Advise on cloth diapers..

Jackie - posted on 08/09/2010

I use Coolababy diapers on my daughter - sell on eBay for about AU$5-6 each. They are a modern cloth pocket diaper - like a disposable in looks - made with a waterproof cover, fleece inside with a pocket in between & you have absorbent inserts that you put in the pocket. (sorry, I hope I didn't confuse you with that description!).
I have 18 which allows me to wash every second day without running out. I keep them in a seal bin until washing. For washing I just wash on a longer cycle & spin on high so drying time is quicker (we live in a cool climate). When she still had quite running poo (not so many solids) I would rinse first before washing.
I still use a disposable overnight as Miss L is still feeding 2 times overnight & I'd have to change her if she was in cloth. She is 9.5 months old - 3 meals of solids a day, 3 breastfeeds daily & 2 overnight. The only thing I've found is that she is now filling them up quicker (wetting) so I'm going to make extra boosters so they last the 3 hours on her.
I love using cloth & so does my daughter.

Elaine - posted on 08/08/2010

I strongly recommend Econobum to you - you can get an entire stash for about $100. Cottonbabies.com also has free economy shipping anywhere in the continental U.S. If you call their customer support, they will help you with cleaning directions, etc. (And, as added bonus, the diapers have a 1 year warranty!)

If you have a bit of extra money, you might want to check out their bumgenius diapers - they're easier to use, and better for night-time diapering, but they're also a bit more expensive. (One or two for nighttime use would be a good idea if your budget stretches that far, though.)

The larger your stash of diapers, the less often you need to do laundry. However, if you plan on going more than 2-3 days between washes, you'll probably want to use prefolds - they handle sitting dirty better than most other diapers that I've used.

I personally use a combo of BG3.0s and prefolds with flip covers. (Husband only uses the 3.0s because he wants something as simple as a sposie.)

Margaret - posted on 08/06/2010

I use an old kitty litter bin with a tight lid as a diaper pail to keep the smell out of the house. As for washing them, I usually run the dirty diapers through a rinse cycle first and then a full wash cycle with Dreft. That way you're not washing them in dirty water. As far as cheap goes... prefolds work just fine and I use Gerber waterproof pants to go over them. You can buy them for around 5 dollars for a set of three and you don't even necessarily need to use a new cover each time (they're basically plastic underwear to put over the diaper). I also bought some used cloth diapers off of Craigs List and I got a great deal on them, try something like that

Charity - posted on 08/06/2010

Also, consider a splurge on a diaper sprayer, very handy for getting solids off the diaper into the toilet and helps to keep odor down when you spray the wet diapers off too. Any cheap pail with a cover is good to keep them in, but I love the deluxe pail from babyworks (was fortunate enough to get it as a gift) both babyworks and nickisdiapers also have a gently used section and really good try it and return policy if you don't like the style you tried!

Charity - posted on 08/06/2010

I learned 90% of what I know at babyworks.com. They are a family owned single retail store that also does internet and mail order sales. There are a handful of women who work there that all have extensive knowledge of diapering and will talk to you on the phone about any cloth topic you need help with. Their website is loaded with laundering tips as well. I also love nickisdiapers.com for selection of many many many styles, but that can be a little overwhelming if you don't know anything aout them. I have tried all-in-ones, pocket diapers, fitted diapers and prefolds with covers. I use primarilly chinese prefolds with Thirsties covers with good success. This is one of the least expensive systems (diapers are ~$24/dozen, and covers ~$13 each {you need 4-6 covers in each size}). I wash my diapers every to every other day with Biokleen premium plus powder adn clorox 2. first a prewash with a soak, the a regular wash with an extra rinse, dry in dryer with no fabric softner (dryer balls are helpful). Use very hot water. The more often you are willing to do laundry, the less diapers you need to buy. My son is 6 months old, a tummy sleeper and a heavy wetter, so I am currently buying fitted diapers with wool covers for overnights, but love the prefolds for daytime. I also use hemp/fleece doublers from babyworks to add absorbancy and time between changes. Good Luck!!!

Kirsten Veronica - posted on 08/04/2010

Okay apparently there are places to get used diapers online but I've never been able to do that. My super cheap diapering system has been unbleached Indian cotton prefolds (your baby would "probably" be in the "premium" size at this stage with the back folded down for a while) and a cheap diaper cover like the LiteWrap (probably in medium). I use a Snappi to hold the diaper itself together and love this system. I get my diapers from CottonBabies.com and they often have sales or coupons. And sometimes they do in fact sell used supplies.

Now I have about 60 prefolds and do laundry anywhere from every other to every three days. I always have between three and six covers depending on her size and how many I've been able to afford. The diapers themselves fit a size range bigger than the covers I use, so I've been using the same diapers for about five months and they will continue to fit for a LONG time while I've had to buy new covers to fit.

Washing is easy. You do have to "prewash" cloth diapers in hot water several times to make them absorbent, and that's a pain, but worth it. After that diaper laundry is EASY! Don't worry about putting anything on them in the diaper pail. As long as you are washing at least every three days, you have no problems.

I use my parents' HE front loader and do a prewash, wash and extra rinse, very little detergent. When I use my older top loader I would do a cold prewash (no detergent) a hot wash (small amount of detergent) and sometimes an extra cold rinse. Then either sun dry or tumble dry.

Detergents I use are Ecos Free & Clear and Seventh Generation Free & Clear.

Hope that helps. :)

Janice - posted on 08/04/2010

If you don't sew but know someone who does, you may be able to swap some time or something with them if they will sew for you.
Prefolds and pins can get you started and as you save some, you can buy 'nicer' diapers that you like better if that's all you can afford to start with.
I have a diaper sprayer and bucket (potty pail) that I love, but didn't have that until my twins were about 15 months. If you're able to get one at some time in the future, they're nice for the mushy solids that don't just shake out.

Majaliwa - posted on 07/31/2010

1. Check out these two videos. One explains the different types of cloth diapers out there and the other explains the other accessories you'll need to buy to go with your cloth diapers.


2. If cost is your main concern, I recommend either buying prefold diapers with PUL covers or buying used diapers from places like swapmamas.com or diaperswappers.com

3. In terms of cleaning them, that's pretty easy. Since your baby is on solids, the poop is more firm and can be shaken off into the toilet most times. You then toss the wet diaper into something called a diaper pail (I use a 13 gallon trash can with a lid) until you're ready to wash. To wash, I recommend using Tide detergent and doing the following: rinse cold with no detergent, wash hot with detergent, followed by a cold rinse - then dry.

4. In terms of number of diapers, just count how many your baby goes through a day and then multiply that by how many days you want to have in between washings to determine how many to buy. For example, if baby goes through 8 diapers a day and you want to wash every 3 days, then you need to purchase 24 cloth diapers.

Melissa - posted on 07/31/2010

Sorry..didn't see the rest of the question. My daughter is 8 1/2 months old and also breastfed. We go through 12-15 diapers a day. I wash my diapers every day because I don't like to leave them sitting. If you don't have a homeowners association which prohibits it I'd recommend line-drying your diapers. The sun is great for getting rid of stains, it's more economical and it's greener. I like to wash my diapers with All Free & Clear b/c my little girl has sensitive skin. I don't use any fabric softener. Also, to help with pail odor, take a rag with a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender and leave it in the pail. For fitting and pinning prefolds I recommend youtube. There are some great informative videos showing you how to use them.

Melissa - posted on 07/31/2010

Hi Andrea. The cheapest cloth diapers I can think of would be cotton prefolds with diaper pins and an inexpensive cover. I'm not sure what cover would be best, since I use Bumgenius all-in-ones. I would recommend going to diaperswappers.com and check out the FSOT forum. You can probably find someone selling them used. Also, many of the online sites sell factory damaged prefolds for a better price than undamaged ones, and the damage is usually inconsequential. You can also check out http://www.borntolove.com/frugal-diaperi... for tips on how to make your own. Hope that helps a bit.