Clothdiapermama’s Weblog

My 2nd attempt at making a fleece soaker and I made the waist band too short. Still cute though.

I used the free Katrina’s Soaker pattern today and made my first fleece soaker. It was so quick and easy. The pattern is free and the fleece I got at Walmart for next to nothing. I think that it was $1.47 and there is enough to make quite a few more. I love it.

How to wash cloth diapers.? This is the question everyone new to cloth diapering asks. Do you have to soak them in water? Do you have to use special soap. It can be kind of confusing and you may find a lot of contradictory advice online. It will wash routine will ultimately hinge on a few factors and your routine will eventually be your own.

Factors in washing cloth diapers

Your water. Is your water hard or soft? Does it have lot of minerals in it? This will make a difference in how much and which kind of detergent you can use on your cloth diapers.

Your washing machine.

What kind of washing machine do you have? If you have a front loader your routine for washing cloth diapers will be very different than someone who has a top loading washing machine.

The front loading washing machine uses a lot less water than a top loading machine. This is great for the environment, but makes washing cloth diapers a little more difficult. Here’s how I wash cloth diapers with a front loading machine.

Front Loader ~ this is the kind of machine I have and here is how I wash my cloth diapers.

1. Short cycle cold wash cold rinse. Wash cloth diapers through one cold cycle to rinse them off and get any left over feces off of them. No detergent in this cycle

2. hot wash/hot rinse. Wash cloth diapers on a long cycle with the stain rinse and an extra rinse cycle. Use a detergent free from dyes, perfumes and any additives.

3. Hot wash/hot rinse. Third cycle to make sure any detergent residue has rinsed free.

The discussion of detergents for cloth diapers is confusing at best. Make sure you get one that is free of dyes, perfumes and additives, but understand you may have to try a few different brands to find one that works well with your machine and your water.

If your detergent is leaving residue on your diapers you will know because one of two or both of these things will happen. Your diapers will start to stink or your baby will get a rash.

Best way to get rid of residue is to run your diapers through a few cycles in the washing machine with really hot water. If you see any suds at all in the water or on the machine run them through again.

I have suffered with residue problems. It’s best to avoid the problem in the first place and washing cloth diapers with this process with a front loading washing machine has virtually eliminated the problem. I did find the detergents specially made for front loading washing machines worked much better for me. You can find these detergents free of dyes and perfumes as well. Having a front loading washing machine can make things a little more complicated, but once you figure out a system that works with your diapers, your water and your machine it will be easy enough.

This is how I am washing cloth diapers in a front loading machine. It is a bit of a long process but it’s what I found that works. If you want to figure out which detergents to use and find answers for any other cloth diaper questions stop by the cloth diaper resource center.

I had been on the search for an easy way to make my own prefolds and I think that I actually found one!! Here it is for you too. You will love the tutorial that is on there and the great way that it is explained will make it a breeze to sew your own prefolds.

Why go the extra step when diapering your baby? Don’t parents have enough things to worry about?

Those are two excellent questions. But what if I changed them up a bit and asked them this way:

Would you take an extra step if it were healthier for your baby, the environment and your pocketbook? What if you never had to worry about running out of diapers and needing to make a middle of the night diaper run?

When first introduced to the idea of cloth diapering, I didn’t rush right out and buy pins and prefolds. It took months before it wasn’t about me and the “extra work” I imagined. I began to see the benefits cloth diapering had to offer my child. The proverbial “straw” was seeing those icky gel crystals from disposables on my son’s private parts. After that I jumped right into cloth diapering and never looked back.

Further research into those gel crystals revealed that they had a name! Sodium Polyacrylate. Scientific journals reveal that those crystals could cause minor skin irritations and oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues (do a Google search and you will even learn that this chemical is also found in Sephora’s Lift Fusion face lift product!!!). That is not something you want touching or possible entering your child’s body. It’s hard enough dealing with a little diaper rash!

If the health argument isn’t a strong enough reason to make you run away from disposables maybe their impact on the environment will be.

Have you ever driven by what looked like a mountain only to discover that it is in fact a landfill?

I used to live close to a landfill just outside of Dallas. The landfill was as part of the skyline as skyscrapers are to Downtown Dallas. Next to this dump are some of the nicest shopping malls and brand name stores. When you left the shopping Mall area towards the highway you would see what appears to be a massive, barren mound that looks as if an atomic bomb was dropped on it. Contained in that monstrosity of a hole are BILLIONS of disposable diapers. Scientists aren’t even sure if disposable diapers will ever fully breakdown while sitting in the landfill.

Besides the fact that this space to store our waste is encroaching upon our living quarters, there are real human feces floating around by the tons! Even the EPA has something to say about this: “a significant portion of the disposable diaper waste dumped in American’s landfills every year is actually biodegradable human waste preserved forever.” In order for anything to decompose air and water must be present. However, when landfills are constructed they are designed in such a way as to limit these 2 key components.

Therefore, even if you bought “green” disposables they would still sit unchanged for hundreds of years. On top of that, in 1998, the World Health Organization made it illegal to toss human waste into the trash. This law isn’t something you will read on the back of that brand name diaper package. When I was using disposable diapers, I certainly didn’t empty out the solids. Why take an extra step?

And of course, finally but certainly not least, is the financial impact diapers have on a family. You have heard it a million times, “Diapers are expensive!” And they’re talking about disposable ones. You never hear a family that is actually “cloth diapers are expensive”. When comparing the numbers, it’s very clear which method is less expensive. Even a coupon-clipping, grocery-gaming mom who can get disposable diapers for free wouldn’t come out the winner (or at least not their child).

A quick search on the internet for great diaper deals yields this “bargain”: Huggies 40ct size 3 diapers 4-pack for $61.92. If you change your baby’s diaper every 2 hours (as recommended) that pack will last 3 days and 8 hours. A year of these diapers would cost $6780.24 at this price. That is only for one year! Let’s say we cut that in half for store brand and you still have $3390.12. You would have one rockin’ cloth diaper stash if you spent that much money in one year. Buying conservatively and choosing to be frugal guarantees that cloth diapering will save you money (even when you factor in a little extra for washing).

You will love knowing that if all your diapers are dirty or if you are stranded (as were the survivors of Katrina), you can confidently and creatively diaper your child. You will no longer be dependent upon the diaper industry and a paycheck for diapers.

Cloth diapering is an amazing opportunity to lessen your footprint on this Earth. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that choosing to cloth diaper is the best choice biologically, environmentally, and financially.

Autumn Beck is a cloth diapering mom of three. She invites those looking for the latest information on how to buy, use, wash, and make cloth diapers to visit her blog at http://www.allaboutclothdiapers.com/

This is just awesome. I found this by accident when I was doing a search for something on Google. It is The Real Diaper Association. You can go there for information about why to choose cloth diapers and they have a “ASK ME ABOUT CLOTH DIAPERS” – REAL DIAPER CAMPAIGN that you can join and you can print out a packet of flyers, button cards, banners that you can place on your website, and more. This would be a great thing to do for Earth Day! This is a great way to share the knowledge of cloth diapers and to get the word out there so that everyone can make an educated decision about how they are going to diaper their baby! Which , hopefully , after you share this information with them, they will use cloth!!

Real Diapers for Real Babies. The Real Diaper Association … creating a cultural shift to increase the
use of simple, reusable cloth diapers.

Cloth Diapers are Real Diapers The Real Diaper Association organizes local advocates and activists for cloth diapers through a member-supported resource center which plans campaigns, trains organizers, distributes educational information, and supports local groups, and connects users to the U.S. Cloth Diaper industry.

Since Proctor & Gamble first introduced the Pampers disposable diapers to the marketplace in 1961 the debate has raged over which diapering choice is the most earth-friendly. While cloth diapers can be reused, they require hot water and electricity to wash. Disposable diapers are not recyclable and can sit in landfills for years. And yet, when babies go, it’s got to go somewhere, right?

Most environmentalists agree that cloth diapers are the most earth-friendly choice. Conventional disposable diapers contain fabric that has been bleached with chlorine, a process which creates substances, including dioxin, a carcinogen. Many studies have linked dioxin to birth defects and reproductive disorders. Additionally conventional diapers contain fragrances that can contain any number of chemicals including the hormone-disrupting phthalates.

While cloth diapers do require more electricity and water to launder, a 1991 study by an independent environmental agency found that disposable diapers use 20 times more raw materials, 3 times as much energy and 2 times as much water as cloth, and they obviously generate way more waste. While these facts might make some diaper-changing parents groan, it isn’t as bad as you think. Today there are some really hi-tech cloth diapers that are practically as easy as disposables. And there are some green-er alternatives to traditional disposables. A few companies have come out with biodegradable or chlorine-free diapers, and one company, G Diapers, has come out with a flushable diaper that has a reusable cloth outer and flushable chlorine-free inserts.

Note: Though much ado has been made about the gel beads in diapers (Sodium Polyacrylate) due to a flawed study which implicated its use in tampons to toxic shock syndrome, many, many studies have since proven its safety.

Tara Smith is a mom, perennial researcher, reader and author of growbabygreen.com, a website that helps parents “go green” for their baby and family.To learn more green, organic and natural living ideas and tips visit http://www.growbabygreen.com