Cloth Diapering 101

Cloth Diapering may be one of the most intimidating steps to low waste and non toxic living - but Im here to assure it truly is simple and, that it wont stink up your house if you follow these few tips for laundering and general cloth diaper maintenance.

S T A S H

Fist of all, let’s talk about how many cloth diapers you realistically need. A newborn baby on average will soil 10 to 12 diapers a day the first month of a their life. By six months old a baby will soil an average of 5 to 6 diapers a days. My stash of 26 diapers means that in the new born phase it would entail laundering them every 2-3 days. Now, between burp cloths, pajamas, outfits and swaddles - you’re already going to be doing laundry every few days regardless, so don’t let that scare you - babies require a lot of laundry period. Now that my little one is 9 months old we get away with washing every 4-5 days - which is about the longest you want them to sit anyways - so in my opinion there is not really a need to have a stash larger than 30 diapers for one baby.

B R A N D

Over my many years as a nanny I got to experience and use several brands of cloth diapers and have come to love the quality and simplicity of BumGenius as far as major retailers go. However, if your’e looking to shop small and hand made - I am absolutely in love with Lilly and Frank designs.

F I T

To prevent leaks having a cloth diaper that fits properly is key - Every baby is different, and there are many different types of cloth diapers available so fit can often vary, but here are some basics. To check the fit lift your baby’s legs after putting the diaper on and observe how it hugs their bum. If you see any gaps between your baby’s leg and the diaper or it slides around with movement - you’re going to want to make your cloth diaper a bit more secure. This will require fastening to the next tabs around the waist or adjusting the rise setting on your one-size cloth diapers to get a better fit around their legs. You want it just loose enough that you can slide in a finger but a well-fitting cloth diaper will always be snug around your baby’s legs and waist.

D I A P E R I N G

Here are what I have found to be the most common “basics” questions.

“what do I do with dirty diapers?” just like you’d keep a pail for disposables next to your changing station, you’ll want one for cloth. I recommend that it have a lid like this one and you’ll also want a reusable/washable liner. If you are using a style with a pocket, pull out the insert then roll the whole thing up and toss it in the pail.

“Do I need to scrape the poop out?” It depends. breastfed baby poop is water soluble, so no matter how big the mess there is no need to “pre-clean” anything. But, if your baby is on formula you may want to invest in a toilet hose attachment and spray off a large portion of the mess before putting it in the pail. Once your baby starts eating solids foods you can just usually tip the diaper over the toilet to dispose of solid poop and flush. There is also the option of using disposable diaper liners that you can lift out and flush with the waste.

“Wont it make my whole house stink?” There can be a slight oder to cloth diapers sitting over time, of course. But, if you use a pail with a lid, roll the diapers and launder every 2-4 days you really wont notice it very often if at all and only in the room your storing the pail.

“what about wipes?” These are my favorite cloth wipes. You can buy wipe solution spray but its very easy - and cost effective to DIY!

My recipe for cloth wipe spray (16oz bottle)
1 Tbls fractionated coconut oil
1 Tbls unscented Castile soap
10 drops lavender Essential oil
7 drops Tea tree essential oil
Top with filtered water

Gently shake bottle and spray onto cloth wipe just before using (Essential oils should be 100% pure therapeutic grade. My choice and recommendation is Young Living Essential oils)

L A U D N E R I N G

Wash day - for me this is whenever I notice I only have a couple changes left, the pail is full or, if there is a particularly stanky diaper that warrants washing right away. 1) Remove entire lining from pail (I highly recommend holding it shut in transfer to the laundry room). 2) Dump the bag into your washing machine. For cloth diapering, top loading machines are preferred but you can still use front loading machines - I just recommend more frequent “stripping” as they do not submerge laundry which allows for more build-up over time due to insufficient rinsing. 3) Run a rinse & spin cycle or quick wash cycle on the hottest setting without any detergent. 4) Add any additional dirty baby laundry at this point to save yourself another load later! 5) Add your detergent. I highly recommend avoiding any “baby” or traditional laundry soaps as they contain very harsh chemicals and fragrances that are not kind to baby’s skin or hormones (or yours to be quite frank). My top choices for detergent are Rockin’ Green Dirty Diaper, Young livings Thieves Laundry soap undiluted, or Trader Joes unscented liquid detergent. 6) Select your longest and hottest wash setting (if your machine has an “extra rinse cycle” button select that too along with a soak period if this is an option. 7) Transfer to the dryer. Do not, I repeat DO NOT use fabric softer with your cloth diapers. This will cause the fabric to repel liquid over time and that is the opposite of what you want your diapers to do. If you would like to avoid static or reduce drying time I suggest wool dryer balls which you can optionally put essential oils on for additional freshness.

S T R I P P I N G

Another way to keep the cloth diaper funk under control and an important step to ensure long life from your diapers is to regularly “strip” them. You will find lots of stripping protocols that use bleach, heavy detergents or other harmful solutions. For convinence sake I really love this Rockin’ Green soak - but I have also found this DIY soak that does a wonderful job stripping and does not leave my diapers weighed down with chemicals that will ultimately give little baby bums a rash.

After a regular wash, place all diapers into the bathtub or a large container. Fill will the hottest water your faucet will provide. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup DIY non toxic bleach. Soak for 2-4 hours stirring with a wooden spoon a few times. Drain and refill with hot water, washing soda and non toxic bleach for a second soak if needed. Move on to sun bleaching if desired - or - follow with a regular wash and dry cycle to rinse out stripping products.

My recipe for non toxic bleach (20oz bottle)
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
2 caps Thieves Household Cleaner
15 drops Lemon essential oil
Top with filtered water.

(Note: a common mistake people make with natural cleaning combos - baking soda and washing soda should NEVER be mixed with acidic cleaning ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar. The bubbling reaction when the ingredients are combined is the acid neutralizing the power of the alkaline cleaner. Alkaline cleaners need to attack acidic household soils (in this case urine) to work well. Neutralizing their power with acidic cleaning ingredients renders them ineffective.)

S U N B L E A C H I N G

This is not required for the functionality of cloth diapering - but it does eliminate stains to keep your stash looking white and fresh.
I follow up stripping with sun bleaching because the lemon oil in the non toxic bleach aids in the whitening effect. This is SO easy to do. After soaking your diapers, lay them out on a clean surface outside (table/tarp/bed sheet) or hang on clothesline, in direct sunlight for several hours until the stains have faded. The heat of a day makes no difference so long as there is sunshine. You can re-soak and lay out any items that need additional time.

“How does it work?” Simply put, when an object is exposed to natural sunlight, the colors of the object will begin to fade. This is known as photodegradation - the alteration of materials by light as a result of the combined action of sunlight and air. These effects are amplified and take place quicker when an object is wet opposed to dry as water allows the UV rays to penetrate the fabric further.

Cloth Diapering is a wonderful way to cut down on diapering cost and waste. It takes a little extra work on your part but is absolutely worth it. Better for the planet and your little ones bum. There is always the option of “hybrid” diapering too - which in full disclosure is what we do. What this means is that when traveling or on occasion if I know we will be out of the house for a long period of time and I don’t want to tote around bulky or dirty cloth diapers, I’ll use a disposable. At night, to avoid unnecessary diaper changes that ultimately disturb my littles baby’s sleep, we use a single disposable each night.

A blog post on your best options for clean non toxic disposables along with their general price points and out personal experience with each brand will be coming soon!

Whatever you choose - happy diapering friends!