Washing Cloth Diapers the Right Way

Before our first son was born, I made the decision to use cloth diapers rather than disposable. I received reactions that ranged from "Why?" to "Good for you!" to, "Wow, not for me." I learned everything I could from the internet and slowly accumulated pre-fold diapers and PUL covers as my son grew. I have enjoyed many things about the cloth diapering experience, but I also encountered some unexpected difficulties with using them. Because few people use them, I had to do a lot of troubleshooting on my own to find solutions.

With number two on the way, I've decided to take a break from my cloth diapers and use disposable for a while, but there are many things about my cloth diapers that I love. They did not leak for me more than disposable do, and I had almost zero "blow outs" when my son was a newborn. I loved knowing that I always had diapers on hand, that I was spending half as much money, that I was in control of the kinds of chemicals that were stuck to my son's skin all day, and I still take a surprising amount of pleasure in a stack of newly washed clothed diapers, folded and ready to go. I also loved the feeling that I was using the planet's resources in a way that was less destructive and costly.

So I invested in Chinese cotton pre-fold diapers, and covers from Proraps. I have probably spent about $250 on the actual diapers themselves, and even with the cost of washing them in coin operated machines, I was spending less than I might with a good quality disposable. A tall plastic trash bin served as a diaper pail, and I lined it with a trash bag for convenience's sake.

Of course, disposable are necessarily the easier diapering choice, because they do not have to be washed, dried or put away. However, an unanticipated difficulty with cloth diapers is finding the right kind of laundry detergent to use with them. I used baking soda in my diaper pail to keep the smell down, and used a small amount of laundry soap with a generous splash of vinegar in order to whiten them, soften them, and neutralize the baking soda.