We started using cloth diapers with my first as soon as we got home from the hospital. I spent hours during my pregnancy researching cloth diapers and which one would be the most effective and economical option. This is the result of both my research, and my personal experiences.
Related: Cloth Diapers If You’re Broke
Kinds of Diapers
There are at least 7 kinds of cloth diapers out there.
- Flats– the most simple kind of cloth diaper its a thin flat cloth that you fold up around your child. This is the closest thing to what past generations used. These require a cover
- Prefolds– the next step up for cloth diapers, its basically a folded flat that is sewn in place so there is less folding involved. These require a cover
- Fitteds– this is the next step after prefolds, its basically a form fitting prefold that snaps in place. These require a cover on top
- Pocket– a pocket diaper is quite different from the previous versions, as all the padding is in the middle and you have to stuff an absorbent layer of material into a pocket on the cover
- Hybrids– this is basically between a cloth diaper and a disposable one. There is a cover that’s reusable but the insert is disposable
- All in twos– these are very similar to pocket diapers, but instead of stuffing, these snap in place
- All in ones– these diapers are the closest to disposable diapers. There is a lot of material that folds in on itself then you just put it on your baby
I only have personal experience with prefolds and pocket diapers. Before my son was born, we settled on prefold diapers with PLU covers. During my pregnancy we purchased a few pocket diaper covers that had been used.
Absorbency
The plan for our cloth diapers was to use buttons prefolds all the time, but we didn’t end up with enough to not wash laundry every day. So I ended up running to the store and picking up a couple of packs of Gerber prefolds. Those prefolds have lasted more than two years now and we’re on our second baby with them. Some of them are definitely nearing the end of their life as diapers due to becoming threadbare.
The buttons prefolds are in much better condition. We opted to just purchase the largest size option they had instead of purchasing two or three different sizes. The diaper is big on small babies but isn’t a problem at all by the time my babies are about 6 months.
During night time we frequently will double up diapers to make sure that there isn’t leaking that happens during the night.
Covers
Covers were a struggle. I opted to try out several different brands when we started out. We tried buttons, rumparooz, thirsties, and a strange off brand cover I can’t even remember the name of. I hated the strange off brand cover and literally never use it. It has three snaps which is just annoying and not a possibility when your baby is rolling over during every diaper change.
I thought I liked rumparooz, but they have a design flaw. They decided that they would sew a branding on the backside of the diaper. This results in leaks when your baby soaks their diaper. Once you’ve experienced a diaper cover that doesn’t leak ever you will become increasingly frustrated with one that always leaks.
The buttons diaper was good enough that we ended up trying their super size. The super sized one is much larger than their normal size and works well on my toddler until he decides to take them off which for some reason is easier on this cover than others.
That leads me to my favorite diaper cover: Thirsties. This cover doesn’t leak- ever. Even when poop is going all the way to the edge, it doesn’t get out. We ended up getting more of these when I was due with my second baby and I was beyond happy.
For Christmas, I asked my mom to get us a Thirsties pocket diaper. This diaper has the best feeling on the interior fabric. I want all of our diapers to feel like it does and I wouldn’t mind if my own clothing felt like this diaper does!
I only get diapers with snaps. This isn’t great if you have a caretaker with weak fingers, as they are more difficult to button, but they will last longer than velcro will. If you only plan on having one kid, then velcro should last for that entire child’s potty training, but if you want to use your diapers for more than one kid, then get diaper covers with snaps.
Clips For Cloth Diapers
When our babies are young we use a snappi to attach the prefolds around the baby underneath the cover. When our babies are older we just trifold the prefolds and stuff it in the diaper cover.
You can also get boingo clasps but you need two of them, so we stuck with a snappi.
Fold
We use the angel fold. First lay the diaper on the ground flat. Next fold the front parts together. Then set baby on top and fold the skinniest part up over to the babies tummy. Last attach the snappi. Check out this video to see a few different ways to fold a cloth diaper.
How Many Diapers Do You Need
We got 2 packs of 6 of the buttons to start off with. We then went and purchased 3 packs of 10 of the Gerber prefolds. With one baby in diapers this lasts 3-4 days and it’s more than we need for sure.
When my daughter was born, we got 3 more packs of 6 of the buttons diapers. Our son was only using 2 diapers a day, between naps and night time. When my daughter was about 4 months old, we started using only buttons diapers on her all the time. On occasion we still use the gerber prefolds, but the buttons are definitely superior.
30 diapers is more than you need. Especially as it’s recommended that cloth diapers are washed at least every 3 days to prevent bacteria build up. Trust me, you do not want to have bacteria build up. If you are able to wash the diapers every night, I would recommend doing that, but if that is not possible, every other day is definitely possible.
Covers are a different story. You do not need to change out the cover every time you change a diaper. If it is wet you can technically just lay it out to dry and use a different one until it dries. Make sure you wash the cover at least once a week or when it gets dirty.
So how many do you need? 24 prefolds is a good amount to have. You need about 5 covers, as they tend to have more blow outs when they are little. When your baby gets older, they won’t need to use as many diapers and it will be more than enough.
Wash routine
We started our life as parents in a dry cabin. This is a common thing in Alaska. A dry cabin means you have to haul your own water. We had a 55 gallon drum that held our water and five 5 gallon jugs that we went to fill up at least once a week. We had a sink and shower. There was no washer or dryer or toilet.
So How Do We Wash Our Diapers
Every two or three days I left my son in the cabin for a minute, as I ran out to the car hauling an overflowing basket of laundry. I ran back and grabbed my completely ready to go baby and strapped him in the car and headed five minutes away to my moms house where I washed the diapers. We always remove the covers and let them air dry or they will eventually loose their waterproof abilities.
A few days after my son turned 6 months we moved into our house. But the first couple of weeks we didn’t have a washer and dryer still so I continued to go to my moms house, however we did have a toilet! Two actually. So I started my son on solids and I had to start washing out the poop.
If the diaper has poop in it we wash it out first, if it’s just pee then we throw it into either a wet bag or an open laundry basket that has a diaper pail liner in it. When it’s full we empty the whole thing into the washer and flip the liner inside out.
It’s a good idea to run your diapers through one quick wash with cold water to get all the particles off before you put them through a hot cycle or stains or scents may become stuck in the diapers.
I set our washer to the hottest setting put it on heavy, set it to deep rinse and extra rinse. I add in a tablespoon of Oxiclean and a tablespoon mixture of super washing soda, baking soda, and borax. In the softener slot, I put vinegar to the fill line.
When the washer is done I remove all the covers and lay them flat on top of the dryer. If you hang the diapers on a line be careful how you do it as you don’t want to put strain on the elastic. I put everything else into the dryer and set it to normal for 40-60 minutes. In an ideal world, all the cloth diapers would be dried in the sun, but I don’t have enough time or sunlight for that.
When everything is done I empty the dryer, sort it, and put everything away. Or I let it sit in the laundry basket until I desperately need a diaper.
Problems
Bacteria Build Up
We just got through a nasty round of trying to fix some bacteria build up. The best thing to do is to prevent bacteria build up, but if you end up not washing out the poop as soon as you can, then you can end up with diapers that smell like ammonia and a baby with a horrible rash.
My first course of action when this happens, is to take all of the prefolds and soak them in 1 cup of vinegar and the rest water. Keep them in this mixture overnight at least. If this doesn’t work, I try two or three times more, then I move on to what I don’t want to do. I take 1/4 cup of bleach and the rest water and soak the diapers overnight again. This should take care of any smell problems that your diapers may have.
Leaking
If your diapers are leaking, this can be frustrating! The first thing to do, is make sure none of the cloth is poking out of the sides of the cover. If that is not the case, I would check to see if the prefold is completely soaked. If it is, you may need to double up on prefolds to prevent future leaks. After that, I would make sure that you aren’t snapping it too small and tight. This won’t allow the prefold to absorb and it can also make it hard to keep all the cloth inside of the cover.
If it isn’t any of those problems then it’s possible that you have detergent build up. This should be handled similar to bacteria build up. Start with soaking in vinegar and if that doesn’t work, then move on to bleach. To prevent this in the future use less detergent! I use about 2 tablespoons of detergent in each load.
Overview
Using cloth diapers isn’t hard. You just have to know what you’re doing. Here’s what to do:
- Choose your absorbency.
- Choose your cover.
- Get some clips, like snappi.
- Choose your fold.
- Have a great wash routine.
- Avoid problems!
