Is it hard/messy to clean cloth diapers?

Question

I am pregnant and thinking about using cloth diapers only while at home along with practicing EC. The thought of a cloth diaper seems really really messy. How do u clean these? do u dump the diaper into the toilet then soak the diaper, then wash it? or if its just really really runny with nothing to dump, do u just soak it before washing. what do u soak it in?

Hope those are not really stupid questions I just am kinda looking for some tips ahead of time.

Answer 1

So far, this is what I've found to be the easiest and least messy way to deal with them: Just fill a covered trash can with water and baking soda or white vinegar and toss them in as you dirty them. Then at the end of the day dump the can in to your washer and put them through the rinse and spin cycle. Next, add some detergent and run them through the washer as you normally do your clothes and dry them.

Answer 2

I use all in one cloth diapers. I didn't use them when my son had runny p**p. I just wasn't using cloth at that time. He's on solids now and its easy to just shake the p**p in the toilet. I don't soak them, I put them in a dry diaper pail and wash them every other day. I think wet pails are a waste of water. I wash the diaper pail with bleach when it starts to get stinky. There are sprayers you can attach to the toilet to spray them off before they go in the pail, but I don't use one. Cloth is a little extra work but better for the environment and your wallet. You must wash them separate and with detergent free of dyes fragrance, whiteners, etc. I use Planet 2x ultra and it works great, and I use it for our clothes too. Its the only one I could find in the stores (Genaurdi's) that's recommended. You need different detergent to keep them from building up residue which affects their absorbancy.

Also you need enough to get you through a couple days. Cloth uses more water because you have to wash a couple times each time but much less than used in the production of disposable diapers.

Also if you get good diapers you don't have to change them every fifteen minutes. That's rediculous. Every 2-3 hours unless they p**p. If there is diaper rash you need some sort of liner between the diaper and bottom because the creams can affect absorbancy. Just wash the liners separate.

I highly reccommend BumGenius all in ones.

Answer 3

I have BumGenius all in one diapers and wash them with the rest of baby clothes using Wonder Wash.  

They work like normal diapers, have velcro to make them easy to put on, have liners inside that you can switch out if baby only pees (the part that touches them stays dry) and there are cheap biodegradable liners that can be used for the poo - as in they can be either flushed completely or tossed out completely - without getting it all over the diaper itself.  This makes it easy to clean.

They are easy to clean - I throw them in the wash once and then have them go into the dryer at medium heat and they are clean. You can have them sit for up to 2-3 days before washing as well (if you want you can have them soak a bit in water if you find it to be a particularly messy diaper where you didn't use a liner), then wash them all together with the clothes - if they're not sitting in with the clothes while soiled and JUST in there when washed then no, it doesn't stain the clothes or get sickening - and if you wash every 3 days then there are enough diapers to do half a load if you really don't want to mix the clothes in.

They have snaps to adjust to the size the baby needs over time (I've used them on a 1.5 month old and a 2 year old without any issues).

You can try picking up a few cloth diapers of different brands if possible and trying them out - myself, I asked around and found my cousin was using them for her 1 year old and quizzed her about them. I then bought a few and tried them out on my nephews to be SURE that they worked, and made sure to let one sit soiled for a few days before washing to see how it turned out. Check out the BumGenius for more info, and search around for reviews, there are also other types that are similar that you could try. Make sure you buy at least 30 diapers though so you can have baby go through a lot a day if they need to!

So far, I've been impressed, as well as anyone else I've shown them to.

Good luck and I hope you find some you like!

It's great that more and more people are looking into this - it's well worth it and saves a ton of money in the long run, as well as less plastic diapers in the landfills.

Answer 4

i think u cant get special cleaning machines but im not sure  

Answer 5

I dump the diaper out and wash it right away and it works for me but when they are older like 6 months up you need to change their diaper every 15 mins because they soak urine up like a wick and they will get diaper rash. Also if they are runny number 2 then you pretty much need to scrub them by hand before you wash them.

Answer 6

Anything that's not pee you can kinda scrape it into the toilet, then wash it, remember it doesn't matter if there's stains on the diaper.  It's a bit more work but is cheaper.  My mom had both me and my twin in cloth.

Answer 7

you can hire people to come and take you nappies away and clean them for you. I think it's called a Nappy service. when they pick up your old nappies they drop you off new clean ones and a big bucket with solution in it, all you have to do is put the nappy into it and they do the rest. but if your like the majority and can't afford it.

i use liners, and they are disposable, so the poo is contained on the liner, i throw that and saok and wash the nappy.

I wash seperatly it just makes things easier when it comes to drying it!

good luck and well done for thinking of a good option to use cloth and EC, your wallet and the enviroment will thank you later!!