Hi there,
Anyone using cloth diapers?  I've recently started using cloth diapers for my little guy. He is three months. I didn't do it right away because I was changing poopy diapers almost every hour before and I just didn't have the energy to wash diapers everyday.

If you use cloth diapers, what type do you use?  Do you wash them each night? I've heard of the wet pail, but the thought of wet diapers in liquid for a few days may lead to the water being really gross at the end - yes or no?

Any tips for laundering? right now I soak them in cold water with baking soda and the stains come out really well.

I tried the Kushies - ultra but I didn't like them very much! I like the regular Kushies cloth diaper and I use the diaper wrap over them.

Would love to hear what brands you are using and what you think of them

Thanks,
Claire

We use Bummis prefolds with a Snappi to keep it snug, and  Bummis Superbrites diaper covers. 

When only breastfeeding, there is no need for a liner to catch the poop, but once you introduce solids, a liner helps a lot with cleanup. 

We put wet / solied diapers in a large garbage bin that's lined with a GroVia pail liner  , which then gets emptied into the washing machine and it all gets washed in hot water, about 1/4 of a regular load's worth of detergent, and vinegar to break down the uric acid. 

We use a smaller size of the GroVia wet bag for storing wet / soiled diapers when we're out or when my son is at daycare. 

A Pail Pal deodorizer disc is great for keeping odour to a minimum. 

We have enough diapers to only need to wash them every 5 - 7 days.  This has worked well for us since he was about a month old, and we hope to get our daughter started up soon too !

If anyone is interested, I have a suggestion for a good, local online store where we purchase most of our cloth diapering stuff ..... I'm not sure if we can endorse businesses on these forums, though, so I'll leave it for people to email me if curious.

I hope this helps,

Beth

Hi Beth,  I'd like to know the name of the store. I don't see why you can't share here (you're not advertising).  

I used pocket diapers with my DD, from about 2 months till 15 months. We stopped only because she went to daycare and they did not want to do cloth diapers. I used pocket diapers - Apple Cheeks, Swaddlebees and Fuzzi Bunz, which were my favourite in the end.

Going with disposable diapers for the first few weeks after baby is born is a good idea. Firstly, cloth diapers would probably be too big for newborns, and secondly in those early days/ weeks, you want to focus on adjusting to a newborn and sleep deprivation, you don't want to have to figure out cloth diapering, too! And yes, the meconium is pretty icky, so disposable is a definite plus! We liked how the newborn size diapers have the 'wet indicators' that tell when baby has peed LOL

Sears sell kushies diaper stuff, so you could check them out. Also, well.ca are now selling cloth diapers, too. I buy a lot from peekaboobottoms.com in Welland - service is great and they have good offers every now and then.They also have a cloth diaper trial package for newbies wanting to test it out.

For laundering, it's all trial and error. Buy a couple of detergents and see what works for you. Most online cloth diaper retailers have info about cloth diapering and diaper laundering. You do need to be very careful what you use to wash your cloth diapers!!! Tide or Sunlight will (eventually) reduce efficiency of your diapers (absorption or inserts and water-repellancy of covers) as there will be build-up in the fibres. I use Nellie's laundry detergent for all my laundry, including cloth diapers. You can find it at Winners, or in bulk at Costco online . Also, it's Canadian . I also use  Rockin Green Soap which I buy online, and have heard good things about Allen's and Charlies's Soap. Nellie's also has an oxygen brightener which I use as a booster. Info at http://www.nelliesallnatural.com/

A useful laundry detergent table I like to refer to is http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

As mentioned above, vinegar and baking soda is amazing for laundry (and not just cloth diaper laundry BTW!). Bleach should be avoided if possible as it may weaken the fibres of the diapers, but should be okay for very occasional use. If you need to 'bleach' out stains, air-drying in the sun (even just indoors on a drying rack by a sunny window) works wonders.

In terms of how often to launder - depends on how many diapers you have, and how long you can handle the smell every time you open the diaper pail :) I used to wash at least every 2-3 days.

There are sooo many online retailers selling cloth diapers and providing info, just do some research and lots of reading, but just jumping right in is the best way to learn!

Here's my list of sites I buy from, they all have tons of info about cloth diapering (most are online, though some do have storefronts, and they are all in Ontario and run by moms) and eco-friendly/ natural parenting products:

Peekaboo Bottoms (Welland) *have a trial program
So Green Baby (Markham)
Cheeky Monkey (London)
The Cloth Diaper Shop (St Catherines) *have a trial program
Moms and Bums (Burlington)
Caterpillar Baby (Toronto)
By Nature (Orillia/Barrie)
Belly Laughs (Kanata/ Ottawa) *have a trial program
Maple Bottoms Baby Boutique (Aurora)

Some other things you need to know/ consider re: the world of cloth diapering:

- You should not use "regular" diaper creams (as they affect effectiveness of the diapers); similar to the detergents, you need to find a cloth diaper friendly diaper cream in case baby gets a diaper rash (CJ's BUTTer or Grandma El's are completely fine to use), and even Vaseline is not recommended. As Beth mentioned, an alternative is to buy disposable flushable liners as a barrier (this is a major plus for when baby starts solids and the poop gets smelly and icky)
- You may need to invest in a cloth diaper pail (or just use a large kitchen bin) and "wet" bag, as well as smaller "wet" bags for on the go; otherwise you'll be going through a lot of plastic bags. A "wet" bag is basically just a cloth bag with a waterproof (PUL) lining. I didn't go with a wet diaper pail - just put dirty diapers in the pail liner then empty it straight in to the washer by turning the pail liner inside out and throwing that in the washer too.
- If you're really dedicated to saving money and/or the environment, you may want to also consider cloth wipes and making your own wipe solution (I used 90% water with 5% baby wash and 5% baby oil/ olive oil in a spray bottle)
- As baby gets bigger and pees more, you may need to get additional inserts to increase absorbency of pocket diapers

Good luck - it may seem like a little more work in the beginning while you get the hang of things, but it's worth it.

Hi there, I also use cloth.  I use Bamboo Motherese one-size diapers and separate covers.  I haven't had any issues with diaper rash, and laundering has been a breeze!  I have plenty of diapers, but I still wash every other day; I just don't want them sitting in a pail for too long.    Motherese has a special hose that connects to your water shut-off valve to your toilet (it looks like the hose for a kitchen sink), so that you can hose off any poo.  You can also get cloth liners for heavy wetters (like my little guy), or flushable paper liners if you are going out and don't want as much of a mess. Motherese also has a special diaper pail with a charcoal filter and mesh insert bag so you can take the diapers in the mesh bag to the washing machine (this is helpful when my husband does the wash and doesn't want to touch anything!)