Cloth Diapers 101

More and more parents are choosing to return to cloth diapers as their diapers of choice. Whether it’s because it’s cheaper in the long run or better for the environment, cloth diapers can be a great choice for many different reasons. While people think choosing cloth diapers can be a real hassle it can be a simple system for people who know the tricks and tips.

I’m calling it cloth diapers 101:

Diaper Service or DIY

You’ll first need to decide if you want to either buy the diapers and clean them yourself or just pay a service to supply and clean them for you. Services will run between $10-$20 dollars a week, depending on the number of diapers you’ll be needing. Buying the diapers and covers allow you to skip the service but will cost roughly you around $500 in up front costs.

Cleaning the Diapers

I won’t lie and say there is anything that makes cleaning a dirty diaper a fun task but I have found that investing in a diaper spray can make it a little more tolerable.

The sprayer costs $39.99 and can be installed in just a few minutes. You’ll also want to invest in some wet bags (think of large cloth zip lock bags). Wet bags are for when you’re out of the and house and need a place to keep used diapers contained until you get them back to the house.

Overnight Diapers

When it comes to overnight, you’ll need to provide your child with some extra coverage. There are two main choices; you can either add a pad to your regular diaper and cover, or you can use an overnight diaper (a regular diaper is folded inside it)

Washing

This will be the part of the process that will start to eat into your financial savings. It will take quite a few loads to get the diapers clean, that means a larger water bill. This is what our washing process looks like:

1) Cold water rinse (no soap)
2) Hot water wash (soap)
3) Hot water rinse
4) Take covers out and add vinegar. Hot water rinse (Vinegar cuts the soapy residue)
5-7) Keep rinsing the diapers with hot water until all soap has been removed

Extra

Something important to remember is Desitin rash cream can not be used with cloth diapers (it will totally ruin them.) So you’ll need to find an alternative, we use Grandma El’s. We have also previously used GroVia Magic Stick with equal success.