Find a garbage can with a lid and foot pedal. You don't want to be fiddling with a lid when your hands are full of a dirty diaper. Most standard pail liners fit a 13 or 14 gallon can. I have one similar to this at target, although mine is slightly smaller and has a foot pedal not the infrared sensor. You can also use something like this plastic can.
Buy two liners. One for the pail, one for laundry. You don't want to have dirty diapers piling up while you wait for your one liner to dry.
When you change a diaper, have all supplies ready, get your wipe wet if you need it, have the next diaper on hand and ready to go. Remove soiled diaper. For newborns who are breastfed, the poop will come out in the wash, so don't worry about removing poop from the diaper. Toss the whole thing in the diaper pail. For older babies, if the bm is solid, dump it into the toilet (it is really helpful to have your changing table near the toilet- if your bathroom is too small, take the diaper off, set it aside and put a new one on the baby, then take care of the diaper) if the bm is runny, you may want to consider using flushable liners. Liners that are not flushed down the toilet with poop on them can go in the laundry and be reused until they fall apart. Diaper sprayers attach directly to the plumbing of the toilet and work like a kitchen sink sprayer, they can be useful for spraying poop of the diaper and into the toilet. I have not used them, because the liners work for me, and I have concerns about overspray. Many cloth diapering moms swear by them, so they are something to look into.
After the poop is removed from the diaper, place the diaper inside the diaper pail. If the cover is mess free, set it on your changing table to air out for use at the next change. Covers can be rotated several times before they need to be washed (unless they get poop on them).
When the diaper pail is full (or full enough to really start smelling (my pail is quite a bit smaller than those I recommended, which was purposeful- it holds just the right amount of diapers for one load)) take the liner full of diapers and empty it into the washing machine. Do a quick wash, a short presoak, or a rinse. No soap, on cold. If the diapers are especially poopy, you might want to go with the wash cycle. Next, add 1/4 the amount of detergent- you can see the diaper jungle link below for a chart on detergents. I use Tide, even though it is not recommended on the diaper jungle chart. It gets the diapers clean and I've never had a problem with rashes. If you find a detergent that works for you, stick with it. There are lots of detergents and you never know how your baby will react to them.
If your diapers are especially smelly, add a little baking powder. If you have hard water, put a little vinegar in the fabric softener spot in your washer. Do not use fabric softener, it will coat your diapers and lead to leaking problems.
If the load is small enough, I add the rest of the family's whites to help cut down on water use.
Wash on hot. With an extra rinse and spin and the end. The extra spin helps get more water out so that they will dry faster.
Hang to dry. The sun works wonders to keep diapers stain free- if outdoors is not an option, air drying inside works just fine. If you don't like the hardness of the diapers after air drying, put them in the dryer for 5 minutes to soften them up.
Don't use dryer sheets, they can affect the absorbency of the diapers and lead to leaks.
Helpful cloth diaper laundering links:
Thirsties Cloth Diaper Care
Diaper Pages
Diaper Jungle Wash Tips
Diaper Jungle Detergent Chart
Showing posts with label Diapering Help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diapering Help. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2008
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Where do I start?
There are many options when it comes to cloth diapering. Cloth diapering can be much less expensive than using disposables or it can be as expensive as you want to make it. Well start off with the simplest (and least expensive) cloth diapering system. This is what I use on my own baby.
Prefolds and Covers
Unless you are expecting a very small baby (my 8lb baby only wore the newborn sized diapers for two weeks, and he could have worn the infant size right away), start with 2-3 dozen infant sized Indian Prefolds, and 6 covers. You can get by on fewer covers, but with six you should be able to go 2-3 days between washes. Prefolds can be folded in a variety of ways, and then secured with pins or a snappi, or they can be folded in thirds and laid flat in a cover (although I have found this method does not adequately contain my baby's explosions).
Fitteds
Fitteds also require a cover, but do not need to be folded, since they are already diaper-shaped and generally have snaps or velcro to hold them onto your baby. Fitteds diapers are sometimes preferred on newborns, since it is easier to fit them on such tiny babies. If you are using solely fitted diapers, you will want 2-3 dozen. Keep in mind that newborns need to be changed much more often than older babies, so they will go through more diapers (luckily, their diapers are so easy to wash!).
AIO's and Pockets
All in one's (AIO's) are the most expensive, but simplest to use. They do not require any covers, it's all built in. The downside is that they take longer to dry. One solution for drying time is the pocket diaper. These AIO's have a pocket in them where you can insert a special pad, or a folded prefold for extra absorbency, and then they are removed prior to washing and drying. You'll want enough to last between washing, so figure out how many changes a day times the number of days you want to go between washing 24 diapers will require washing about every other day, 36, every 3rd day. Younger babies will go through more than older babies, so as the baby gets older, you won't need as many.
Accessories
You'll also want a diaper pail (I use a garbage can with a lid that can be opened with a foot pedal) and two diaper pail liners.
It's useful to have at least two small wet bags for stowing dirty diapers when you are away from home.
The easiest and cheapest way to do wipes is to buy inexpensive baby wash cloths. I keep mine dry, but have a water bottle (the peri bottle from the hospital works great) nearby to wet them. Some people keep their wipes in a wipe warmer with some water.
Snappis are much easier to use than pins since there is no risk of poking the baby (or your fingers). I have one, but two would be nice.
Flushable Liners are great once babies start eating solid foods, they catch the poop and can be flushed down the toilet (they can be used in disposable diapers too, since theoretically poop in disposables is supposed to get flushed..)
Cloth diapering can seem overwhelming at first, but take the leap, and you will see how fun and easy it is. The most important thing about cloth diapering is to do what works for you. If you are comfortable using only cloth, good for you! If you use disposables while traveling, that's okay too. I've found that for short trips away from home, cloth diapers are a breeze as long as I bring my wet bag to carry the used diapers home in. For camping trips, I've found disposables easier.
You can do it!
Prefolds and Covers
Unless you are expecting a very small baby (my 8lb baby only wore the newborn sized diapers for two weeks, and he could have worn the infant size right away), start with 2-3 dozen infant sized Indian Prefolds, and 6 covers. You can get by on fewer covers, but with six you should be able to go 2-3 days between washes. Prefolds can be folded in a variety of ways, and then secured with pins or a snappi, or they can be folded in thirds and laid flat in a cover (although I have found this method does not adequately contain my baby's explosions).
Fitteds
Fitteds also require a cover, but do not need to be folded, since they are already diaper-shaped and generally have snaps or velcro to hold them onto your baby. Fitteds diapers are sometimes preferred on newborns, since it is easier to fit them on such tiny babies. If you are using solely fitted diapers, you will want 2-3 dozen. Keep in mind that newborns need to be changed much more often than older babies, so they will go through more diapers (luckily, their diapers are so easy to wash!).
AIO's and Pockets
All in one's (AIO's) are the most expensive, but simplest to use. They do not require any covers, it's all built in. The downside is that they take longer to dry. One solution for drying time is the pocket diaper. These AIO's have a pocket in them where you can insert a special pad, or a folded prefold for extra absorbency, and then they are removed prior to washing and drying. You'll want enough to last between washing, so figure out how many changes a day times the number of days you want to go between washing 24 diapers will require washing about every other day, 36, every 3rd day. Younger babies will go through more than older babies, so as the baby gets older, you won't need as many.
Accessories
You'll also want a diaper pail (I use a garbage can with a lid that can be opened with a foot pedal) and two diaper pail liners.
It's useful to have at least two small wet bags for stowing dirty diapers when you are away from home.
The easiest and cheapest way to do wipes is to buy inexpensive baby wash cloths. I keep mine dry, but have a water bottle (the peri bottle from the hospital works great) nearby to wet them. Some people keep their wipes in a wipe warmer with some water.
Snappis are much easier to use than pins since there is no risk of poking the baby (or your fingers). I have one, but two would be nice.
Flushable Liners are great once babies start eating solid foods, they catch the poop and can be flushed down the toilet (they can be used in disposable diapers too, since theoretically poop in disposables is supposed to get flushed..)
Cloth diapering can seem overwhelming at first, but take the leap, and you will see how fun and easy it is. The most important thing about cloth diapering is to do what works for you. If you are comfortable using only cloth, good for you! If you use disposables while traveling, that's okay too. I've found that for short trips away from home, cloth diapers are a breeze as long as I bring my wet bag to carry the used diapers home in. For camping trips, I've found disposables easier.
You can do it!
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