Cloth Diapering, Part 2: The Extras

There are a few other things you will need if you are going to cloth diaper:

If you are cloth diapering, you might as well use cloth wipes. They are very inexpensive and you can use less of them vs disposable wipes. You just wash them right along with the diapers.

Here are two cloth wipes, one is flannel and one is a knit cotton print on one side and organic bamboo velour on the other:

>

Some just wet the wipes with plain water, others use a solution in a spray bottle. I use a solution and fill an empty spray bottle with it, and then spray it directly on the wipes before I use them. My solution is: water, a squirt of baby oil, a drop of baby shampoo and a few drops of tea tree oil. The tea tree oil has antibicrobial properties. You could also use lavender essential oil.

Next, you need something to put the dirty diapers in. You use a waterproof pail liner, which you can buy on cloth diaper websites, and you can just put that in a regular diaper pail. It is washable, so you just empty the bag into the wash and then throw the bag in there. I'll spare you the picture of my diaper pail.

Babies poop. It's a fact. This has to be where most people get turned off of cloth diapering; the prospect of dunking dirty diapers in the toilet to clean them off. Sometimes it will just drop in and you can flush it down, no issues. Other times, not so much. It needs to be rinsed. Enter the diaper sprayer. Also purchased on cloth diaper websites, it is probably the BEST money you will spend. It attaches to your toilet, and when you need to clean off a diaper, you just turn it on and it acts like a shower sprayer, spraying all the nastiness into the toilet and keeping your hands clean.

So, you have all the dirty diapers, now you need to wash them. Cloth diapers do need to be washed specially to avoid build up, which prevents liquid absorbing into them and can also cause stinky diapers. You need to use an additive free detergent, like All Free and Clear. Others use Tide and have great results. I use Tide Free and Clear, which doesn't work for some people, but works great for me. You also can not use ANY fabric softener with cloth diapers.

Here is my wash routine:
1. Cold rinse with Bac Out (helps remove any odors, I order it online). Some people also use Oxy Clean Free.
2. Hot wash with Tide Free to the "1" line, cold rinse and then extra cold rinse.
3. Dry in the dryer or on sunny days, on the clothes line. Sun naturally removes stains and saves on electricity.

A lot of people question how much my electric bill went up after I started cloth diapering. I didn't honestly see a difference.

Other extras you will need/want for cloth diapering: a small zippered wetbag for outings, a snappi or pins if you use prefold diapers and a cloth diaper safe diaper creme in case of a rash. Although, we hardly get rashes here, I really think the cloth diapers help prevent rashes.

My tutorial on cloth diapers is now complete! For more information, check out the message boards at diaperswappers.com, or websites that sell cloth diapers, like cottonbabies.com or abbyslane.com!