Cloth diapering — an easy recipe
Filed Under Going Green, Tips & Tricks | September 10, 2007
Last month our article comparing two types of “greener” disposable diapers stirred up ongoing debate. We wanted to give cloth diapers equal airtime, so in response, Madeleine Shaw, co-founder of Lunapads, has passed along her own real life cloth diapering recipe. She hopes it will be an inspiring starting point for those of you who have been considering cloth but aren’t quite sure how to get started.
And just a reminder, we firmly support each family’s right to make the best choices for them and their circumstances.
Stocking up:
- 24 – 36 diapers (plan to go through ten or 12 a day, so it all depends on how long you go between washings)
- Four – Six diaper covers (for each age and stage)
- A large pail with a lid
- A washing machine and (preferably) dryer
Cleaning up:
- You have two options for storing dirty diapers, a wet pail or a dry pail. Soaking used diapers in a wet pail with solution of diluted vinegar kills bacteria. If you use a dry pail you’ll need to be able to set your machine to presoak when you wash them, or wash them twice.
- With dirty diapers, put any poop into the toilet. This will become easier once your child starts eating solids, and leave the used diapers in your pail. There are also flushable diaper liners on the market which make things a little less messy.
- If you are out of the house you can store used diapers in a plastic bag, or two.
- Wash a load every two to three days. Use hot water and a biodegradable liquid detergent and tumble or line dry.
This is a very brief overview to give you an idea of how easy it is to get started. For more indepth details these local retailers all offer not just cloth diapers, but lots of knowledge and ideas:
- hip.baby – 2110 West 4th Ave., 604.737.0603
- KG Kids operated by Unlimited Discount Diapers – 4330 West 10 Ave., 604.736.2299. They also have Richmond and West Vancouver locations.
- Room for Two – 1409 Commercial Drive, 604.255.0508
- Mother-ease – an online Canadian company offering great quality
Thanks to Madeleine for the idea and info!
Is your preschool closed because of the strike? Are you wondering what to do? Check out our list of things to do around town that aren’t affected by the strike.
3 Responses to “Cloth diapering — an easy recipe”
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when my daughter, hannah, was born in 2002, there was absolutely no debate over cloth vs disposable. i don’t buy plastic bags, cling wrap or other disposables, why on earth would i stuff our landfill with diapers? plus they just felt wrong!
we lived in a laundry-less suite on the westside where the weekly walk to the laundromat with the little red wagon full of clothes, sheets & baby was enough…. and i could just imagine the look on the faces of the other happy laundromat goers when we opened up a pail of stinky diapers.
so we hired a diaper service. we asked for diaper covers at the baby shower so start up was basically cost-free. ‘diapers naturally’ brought our pail, we filled it up and they lugged it away each week for cleaning. i washed the covers out by hand and hung then to dry. by the way, we were living on next to nothing & this was definitely affordable!
we even socked away our maternity pay & took a 3 month trip to southeast asia when hannah was 7 months old, bought some cloth inserts and made washing diapers part of the daily routine. wakeup, watch sunrise, drink fruit shake, play at beach, eat, play, eat… wash diapers, watch sunset, sleep. it really wasn’t so hard!
I am a mother of a 4, 3, and 2-year-old… and I have been doing cloth diapers for almost 5 years (almost never with 2 kids in diapers at the same time!). To me it is so simple…. cloth is so easy and disposable are so expensive and wasteful.
We have:
- one bucket
- a yogurt container with a scrub brush with a long handle (I hold the handle to scrub off any excess SH*@t and never touch poop)
- vinegar
- disposable diaper liners (these look like a large roll of toilet paper)
- 8 plastic diaper covers
After a poop, hold the diaper in one hand, let the diaper liner fall into the toilet and scrub the excess).. then transfer the diaper to the bucket with vinegar. EASY.
We wash the pail-full every 2-3 days… it is just another load of wash. Not smelly.
NOTE. My not-yet-2-year-old is almost toilet trained so I have hardly done a poopy diaper since she was 18 months. ALL of my girls were toliet trained (with no training) months before any of their peers. So not only are cloth cheaper, but you don’t do diapers for as long.
I will have had 3 children out of diapers all under 5 years! It is much easier than you think… what I can’t figure out is why more people don’t do it!
I’m Mama to my 13 month old daugher, Siena and have another one on the way due in August. We started cloth diapering when Siena was 4 months old, after months of feeling guilty for using disposibles. My hubby and I can’t believe how easy cloth diapering is! I think most people are kinda overwhelmed by the thought of it, but once you get started you realize how wonderful it is!
We love the one-size pocket diapers, like Happy Heiny and Baby Kangas, because the fleece lining keeps Siena’s bum nice and dry and they grow with her. We’re going to cloth diaper our coming newborn and plan on using hemp and cotton fitteds with wool covers until our babe fits in to his/her sister’s one-size pockets. We love cloth diapering so much, we even started our own online CD store, wwww.backtonaturebabystore.com!