How hard is it to cloth diaper?
Many people seem to think that if you decide to use cloth diapers you are going to be knee deep in poop, pee and laundry.
But in reality cloth diapers are actually a little bit better at keeping a normally blowout causing poo-nami inside the diaper where it belongs.
And you’re usually only going to have one extra load of laundry every 2-3 days.
Modern cloth diapers have very simple, well thought out designs that make changing and caring for modern cloth diapers easier than you would think.
I have found cloth diapering in general to be very easy, though some aspects of cloth diapering are harder than others.
The above picture shows 1 day worth of cloth diaper laundry for 3 kids.
What do you need to start using cloth diapers?
Around 36 cloth Diapers
Well the first thing you will need to start cloth diapering is the cloth diapers, there are many different styles and brands of cloth diapers so do your research.
The best advice I ever heard on deciding which cloth diapers to start out with was from Bailey at the Cloth diaper podcast, her advice is to basically pick what looks the prettiest.
So just do some research and buy around 36 cloth diapers that look pretty to you, I feel 36 is a good number of cloth diapers to have so they don’t get worn out to fast.
Wipes
You will also need wipes, while you can use disposable wipes with cloth diapers I personally find using cloth wipes much easier than disposable wipes.
You can buy cloth wipes, you could use baby washcloths or you could sew your own.
Most people find cloth wipes to be better at cleaning up little butts than disposables.
The most cloth wipes I’ve ever had to use for one diaper change was 4, the vast majority of the time I use 1.
Dirty diaper storage
You will also need a place to store the dirty cloth diapers, you can use a wetbag which is a waterproof bag with a zipper.
Or you could use a pail liner which is basically a reusable trash bag that can either sit on the floor or be placed in a trash can.
I’ve also heard of people using small laundry baskets from the dollar store.
Personally I use a pail liner in a trash can to put my kids dirty cloth diapers in while we’re at home and smaller wetbags while traveling or running errands.
Cloth diaper safe detergent
Making sure you are using an appropriate laundry detergent when you wash your cloth diapers is very important.
While it may seem like a daunting task of trying to sift through everything in the detergent isle, it’s actually not that difficult.
Step 1 Don’t use soap
Make sure you are using a detergent and not a soap.
Soap forms soap scum, and when soap scum is on cloth diapers it will prevent them from absorbing.
Step 2 No fabric softener
Do not use a detergent that has fabric softener in it and don’t add fabric softener to the wash, dryer sheets are a no-no as well.
Fabric softeners and dryer sheets basically do the same thing, they coat the fibers and make them feel softer.
However if the fibers of your cloth diapers are coated with fabric softener then those fibers can’t absorb liquid.
Step 3 Keep it simple
You don’t need Brand X with super duper extra awesome stain fighters, 100% made from kale with pixie dust, that smells like a Caribbean cruise.
Modern laundry detergents are amazing at their job, in fact the more extra stuff that’s in your detergent the more likely you are to have problems.
What seems to work best is a regular everyday detergent that maybe has a special scent as long as your baby isn’t sensitive to scents.
If your baby is sensitive to scents/ dyes then you probably will want to go with a free & clear detergent.
The most popular detergents that I have seen people use for cloth diapers are Gain original and Tide original.
Are there any downsides to using cloth diapers?
Just like everything else in the world cloth diapering has pros and cons, so while I do love cloth diapering I have to admit it does have it’s downsides.
Figuring out cloth diaper absorbency
Learning how much absorbency your baby needs is the biggest downside for me, it always seems like the second you get everything all figured out, your baby changes.
Suddenly the cloth diaper that was bulletproof and could last a solid 2-3 hours yesterday is barely lasting 1 hour today, so keeping extra inserts and boosters around is a must.
Dealing with poopy diapers
Dealing with poopy cloth diapers is another super fun aspect of cloth diapering (note the sarcasm).
Since washing machines are not meant to remove large amounts of solid matter whether it be large amounts of mud or sand or baby poop.
You do have to try and get most of it off before you put it in the wash, I have a diaper sprayer that I got off amazon that does a great job getting most of the poop off.
Figuring out your wash routine
When you are first starting out with cloth diapering the wash routine is a pretty intimidating thing, you have a lot of decisions to make.
Do you want to wash with hot, warm or cold water, how many extra rinses you want if any, how often you want to do cloth diaper laundry, and the list goes on.
As long as your wash routine has 1 quick cycle to remove most of the pee and poop, then 1 really long wash to do the rest of the cleaning that’s all that really matters.
The only other thing that could matter is not to use hot water with the first wash cycle because it will set stains, but even that only matters if you care about stains.
Conclusion & Resources
I was very intimidated by cloth diapering before I started, my daughter was a super colicky one month old who pooped 5-6 times every single day.
But I wanted to have some peace of mind knowing that if things got really tight over the winter I wouldn’t have to worry about diapers.
So I decided to go for it and once I did I never looked back.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) from qualifying purchases made through those links.
* Indicates an affiliate link
Link to the Cloth diaper podcast Youtube.com
Link to cloth diaper sprayers on Amazon.com
Link to Spraypal cloth diaper sprayer one of the most popular sprayers on clothdiapers.com *
