I've had a bunch of people ask me lately about our cloth diapering routine, since its pretty in depth I thought I'd make it public knowledge for those interested! Keep in mind, that this has come about by trial and error, with a decent amount of errors on my part, but we are learning and getting there. Maybe if we have like 6 kids all have it all ironed out by then. :)
So I wash diapers every other day. We use homemade cloth wipes as well, I found its easier to toss them in with the laundry than try to fiddle around with throwing some things out and not everything. So I make wipes solution: 3c. boiled water, 6 drops of each: lavender oil, calendula oil, tea tree oil. (Calendula is a natural anti-fungal and we've been battling some yeast). I dip the wipes in the solution, squeeze out the excess and store in a wipes warmer.
The dipes and wipes are thrown into a hanging Planet wise wet bag. We keep it on the back of the door in Lucy's room. If it starts to get stinky, I sprinkle a little of rockin green's pail freshener. If a diaper cover gets dirty, it goes in there too.
Washing: I throw everything in the washer, wet bag and all and do a cold rinse (set the washer on a super load). Then do a hot wash with rockin green detergent, usually 1-2 Tbsp. Then a cold rinse or two, dipes in the dryer, covers hang to dry. Usually all the poop stains are pretty much gone, if not I put them in the sun for a couple hours to bleach.
What dipes do we use? This has been a trial and error process, I have a stash of baby kicks liners which I've now learned are just doublers, but have been plenty absorbent for Lucy during the day (2 at night). When I don't use those or run out of them, we use plain old prefolded diapers inside of her covers. Those are nice and a little more absorbent than the baby kicks. When she's a little bigger I'll probably buy some more prefolds and just use the baby kicks as doublers for nighttime. For covers, I really like our g diapers I started with size Medium (13-28 lbs!) so those will last us for most of the rest of our time. I bought a value pack and one to try, so we have 7 covers and bought some extra inserts, since they tend to get messy when she poops. I also have some Thirsties duo wrap covers because thats what we started out using, but I like the g diaper covers much better. With the g diapers we've had no blowouts or leaks, and just the occasional poop on the cover. I'd say the velcro on the g diapers is much more sturdy than the thirsties covers, otherwise I might want to switch over to snaps. But I like that I can decide how tight to wrap the dipe on her.
One more thing that has helped is biosoft liner. For the poop-phobics out there this is really helpful. No need for diaper sprayers or sticks or what have you. Most of the poop gets collected on the liner, toss in the toilet and flush. Then you just have a poop stain to deal with on the diaper (which you will get used to from other things, rest assured) car seats and beds notwithstanding. This has helped us a lot with diaper rash. I have spent a small fortune on diaper creams, most of which aren't compatible with cloth diapers....they leave a buildup that doesn't allow the dipes to wick up moisture....so the biosoft liner is the barrier, but I still use a compatible diaper rash cream, california baby is good and has antifungal calendula as an ingredient.
I only bought one pack of biodegradable refills for her gdipes to try out, but I really liked them and like having the option of a cloth or disposable insert. I think once we get over our diaper rash and ammonia rash problems I will be kissing disposables away for good (we've only used them when traveling and for the last couple weeks while I work on some ammonia buildup) long story, but I had to adjust my wash routine to what it is now, otherwise you get an ammonia buildup. Also have to make sure the correct type of detergent is used for your water. Rockin Green has three different formulas for soft or hard water, and I thought my water was harder than it actually is. The owner has been really helpful and looked up my local water supply for me!
I can't say enough good things about rockin green, I use it for all of our clothes now, its really good at getting stains out and not leaving any built up detergent on your clothes....a BIG nono for cloth diapers! I love washing dipes and laundry, can't imagine paying someone else to wash her dipes.....poop is not that big of a deal! and now that I'm a stay at home mom.......yes, you heard right!!!! :) I have PLENTY [manage to find] of time to wash diapers (other parts of the house aren't so clean, but Lucy's bottom is a priority for me!)
Thanks for those interested, I'm honored to be a resource for dipes and all other things homey.....please let me know what I missed or what you still have questions on! Good luck, I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!
