January Cloth Diaper Check-In

[Bluedaisy]

Starting this thread because I have two (oops, three) questions:

1. Those of you using one size....do you unsnap them before washing? I think it makes them cleaner but am I just being OCD about it? Should I save the time and leave them sized?

2. Is anyone else using Bum Genius? The directions say to bleach once a month, are you doing that? Do they just mean the inserts??

3. How many diapers are in your stash, and have you kept adding as you go or did you buy all of them in the beginning?



Other than that how's it going ladies?  Still loving it, or do we hate it now the sprayers and solids are involved? We've just started solids so the sprayer was installed the other night.  So far no major problems!

[Bluedaisy]

@jemomma, I've read two or three blogs that said that you don't need to spray when it's just formula. I never did and didn't seem to have a problem.

I've never stripped but we've only been cloth diapering for about five months. A couple places I've read have said only to strip if you think that build up is causing leaks and have ruled out other causes (poor fit, not absorbent enough, etc) or if your LO gets a yeast rash.

[silv3rlining]

1. Those of you using one size....do you unsnap them before washing? I think it makes them cleaner but am I just being OCD about it? Should I save the time and leave them sized?

I don't us nap but I'm just lazy

2. Is anyone else using Bum Genius? The directions say to bleach once a month, are you doing that? Do they just mean the inserts??
I have 2 BG ones and I've never bleached them

3. How many diapers are in your stash, and have you kept adding as you go or did you buy all of them in the beginning?

A lot...um I have probably 12-14 covers (guessing) 3 or so AIO and 6 CBs with maybe 30-60 inserts. I'm also CDing 2 kiddos right now though and got a great deal on 2nd hand inserts when DS was LOs age. I have bought 4 or 5 since LO was born (bc cute...) and I accumulated the rest over the first 16 months or so of DSs life

Other than that how's it going ladies?  Still loving it, or do we hate it now the sprayers and solids are involved?
I didn't have to use the sprayer much WITH dS bc he's had ploppable poop most of the time. I have had to use it some with LO but I bought a spray pal to use with it and it makes it so much better. I love CDing minus the fact they have to be changed more frequently. I have found myself using overnight sposies when I know we're going to be on the go a lot and don't want to worry about watching the diaper change clock so to speak.

[paintdadanta]

I never unsnap the rise except for the first wash. Usually it doesn't bunch up the inside that's soiled only the PUL so I don't worry about it.

I only have one BG 4.0 and I never worry about it. I only bleached it once because I bought it used.

I started off with a couple here and there but I'm gravitating to Blueberry and all the new prints are driving me crazy - glad I spread it out. We have 6 sbish fitteds, 1 hybrid fitted, 1 wool cover, 6 regular covers, 7 hybrids, 10 pockets, 5 AIO. I guess we stuck with a variety.

Still loving it here but DH has surprised me by scrubbing dirty ones for me since we don't have a sprayer. I'm not going to complain though.

Does anyone else have a favorite brand yet or overnight solution?

[eshap90]

I don't unsnap but now I'm thinking I might every once in awhile

I have two BG covers but those say nothing about bleach. I haven't bleached anything in my stash

I'm a diaper hoarder and keep seeing new covers I have to have! But still haven't come up with a night time solution. He pees out his pants every night if I just nurse him back to sleep and don't change him(still waking up 3 times)

[carolyngrace]

TBH I'm so close to quitting cloth. DB keeps getting diaper rash. I'm using prefolds. I know I need to get some fleece liners and see if that helps. Also try and strip them or wash a bunch of times. But with everything else going on I just want diapers to be EASY.

Also I totally don't get the excessive diaper buying. I have maybe 30 prefolds and 8 covers and it's plenty! I mean, i DO get that they're cute, but I'd rather buy cute things you can see (clothes).

ETA: Starting to get sticky/solid poops which is another reason I'm wanting to quit. Ugh.

[ashbash]

1. I never un snap but now that you mention it, it probably is a good idea every once and awhile

2. I use all BG and have never bleached and never had an issue

3. We use BG elementals and have about 18 and use disposable overnight

4. No issues, his poops have been plop able so minimal spraying which has been nice

Picture for AW purposes - fluff bum plus plank pose

[belle0720]

1. Those of you using one size....do you unsnap them before washing? I think it makes them cleaner but am I just being OCD about it? Should I save the time and leave them sized? I don't unsnap the rise but I do unsnap inserts/boosters

2. Is anyone else using Bum Genius? The directions say to bleach once a month, are you doing that? Do they just mean the inserts?? I have some BumGenius (planning to sell most because I'm in love with Grovia!) and I only bleached the ones that I bought used. If you aren't having and stink or buildup issues I don't think it's necessary. I have hard water so I do plan to use Mighty Bubbles on my diapers probably every 4 months or so to clear any mineral buildup.

3. How many diapers are in your stash, and have you kept adding as you go or did you buy all of them in the beginning? I bought a ton of BumGenius in the beginning. Probably had like 30 or so then. But then I started to really like Grovia and bought a ton of those so I have wayyy too many right now and need to do some destashing.



Other than that how's it going ladies? Still loving it, or do we hate it now the sprayers and solids are involved? We've just started solids so the sprayer was installed the other night. So far no major problems! We love our cloth diapers! LO just started on baby led weaning and hasn't really consumed much so her poop hasn't changed yet. We'll install our sprayer when we need to and I'm hoping it's not too much more work!

[belle0720]

Jan 7, 2016 19:18:12 GMT -5 eshap90 said:

I don't unsnap but now I'm thinking I might every once in awhile

I have two BG covers but those say nothing about bleach. I haven't bleached anything in my stash

I'm a diaper hoarder and keep seeing new covers I have to have! But still haven't come up with a night time solution. He pees out his pants every night if I just nurse him back to sleep and don't change him(still waking up 3 times)

Have you tried the Grovia ONE? They're the only thing that keeps our LO dry and she's still nursing at night too! They take like 6 wash and dry cycles before they're fully prepped, but once they're prepped they're amazing! I've also heard great things about wool covers and fitted diapers.

[eshap90]

Jan 8, 2016 10:24:51 GMT -5 belle0720 said:

Jan 7, 2016 19:18:12 GMT -5 eshap90 said:

I don't unsnap but now I'm thinking I might every once in awhile

I have two BG covers but those say nothing about bleach. I haven't bleached anything in my stash

I'm a diaper hoarder and keep seeing new covers I have to have! But still haven't come up with a night time solution. He pees out his pants every night if I just nurse him back to sleep and don't change him(still waking up 3 times)

Have you tried the Grovia ONE? They're the only thing that keeps our LO dry and she's still nursing at night too! They take like 6 wash and dry cycles before they're fully prepped, but once they're prepped they're amazing! I've also heard great things about wool covers and fitted diapers.


We JUST got out first Grovia. I'll have to bust it out tonight. I really want a wool cover but I haven't done much research. Wool covers are what my mom says she used on me and my siblings but she still hasn't gifted us one yet haha

[paintdadanta]

Jan 8, 2016 10:24:51 GMT -5 belle0720 said:

Jan 7, 2016 19:18:12 GMT -5 eshap90 said:

I don't unsnap but now I'm thinking I might every once in awhile

I have two BG covers but those say nothing about bleach. I haven't bleached anything in my stash

I'm a diaper hoarder and keep seeing new covers I have to have! But still haven't come up with a night time solution. He pees out his pants every night if I just nurse him back to sleep and don't change him(still waking up 3 times)

Have you tried the Grovia ONE? They're the only thing that keeps our LO dry and she's still nursing at night too! They take like 6 wash and dry cycles before they're fully prepped, but once they're prepped they're amazing! I've also heard great things about wool covers and fitted diapers.

I keep thinking about the ONE. We just switched to sbish fitteds and trying to figure out wool.

[belle0720]

paintdadanta I actually just got my first sbish fitted and wool cover in a mystery bag from a company closing down! How are you lanolizing your wool? I haven't touched ours yet and trying to figure out if I even should because I'm pretty sure Baby G is going to outgrow the size soon.

[belle0720]

eshap90 Which Grovia did you get? The AIOs are really my favorite, but I love them all for different things!

[dogmama22]

1. I leave them sized - I think that's just unnecessary wear and tear on the snaps
2. They may have just changed those recs with the rest of their wash advice. I'm sure people needed to bleach on occasion when only washing with a tablespoon of their crap "detergent," but it shouldn't be needed.
3. We had a NB stash, so I had a few OS and bought more when he grew into OS. I keep finding new ones that I NEED. Amazon Prime is so bad. I have no idea how many diapers I have - maybe 30-45?
I love it. There's one brand I might sell soon because it's just not love and I have a lot of them. Solids aren't my favorite, but I think it's just a stage and once they're more ploppable it'll be better. Right now I put on gloves and scrub them in our basement utility sink.
Our overnight solution is a charcoal bamboo insert inside a Sbish fitted with a PUL cover and then a wool cover. The wool cover makes it fool-proof. He's never had wet pajamas since we started with the wool. I think I'd like to get some hybrid fitteds and just use wool so it's not so bulky, though.

[dogmama22]

carolyngrace how are you washing? What kind of detergent do you use? Do you know how hard your water is?

[paintdadanta]

Jan 8, 2016 14:36:27 GMT -5 belle0720 said:

paintdadanta I actually just got my first sbish fitted and wool cover in a mystery bag from a company closing down! How are you lanolizing your wool? I haven't touched ours yet and trying to figure out if I even should because I'm pretty sure Baby G is going to outgrow the size soon.

We used Sheepish Grins liquid lanolin which wasn't too bad to use. I mainly use wool over my hybrid fitted. If you aren't sure on size you may be able to list it for trade on next size up instead. I think it's worth having one on hand. I got mine on Etsy as upcycled wool not sure if it can compare well to sbish or other wool brands. I do love sbish fitteds though!

[paintdadanta]

As far as not into "buy all the diapers" I can see it from both sides but for us, we kind of took the middle ground. We did cloth to save money so I buy most of my prints used or as seconds. If I buy new at all it's on sale or new exclusive because it holds its value for when I resale at the end. I may spend more upfront but I'll get alot of it back at the end - kind of like an investment I guess. I also set limits as to what we really needed so once the stash is done, if I wanted a new print, a different one goes. But to each their own . . . people do cloth for all kinds of different reasons.

[purple]

Jan 7, 2016 10:05:23 GMT -5 Bluedaisy said:

Starting this thread because I have two (oops, three) questions:

1. Those of you using one size....do you unsnap them before washing? I think it makes them cleaner but am I just being OCD about it? Should I save the time and leave them sized?

2. Is anyone else using Bum Genius? The directions say to bleach once a month, are you doing that? Do they just mean the inserts??

3. How many diapers are in your stash, and have you kept adding as you go or did you buy all of them in the beginning?



Other than that how's it going ladies?  Still loving it, or do we hate it now the sprayers and solids are involved? We've just started solids so the sprayer was installed the other night.  So far no major problems!

Sorry, I have no idea how to type in bold or anything fancy like that, but since I'm up with LO I thought I'd answer these questions!

I leave the poppers done up. Life is too short...

I don't think Bumgenius is a brand that's available over here, but I would question whether bleach is necessary. We use mostly pockets and the inserts weren't bleached looking when they were new.

We probably have about forty nappies, but I haven't counted them. I do a nappy wash every fourth day and at this time of year the inserts take up to 48 hours to dry. It's nice to have a whole day without any nappies hanging up before the cycle begins again, although it is also a luxury!

I bought most of them after we experimented with different types of nappy and found that pockets work best for us. Most of them came second hand ("pre-loved") from Facebook selling pages. I still buy an occasional new nappy from our favourite brand, Milovia. Ideally all our nappies would be Milovia, but they cost about £20 each. (Google tells me that's about $30). I get one or two if we're feeling flush as the quality is superb, and they will definitely last through a second child if we have one. Some of the cheaper second hand ones probably won't last that long.

Sorry, I have no idea what you are all talking about here. Sprayer? The quality of LO's poo is changing as she eats more solids, but if anything it's slightly easier to deal with.

Our major issue is actually finding clothes that fit, specifically trousers. LO is mostly in 6-9 month size, but most clothing brands are designed for use with disposable nappies these days. MH put her in a pair of 9-12 month trousers the other day and they were far too long, and so tight the poor child couldn't sit up. I'm looking into brands that are cut for cloth, but they tend to be more expensive. I'm thankful that we have a girl as she wears dresses a lot, and leggings. Dressing a boy would be more problematic.

[Bluedaisy]

purple, a diaper sprayer is a little mini shower head looking thing that hooks into the plumbing on your toilet. It's used to spay off the solids before putting the diaper in the wash. If baby is on solids the poo goo can clog up your washer and make it stinky.

[purple]

Jan 12, 2016 8:50:06 GMT -5 Bluedaisy said:

purple, a diaper sprayer is a little mini shower head looking thing that hooks into the plumbing on your toilet. It's used to spay off the solids before putting the diaper in the wash. If baby is on solids the poo goo can clog up your washer and make it stinky.

Thanks! I've just harnessed the power of Google and they don't seem to exist here. Since she's been on solids most of the poo gets contained by the liner, which gets bagged up and binned. If necessary I rinse the nappy by holding it under the flush, which is similar to the sprayer idea I guess. My least favourite part of cloth nappies, but still better than disposables.

[Bluedaisy]

purple, yeah the flushable liners are a godsend. I use those most of the time and they contain most of the mess and then can just be flushed but if I forget or the poo gets onto the diaper the sprayer is definitely nice to have.

[purple]

Jan 12, 2016 9:52:40 GMT -5 Bluedaisy said:

purple, yeah the flushable liners are a godsend. I use those most of the time and they contain most of the mess and then can just be flushed but if I forget or the poo gets onto the diaper the sprayer is definitely nice to have.

On this side of the pond at least, they're not really supposed to be flushed, although I know that's changed in the last few years. A friend who's re-using her five-year-old's nappies hadn't heard that you were no longer supposed to flush them. Ours go into landfill in biodegradable bags. I wish there was something better to do with them, but it's still less landfill than disposables! I can see that the sprayer would be handy, but I know that your toilets aren't quite the same, so even if I could get one it probably wouldn't work.

[Bluedaisy]

purple, even here you have to buy special ones that break down easily and are made to be flushed. They can be hard to find.

Oh I definitely remember some of the toilets over there being very different than ours!

[purple]

Jan 12, 2016 10:28:45 GMT -5 Bluedaisy said:

purple, even here you have to buy special ones that break down easily and are made to be flushed. They can be hard to find.

Oh I definitely remember some of the toilets over there being very different than ours!

Over here, some of the brands are marked as flushable, but you're still not supposed to flush them. I don't know whether fatbergs are a phenomenon in US sewers. Don't look at Google images, or read anything, unless you have a very strong stomach.

When I was a kid I thought that a toilet was a toilet was a toilet, and then I went to France for the first time. Continental toilets are no big deal to me now, but I did find the toilets in China quite hard work.

[Bluedaisy]

purple, haha I know what you mean. The definition of culture shock for me was the squat toilets in Turkey....omg.

[purple]

Bluedaisy, yes, they were squat toilets in China. And you have to take your own loo roll and carry hand sanitiser...

[Bluedaisy]

purple, paying for toilets/ tipping attendants was very strange to me too. Oh and there was this one self contained/self sanitizing toilet in Rome- I was so scared I'd get trapped in it.

[purple]

You don't really have to pay or tip in China. Egypt, on the other hand... In Egypt there is at least usually a choice between Western style and squat toilets!

Self cleaning toilets are weird and scary.