12 Practical Tips for Using Cloth Diapers
A few months ago, I saw a post on Instagram asking for advice on cloth diapers. Another mom was just starting out and was struggling a bit. I reached out and offered some advice (solicited and un-). It ended up being a fairly long reply, and I thought, why not make a blog post about it? More and more people are working towards low waste and sustainable lifestyles, and for those of us with kids, that may include cloth diapers!
Once we got started with cloth diapering, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. Yes, disposables are easier in some ways (more on that below!) but for the most part, cloth diapers are pretty easy. We are on our second kiddo and have been pretty successful.
Ten years ago, when I first started writing and talking publicly about ethical fashion and lifestyle, I never in a million years thought I would write about cloth diapers. But, here I am, giving out practical advice on using cloth diapers. This is not a how to or a recommendation on brands or styles (maybe, another day I will go into it more, but you can get our favorite here). Mama Natural has some good advice, and a quick Google search will give you tons of advice. This is just some practical advice on using cloth diapers, from a mom who has been doing it for almost four years.
Real quick, if you aren’t sure, here is the upside of cloth diapering:
- Better for the environment
- Better for your wallet
- Better for your baby’s skin
- Not as hard as you think!
- SUPER CUTE. We are constantly getting compliments on his “diaper covers.” I love saying, “no, that’s his diaper!” I mean, how cute are these?
- Easier to potty train (so I’ve been told. I am not sure if this is true or not, but we did have a pretty easy time with it).
Again, there is a ton of info online about the price differential (you should save a couple hundred a year), and the environmental impact (whoa! like seriously, whoa). And a biggie for us, you shouldn’t have issues with diaper rash. My older guy had a few diaper rashes (maybe four or five), my little one has had none. Not even one.
Cloth Diapering is Not as Hard as You Think
I promise you this. People always ask us how we do it. “Do you have a service? That must be expensive.” No, we don’t have a service. “Well, who washes them?” We do. And it isn’t that bad.
Practical Advice on Using Cloth Diapers
Once you’ve decided that you want to try out cloth diapers, (good for you, btw!), here are a few tips to make it a little easier:
1. Don’t start right away.
We waited until our older one was about 6 or 8 weeks old. Why? Well, a few reasons.
The standard cloth diapers don’t fit newborns. And I really didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a newborn set that would last a few months at the most.
Also, they poop and poop and poop. And poop is just not as fun with cloth diapers. Still isn’t, but there is less of it. I think that if you get started too early, you might get discouraged. Breast milk comes right out in the wash (no need to even rinse beforehand) but if you use formula or supplement at all, that is a lot of poop to rinse.
Newborns are a lot of work. There is a ton of laundry, not enough sleep, your recovery, and usually (at least for us) a fair amount of other messes. Don’t add to it. Give yourself a few weeks to get out of the tiny newborn stage, into a routine, and then try out cloth diapers (especially if you are a first time mom).
2. Buy a few different styles.
Or borrow them.
I went over board on one style. And it is the one style I like the least. I wish I would have tried a few more styles, and then committed. Even two years in, I discovered that I like this insert more than the ones we’d been using. But, I bought so many of the other ones, that I didn’t need to buy more.
Try out all-in-ones , hybrids or two-in-ones (these are my current favorites), prefolds (I have heard these are great for newborns, if you do decide to jump right in!), and pocket diapers. Questions on all the different types? Take a look at Nerdy Mama’s post on all nine types.
Likely, you’ll want to skip the prefolds and flats (these are the ones that our moms used and are more difficult, but way cheaper!) and go for the all-in-ones hybrids, or pocket diapers.
3. You don’t need as many as you think.
Or at least this has been our experience. With our first, we had 12 shells, and inserts for 2 more changes. For a total of 14 changes without doing laundry. This worked for us. I thought we would need 24, but we did ok.
Once we had our second, we had seven months with two in diapers. Our little one was in disposables for the first two months, but after that we bought a few more hybrids and inserts.
We do a lot of laundry, but not as much of it is diaper laundry as I thought.
4. Get yourself a good laundry sprayer
The biggest downside of cloth diapering is the poop. And the smell.
But, you can fix both of these.
Get a high powered cloth diaper sprayer, like this one (this is not the one we have. I can’t remember which one was ours and where we got it!). Attach it to your toilet and you are ready to go. I am always surprised at how much poop it gets off.
Bonus: it is awesome for potty training too if you use one of those little on the floor toilets and helps clean the toilet as well. And, if you run out of toilet paper, this will work in a pinch (I am writing this at the height of 2020’s pandemic, so…)
5. Get yourself an even better diaper pail.
We like the Ubbi pail. We’ve replaced the liner two times in four years because they seem to breakdown and leak a little after a year or two. But, the combo prevents any smells from getting into our house. I usually put a cotton ball with a little tea tree oil for good measure.
We wash the bag every few washes as well.
6. Start working on your laundry routine early.
And tweak it. It took us about six months to settle on a routine that we like. Hot wash, double cold rinse, with a water softener and Molly’s detergent regularly (I have heard great things about Rockin Green detergent as well), and then about once a month we use peroxide in the bleach compartment, do a few extra rinse cycles and line dry in the sun. Our water is REALLY hard and it is sunny almost every day so this works.
Your laundry routine will be different, based on your machine, your water, and your preferred detergent. Just keep making changes until you find a system that works for you.
7. Consider disposable at night.
After months of a lot of leaking at night and constantly trying to figure out a solution – our poor little guy’s booty was so packed it looked uncomfortable to lay down, we just decided to use disposables at night.
Disposables are better with pee, cloth are much better with poop – we have never had a blowout with cloth!
We think it helps our little ones sleep longer. It definitely keeps the mattress cleaner. We have tried most of the eco-friendly brands, and love Beaming Baby.
8. Definitely consider disposable when you are out.
We cloth diaper on shorter trips, but anything longer than one night, we plan on using disposables. It is just too gross to carry around the old diapers, and unless you have access to a washer, you are gonna have to pack em back.
9. Don’t beat yourself up if you have to use disposables at home every once in a while.
We get tired and forget to do laundry. A relative watches the baby. He has tummy issues and we know it’s going to be a big day. All reasons to take it easy on yourself. Babies are hard work. Cut yourself some slack!
10. Make a plan for childcare.
When their grandfather watches them, we put them in disposables. He isn’t all that reliable about changing them, and when he does there is often a mishap (backwards diapers, no insert, pee everywhere!). So, we make it easier on all of us and use disposables.
When my mom watches them at our house, I just get a few diapers ready, snapped together, and lay them on the changing table.
Make it easier on your caretakers and figure out what works for them so no one is uncomfortable when it comes to changing diapers.
11. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work out.
Again, babies are a ton of work (I can’t emphasize this enough!). For some people, adding one more chore and one more load of laundry just isn’t in the cards. Don’t worry about it. Find a natural mama Facebook group and sell or donate them. Some lucky mom will be thrilled.
12. Don’t be uncompromising.
Yes, cloth diapering is better (in my opinion). But no one wants to know about it. No one wants to feel bad about it. And no one wants to hear about it. (This is probably good advice for every aspect of parenting, right?).
That’s about it! We have been really happy with cloth diapers, and pleasantly surprised with how easy it is. I don’t think it is for everyone, but it is working for us!
We get a lot of questions about it, and I thought I might as well post it here. Do you have any specific questions or advice? I would love to hear. And I am serious, if you want some specific advice or questions, let me know. I am a big cloth diaper advocate and would love to help you out! email me (hello at unlikelywahm dot com) or reach out here or on Instagram.
