Cloth Diapering: How We Roll

More than a few friends have expressed curiosity about our reasons and methods for cloth diapering. I thought I would lay out what we do and how we do it. This post is VERY long. But in it I discuss a bit about our research behind going cloth, the various products that we use, where we shop for our diapering supplies, how we use Chinese Pre-Folds with a diaper cover, and how we launder the diapers with minimal mess. So here goes:

We predominantly use Chinese Pre-folds which are the flat rectangles of cotton that you've probably seen for years used as diapers and burp cloths. We use a single pre-fold, folded into thirds lengthwise, with an outer, water-proof diaper cover. While this is by far the most budget-friendly way to go, there are costlier but easier methods. Chinese Pre-folds, frequently labeled DSQ, or Diaper Service Quality, are made by sewing multiple layers of cotton together. They are divided lengthwise into three parts, with the center panel having extra layers of fabric. So a particular pre-fold's absorbency is noted by the number of layers, (e.g.) 4-6-4 or 4-8-4. When folded in thirds and covered with a diaper wrap, you have a very absorbent, eco-friendly way to diaper your baby!

Before Thora was born, we were living in Manhattan and using landromats. Because we were using communal washing machines, we looked into diaper services, which pick up your soiled diapers, sanitize them, and then drop off a new batch of diapers to you. From my limited research--mostly word of mouth--my impression is that the environmental benefit of using a service is not that different from filling a landfill with one's disposables when you consider the water usage, the chemicals used to treat the diapers, and the carbon emissions of the delivery truck picking up and dropping off your diapers. Since you're not necessarily getting your same diapers back, the services must wash the diapers very thoroughly, perhaps using excessive water and maybe chemicals. (Like I said, I don't have concrete research to back this up and am happy to be corrected if I'm wrong!) Also, using a service is about comparable to the monetary cost of buying disposables. So for us, to be able to self-launder cloth diapers allows us to save money while at the same time pursue eco-friendly diapering.

We launder the diapers ourselves, which is quite painless. We have a washer and dryer in our apartment. (I'm not sure what we would be doing if we lived somewhere with communal washers. I'm curious to know if washing diapers in communal machines is a strict faux pas, or if there are people out there who do this.) Self-laundering keeps the cost of diapering Thora VERY low. There was the initial layout of diapers and covers, around $100; periodic purchases of the diaper liners, around $100 per year (more about these later); and store-bought wipes (which I wash and re-use). This method is much friendlier to our budget then regular disposable diapering. Granted, we are doing more laundry, which surely appears on our electric and gas bills. However, it's only about 3-4 extra loads per week (sometimes less when we're lucky and her poops aren't so messy). However, like most things environmentally-friendly in my life, I'm willing to shoulder the cost--in time or money spent--if there are tangible benefits. We throw away perhaps 1 disposable diaper per month and have 1 plastic grocery bag of garbage from our bathroom per week of wipes (the ones that have come apart after several uses or are too soiled to wash) and general bathroom trash. For us, the results are cut and dry.

There are some great websites and forums out there that provide information about cloth diapering. My first research was on diaperpin.com. It was there that I learned about how modern and easy cloth diapering has become. If you have the means, you can buy cloth diapers that are as easy to deal with as disposables. Since we did our research, I've seen posts on cloth diapering on the Boston Parents Network Yahoo group. For example, there is a personal cloth diapering consultant out of West Somerville with a website that looks interesting: diaperlab.com.

When we got around to purchasing our supply of diapers, we went with tinytush.com. We purchased mostly Chinese Pre-folds and covers to go with them. We've used ProWraps covers and Bummis Super Whisper Wraps covers, both of which we've been happy with. Additionally, we did try out 1 each of three of the most recommended pocket diapers. We went with a Fuzzi Bunz , a Happy Heiny, and a Bum Genius. (TinyTush.com now carries their own brand of pocket diaper and we notice that they no longer carry these brands.) These are a bit pricey, about $17.00 per diaper. However, they couldn't be easier. Anyone who can diaper a baby with a disposable, can diaper a baby with a pocket diaper.

Our stock consists of 5 covers and 18 pre-folds. You can definitely have more, which would mean bigger loads of laundry and less frequent washing... a good thing. These are our "during the day" diapers. While wet and poopy pre-folds go into their respective diaper pail at each changing, you can keep re-using the covers if the diaper is merely wet, or if the poop was contained and did not spread off of the diaper and onto the cover. So we usually only go through 1 or 2 covers a day and 5-6 pre-folds a day. (Thora is a frequent pooper, so if your baby only poops once, you may get away with only 1 cover a day.) At night, we put her in a pocket diaper, stuffed with two inserts--the insert that came with it paired with one of the few random cloth diaper/burp cloths that we've acquired along the way.

Since Pocket Diapers are pretty self-explanatory, I'll only spell out how we use the Chinese Pre-folds and Diaper Covers.

Here's a diaper cover.

It has velcro closures much like a disposable. So once the diaper is folded inside, you pull both up between the babies legs and secure just like a disposable.














Then I fold the pre-fold a) first down about 2 inches at the top to create a lip, and then b) into thirds behind the center panel.

Here is a close-up of the folding technique. There is a purpose behind this specific fold. The two-inch fold at the top creates kind of a lip, so that if Thora were to have a blowout, the lip catches the poop that tries to shoot up out the back of the diaper.

And by folding the two outside thirds behind the center panel, you have edges of the diaper that are, in theory, untouched by poop. That way, I have something to grab on to when picking the diaper up out of the cover and I can cup the mess in the center of the diaper without the poop falling or spilling out.

Then I put a diaper liner down. These thin, rice paper liners, are septic-safe (for most modern pipes) and look a lot like fabric softener sheets, without the filmy residue on them, of course. They are non-absorbent, so they only catch the solids. This way, when Thora poops, I just pull up the liner and toss it (and hopefully the whole mess) into the toilet and flush it. We buy Imse Vimse liners from kidbean.com. When Thora has merely a wet diaper, the used liners, like the diaper wipes, can go right into the wash with the diapers, and be re-used at least twice and often three times.

Now for the cleaning.

The wet diapers are put in a lid-topped garbage can lined with a plastic garbage bag. At the bottom of the garbage can, between the can and the plastic bag, I keep an air freshener.















The poopy diapers go in an old kitty litter bucket filled about 2/3 with water. The bucket has a latching lid which does a great job of keeping the odor down and Thora from investigating the bucket's contents. Yuck! There are people who are proponents of the dry pail method. We tried that and found that we kept being messier than we thought necessary. We switched to the wet pail method.

This is what we do: 1) We try to get as much poop as possible into the toilet. Often this is as easy as lifting out the liner and dropping it in the toilet. However, when her poop isn't perfectly solid and compact, that job may involve anything from using the diaper wipe to roll the poop off the diaper and into the toilet, to the slightly gross "dip and swirl" method. This is just like it sounds. You dip the diaper in the toilet, holding onto a clean end. Then you swirl and swish it around, and the poop, often liquid-y to begin with, comes off in the water. Then, with the aid of the trash can close by, I make the transfer of the wet diaper from the toilet to the wet pail. This sounds terrible, I know. But after a brief learning curve, I got the hang of it, and don't often get my hands or the bathroom messy. And if I do get my hands messy, well, that's what soap and water is for, right? 2) The poopy diapers soak in the water for anywhere between 30 minutes to a day or two, depending on when we do the next load of diapers. 3) We wash the diapers with hot water and a normal amount of regular dye-free detergent. Even though the load would be a "Medium-Sized" load, I set the washer to "Large," since we are going to add in all the water that we are using to soak the diapers. 4) The wet diapers go in, and then we dump the entire contents of the wet pail into the washing machine. This cuts WAY down on mess, since you're not "bobbing for diapers." You don't touch a thing. 5) Every couple weeks, we add a cup or so of vinegar to the final rinse cycle. No bleach or oxy clean, since those products are supposed to break down the diapers, shortening their lifespan. 6) Then all of the diapers go in the dryer. (As the weather gets warmer, I will try to do more air drying outside and sun-bleaching.)

So that's it. They are always clean upon coming out of the dryer. There is no evidence of odor or stains--except for the putty-colored stains from the Boudreaux's Butt Paste that we use as a diaper cream. Like I said, there was a learning curve. But now, doing a load of diapers is as mindless as any other chore around our place. And while a squirmy Thora is harder to diaper with the pre-fold + cover system, the struggle is worth the environmental benefit. And financially, I can't even begin to fathom all that we've saved. And to think, these diapers will be waiting for our hypothetical future children!

I hope this post has taken some of the fear out of considering going cloth. And if you think you might take the plunge, good luck!