Cloth Diapering in the Smith House: Part 2

By now you've likely read yesterday's post, Cloth Diapering in the Smith House: Part 1.

Today I'm going to get down to the nitty gritty- the diaper pail and the washing/drying system. We are pretty simple in this department. Even though getting a fancy diaper sprayer to hook up to our toilet has often appealed to me, we don't do any dunking or swishing or spraying or rinsing. Really, not necessary. Solid matter does get shaken off into the toilet, but that's it, and into the pail the diapers go.

I use a dry pail system. That's pretty self-explanatory- no water involved. I have two simple PUL pail liners that I line my small pail with. I have used both larger and smaller pails and find my current one to be the perfect size for us. I've also used pails with lids and pails without. Even though you're probably thinking "Gross! That would stink!", there is rarely ever an issue with a scent drifting from the pail! And the few times there has been, it's been my own fault for getting behind on washing.

I keep the pail behind the kids' bedroom door. It's just around the corner from our changing table. Keeping it there means it's "out of sight, out of mind" from the little people playing in the room (even though never once have a I had any of them show interest in it) since we keep the door open nearly all the time. When it's full, or when it's been a few days since washing (regardless of how many diapers have been used), I just pull out the pail liner and tote it to the washing machine on the other side of the house.

If I do need to pre-treat diapers (I rarely do), then I spray them with Bac-Out. (oh how I love Bac-Out! I have had so much success in all sorts of ares of my home with it!) Bac-Out contains enzymes that "eat away" at organic matter, so it helps prevent/eliminate stink and stain issues. I also occasionally use it in the wash itself, just squirting it once around the washer and washing like normal.

Our wash routine has changed a lot over the years. I've found that we seem to need to change detergents every 6 months or so to get the cleanest diapers (for the record, "clean" cloth diapers means they don't create suds in the water and they don't have any scent...unless you choose to use scented detergent, but some babies are sensitive to it and sometimes the additives can cause build-up). Two of my most successful detergents have been Country Save and plain ol' Tide. I was hesitant about using Tide at first because it seems like most cloth diaper advice recommends staying away from the "regular" detergents, but it's worked well so far and I haven't seen any increased break-down in the materials of my diapers.

Water makes a huge difference in washing. Hard water, which we've had up until about a month ago (okay, our's was HARD HARD water...like, off the charts! Literally!), makes for problems just on it's own. My routine then would be to do a hot wash with about 1/4 cup detergent (more than usually recommended for cloth diapers, but I'd found that I needed it with our water), a cold rinse, then a hot wash without detergent and another cold rinse. This routine worked well for us. Now that we have a water softener, I do a hot wash with only a couple tablespoons of detergent and a cold rinse, and I only do another cycle if I feel like it needs it.

Another thing some people like to add to the wash is white vinegar. It can help get rid of and prevent build up, all while acting like a water softener. One thing to note before using vinegar is if your water is alkaline or acidic. (at this point I'm sure you can see that *I* think it's worth testing your water if you use or plan to use cloth diapers) In my experience, adding vinegar to acidic water contributed to stink issues, while it didn't with alkaline water.

Now on to stripping. When diapers won't get clean or have build-up issues, it's time to strip. I've attempted many different stripping methods- the washer alone, adding boiling water to the washer, boiling the diapers/inserts on the stove-top, washing them in the dishwasher, etc. Stripping is basically washing in as hot of water as possible, over and over again, until no suds remain during the wash. This helps get rid of stink problems, build-up that causes rashes and irritation, build-up that causes repelling, and the like. For a short time I was having to strip every few weeks...but now I can't remember the last time I had to do it. (some people like to use special detergents or just something simple like Dawn- PLAIN, original Dawn- in the initial stripping process because of the way it helps break down oils. I have rarely felt the need to use anything. However, if you DO use Dawn, only use one squirt...dish soaps sud like crazy and you're not going to want your washer overflowing with bubbles!)

**For the record, I have never experienced a "mess" in my washing machine from cloth diapers. I know the idea just grosses a lot of people out, but really, especially with breastfed infants, diapers are far from the dirtiest things that go in there!

I love to line dry my diapers. Line drying helps get stains out (the sun is AMAZING!!), helps preserve the diaper material (drying can often break it down faster- though some PUL diapers NEED to be dried on hot every now and then to help "seal" them back up after washing), and keeps them smelling fresh (sometimes I find the dryer leaves a "muggy" scent on them). Since I use primarily pocket diapers, they dry in a very short time, maybe 30 minutes tops. Inserts and AIO diapers take longer, sometimes a few hours. If I don't have time to line dry, I just toss them in the dryer.

Now for the record, wool is a different story. Washing and drying can shrink the wool and cause it to pill and felt. Thankfully, wool, like any other cover, doesn't need to be washed after every use. I wash mine only when they get dirty or they smell. When they need it, I just fill the bathroom sink with lukewarm water (too hot or too cold can "shock" the wool). Then I add some wool wash. Since I don't wash all that frequently, I usually lanolize during the wash, too. Lanolin is what helps "waterproof" (or rather, "urine-proof") the wool. For this I add just a tiny (pea-sized at most) drop of lanolin (just from a tube of Lansinoh...you know, the purple tube for breastfeeding...), top it with a tiny bit of baby shampoo, and then wash my wool like normal.

So there you have it...that's how we cloth diaper. Or I should say, "currently" cloth diaper, since it seems things are always changing. ;)

**One advantage to cloth diapering is the motivation to try elimination communication. That's another post for another time, but let me just say that even doing it VERY casually has worked well for us- it sounds crazy, but my eldest daughter had her last poopy diaper at only 11 months old (and used the potty for that from then on- initiated by her!) and was using the potty consistently at 18 months and was in panties 24/7 2 months later. It has been similar with my younger daughter, but set a few months back as she was younger age when our new baby arrived and I didn't want to have to worry about any regression at that point so we were even more casual with her. Anyway, check out the link. It's certainly not a common practice since so many parents are so busy anymore to take the time to try it, but with cloth diapering especially, it has it's advantages! (read: less laundry!)