m not sure how many people know this but that is what they were originally created for. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: “if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn’t wipe it off with paper, would you? You’d wash it off” Available at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com they come in an inexpensive kit and can be installed without a plumber. Now we’re talking green and helping the environment without any pain. One review: http://jonathanandandrea.blogspot.com/2009/04/spray-it-or-scrub-it.html

By: Annaelisabeth

Annaelisabeth — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:43:58 +0000

We’ve not had this problem with smelly diapers. We are in the UK and have cold water fill for our washing machine. This is standard here-we wash the diapers at 60 degrees centigrade which is what the manufacturers recommend plus a standard rinse cycle. I wonder whether you have a shorter rinse cycle-we have front loading machines which take longer. Any I right in saying that in the US, you usually use top loaders?
We use a standard non-biological washing powder (from Lidls-a bit like Aldi) We usually dry the diapers outside-saves loads of money.
HTH.

By: Shari

Shari — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:03:41 +0000

Gina, with respect, it doesn’t take a lot of time once you get a wash routine figured out for you type of water/washer. On the energy and water note let’s think of how many trees, water and energy go into making 1 pack of diapers. A lot! Actually a lot more than it takes to “over”wash a load of cloth while figuring out the right routine for you. Not to mention the aweful chemicals that have been used in them, some that are potentially harmful to children. Some of the chemicals in the diapers were banned from womens products b/c of the dangers of them. There have been proven tests that these chemicals can soak through the skin and can damage organs on childred, also boys are at a higher risk of infertility. There is also the fact that babies that use disposables “trashies” have more diaper rashes. If you change every 2 hours or so like you should be doing to prevent this you go through a LOT of trashies. Would you want to were plastic underware that do not breathe and make your bottom hot and sticky 24/7 for 2 to 3 yrs? I wouldn’t.
This is not even mentioning the amount of trash you will take to the curb every week that is going to sit and rot for hundreds of years to come. Oh and did you know that even if you use trashies you are still supposed to dump as much poo into the toilet as you can before throwing the diaper away? Says so right on most of the diaper packages.
I haven’t even touched on the gas spent to run to the store for more diapers.
Cloth still comes out to the advantage for the environment and family using them.

Shari~mom of 7

PS
I am not a tree hugger, nor do I believe in global warming. I do however believe in being a good steward of my resources.
I am also not anti-trashie use and do use them on occasions like for vacations where I will not have access to a washer, ect. They have their times for use, but I will never go back to them for full time. When you know better, you do better.
Blessings

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:40:10 +0000

Just a thought but the amount of time, energy and water you have to use and sometimes overuse because you’ve chosen cloth diapers, I’m sure that I would have switched to disposable diapers a long time ago!

By: DeputyHeadmistress

DeputyHeadmistress — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:50:48 +0000

I put the cloth diapers in the washer the night before with some tea tree oil and borax, both of which I always have on hand for other reasons. Then I filled the washer and stopped it, leaving them to soak over night. The next morning I drained the load and washed them. Sometimes I put them through an extra rinse. Drying them on the line was a must for really clean, white, fresh diapers.

If your washing water isn’t hot enough and you don’t want to turn up the heat, you might boil some water and pour it in the washer- this is riskier, of course. Or you could just boil the diapers over the stove, but I think that will stink up the house. You could also take a load of cloth diapers to the laundromat once every month or so and then wash them in extra hot water.

I blogged about how I handled cloth here a few months ago.

We have used cloth diapers in Japan, in California, in New Mexico, Alaska, in Washington State, Nebraska, and Colorado. I have had two in cloth diapers at a time- and honestly, there is absolutely NO way that the ‘cost evens out in the washing expense’ as one of your commenters suggests, unless your local water costs are astronomical and/or have to take them to the laundromat *every* time you wash.

By: Darleen

Darleen — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:34:12 +0000

I did not have time to read all the above comments. I recommend soaking diapers in a diaper pail or 5 gal. bucket w/ water & vinegar. Just pour the whole pail into w/ machine & spin. Wash as usual. We line dried as well as used dryer. No stinky smell!

By: Shari

Shari — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Make sure that you are not using “soap” as it leaves build up on the diapers. I love the type of laundry soap from the Duggars, but it left build up on the diapers from the soap. Detergent doesn’t use soap, or at least not a lot of it. If you do want to try the Duggars recipe cut the fels naptha in at least half.