When I began dabbling into the cloth world, I couldn’t believe all the little details that come along with cloth diapers: the various methods of washing, what to do with poop, and how to fold a prefold (and a million other questions). If you’re starting your cloth research, you’ll find alot of cloth moms out there with different approaches, opinions and they often differ from the manufacturers. It’s alot to sift through! I’ve come to the conclusion that there are so many factors involved with cloth that no one’s routine will look exactly the same. I found it really helpful to talk to my friend Deb and have her show me some of her diapers. Since I can’t talk to all of you in person, I thought I’d show you our wash process and tell you a bit about the different kinds of diapers we use.
I stand by the old acronym K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. When all the diapers I bought had slightly different washing instructions, I said forget it. I’m not going to sort the diapers out and wash them by brand specific instructions. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I try to apply general knowledge about cloth diaper care, and then make the best decision possible knowing our circumstances (things like how hard the water is, what kind of washing machine we have, what kind of diapers we’re using, etc). Here’s our routine:
As you can see, my explanations probably took longer than my routine actually does. It’s very straightforward and simple. Before I used cloth diapers, I really thought that it would be one of those things I did because I believed in it, but that it would be a burden. I honestly don’t find it to be a burden at all. However, when JP was tiny and I was scared about how to keep him alive…it was overwhelming. And none of his cloth diapers fit yet and they leaked every time I used them and I cried. So we used disposables for about 2 weeks. After that, I became comfortable with the cloth and now it’s part of our everyday life and it ain’t no thang. I’m sure there are people that hate it, just like I hate other certain chores. But really! It’s so much less work than I anticipated. Plus the benefits are totally worth the work (money saved, environmentally friendly, I don’t have to do emergency runs to the store for diapers, and soft/natural materials on my baby).
If you’re interested in any of the items above, here are links! You can find most of these products on Amazon easily. Though you may find more color options or package deals by ordering directly from the company. The links here are directly to the companies’ websites because you can get lots of good information on them. Enjoy!
KaWaii Baby – Aside from prefolds, these are some of the most economical cloth diapers I’ve come across. I got a bunch on sale for crazy cheap – I’m talking $7 or less per pocket diaper. Plus, free shipping on orders over $80! Quality-wise they are pretty good, but not as good as my others. However, I haven’t had any problems and you really can’t beat the price!
Bum Genius 4.0 Pocket – good diaper, mid-range price.
Bum Genius AIO – easiest to use. No stuffing – literally wash, let dry and ready to go. More expensive than the pocket.
Charlie Banana, more spendy but really nice diapers. Probably my favorite that I own in terms of quality.
OsoCozy Prefold – not pictured above
Rumparooz cover – this goes over the cloth prefold to keep the moisture in – it’s made of PUL
Snappis – to fasten the prefolds
Ubbi Diaper Pail – so far so good. Keeps the smells in and holds a decent amount of diaps.
Ubbi Diaper Pail Liner – reusable
Cloth wipes – I just use gerber baby wash cloths. Get 3-5 packs.
Newborn-size cloth diapers that we used: Kissaluvs and Swaddlebees were my favorite. After I got the hang of the prefolds, those were great for getting a perfect fit on JP’s scrawny newborn legs. I used a Thirsties newborn size cover and a rumparooz newborn size cover on the prefolds.
Again, all of this varies from household to household. Have fun exploring your options and coming up with your own routine that works for you! I’m no expert – this is just my own experience. But if you have any questions, I’d be happy to try and answer.
a dillightful adventure 
I’m really curious about cloth diapers, but I feel like there is so much info I don’t know where to start! Initially it turned me off because the start up cost was too much for us, but in the future I think I like to go that route. But I never thought about using washcloths for wipes. I either make mine or we but them, but I have a TON of tiny washcloths I never use. How do you wash those?
Yes, the start up cost can be intimidating for sure. Thankfully I wa able to buy most of my supplied with gift cards! Prefolds, KaWaii and pooters are all really great ones to start and help build up the fluff stash. I haven’t uses pooters, but the ones I’m looking at from them are $7 each and I have heard great things!!
As for the washcloths, I throw them in the pail with the diapers and wash them all together. And it doesn’t really matter what detergent you use on those, so if you were only washing the washcloths, you could wash them as you would any other laundry for Miss Iris!
Here is an awesome deal from kawaii baby this week – 24 diapers for $109! http://www.theluvyourbaby.com/this-week-special-24-os-heavy-duty-hd2-suede-cloth-inner/
Awesome thanks! Ok another potentially dumb question, but do you wash them with other dirty clothes or separately?
I wash them separately. I haven’t come across anyone that says they wash with other laundry. On the other side of the same coin, I’ve never heard anyone say reasons to not wash diapers with other clothes! Maybe a general fear of not wanting the poop to get on other things? But I don’t see any reason one could’t wash pee diapers with other clothes. Afterall, I wash the clothes JP pees and poops on with other clothes!
Been thinking about this and realized there is another reason you want to wash diapers separately. You want the most amount of water in your diaper wash. So even if it is a small load of diapers, you still set the washer to the highest capacity. You need a good amount of water to get them clean and well rinsed. This us why people with HE machines have to adjust their settings so much to maximize the water used. If you have other clothes in the wash, it may use up some of that extra water and your diapers won’t get as clean. I don’t know this from experience; someone else may have better advice. I’m just following the logic of the info I do have.
Hi! I heard about your blog from some of our mutual friends and Googled it (I hope that doesn’t make me a super creepy person!). I am also a fan of cloth diapers (I use prefolds and covers) and am always looking for ways to improve my system. The best resource I’ve found so far is fluffloveuniversity.com. They actually perform experiments on cloth diapers, for lack of a better description. It really helped me combat stink, hard water, and HE washers with my diapers.
It was great meeting you again this past weekend. Hope you and the rest of the family have/had safe travels!
Hey Bethany! Glad you found me – not creepy at all 🙂 fluff university is great! My sister in law sent me their experiment with various detergents; they have so much good info!
What’s your wash routine? What kind of covers are your favorite? Do you use snappis or pins?
So wonderful to see you guys again, and meet sweet Abigail!
With two in cloth, I wash every night with Tide and line dry the next morning if it’s nice (the only places where the diapers can get sun and not get ripped down by the resident toddler…in bad weather I throw the prefolds in the dryer). We use a combination of Econobum covers/OsoCozy size 1/Snappi (less bulky under baby clothes) and Flip covers/Econobum prefolds (holds trifold better) but since all the covers are one size I can use whatever is at hand.
I have a fledgling blog now with a readership of 1; perhaps my cloth system will be a future post…
What’s your blog link?! Thanks for sharing your wash routine!