More Diaper Buzz

I don't mean to go on about this. I know I've already reported on our experiences in switching to cloth diapers. But I feel compelled to say again how happy we've been with this change, and to offer a few suggestions to those who are seriously considering this possibility.

1. Give it a few weeks. It took about 3 weeks for me to figure out how to use cloth diapers to their fullest potential. It is absolutely true that if you don't care for them properly or adjust them appropriately you will have problems. But when you get into a routine that works for you, they work just as good if not better than the best disposables out there. I think it's very true that they do not reach their highest capacity of liquid retention until you've washed them a few times. At first I had to change them every 2 hours to prevent leaks. Now I change them about as often as I did with disposables. (Which wasn't often.)

2. Rinse. Many cloth enthusiasts insist that this is not necessary. That to clean cloth diapers you only need to knock solids in the toilet and throw them in the washer. Maybe for some this is true, but for our particular situation, for the consistency of my kid's "solids" or "not-so-solids" I really have to rinse them out for effective cleaning. It may also have to do with having a high efficiency washer, which doesn't use anywhere near as much water or soap as a regular washer. What MacGyver did for me is install one of those cheap plastic sink/tubs next the washer with a sprayer. I spray off everything I can with cold water and then just leave the diaper to soak in an inch or so of cold water until my next load of diapers. Before I added this step, all of my diapers were coming out of the washer and dryer dingy and with a little bit of a questionable smell.

3. Follow care instructions carefully. Cloth diapers need special care. They shouldn't be cleaned with much detergent at all and it should be either homemade or approved by the manufacturer. I didn't follow this advice with cloth pull-ups I bought in the past and you can tell by looking at them. If you overload with detergent and bleach they will not work as well and their life expectancy will not be as long. And if they start to leak, chances are they just need to be rinsed and rinsed and rinsed without soap for awhile to get the buildup off. This is known as "stripping."

The instructions warn that using vinegar, baking soda or bleach too often will cause buildup. I try to use just a splash of vinegar every other or every 3 times I wash. And when they start to have a slight odor, I use just a tablespoon or so of bleach, but I am cautious about only doing this every few washes. It does take care of any smell starting to emanate.

4. Adjust. The diapers I bought have adjusters inside them. I had to play around with them and find out what settings Baby J needed to keep them from leaking. I also learned to put them on to prevent leaks too. You have to keep the front up high as you are snapping them in place, then pull the back up and make sure the elastic around the legs is snug against the skin. Since I learned to do this, they rarely leak.

Again, I will reiterate - I've been extremely happy with this decision. They are not bothersome. They save you money after a few month's use. They save garbage dumps from unnecessary refuse. They save baby's bottom from unnecessary chemicals and irritants. They are an all around good idea, and I'm thankful to have them!