Cloth Diaper Awesomeness

I was sharing with a friend recently about our experience with cloth diapers and what our wash routine is like...so I thought I'd do a post about it, too, for all those that 1. want to do cloth but aren't sure about all the details and 2. those who are skeptical or think its gross (like my husband initially)

Our cloth diaper life and wash routine is REALLY simple.  I'm not sure what all the complicated stuff is about that I've seen other people do. SO here it is:

We use a pocket cloth diaper by Fuzzibunz.  We bought 22 one-size diapers before Copelynn was born and haven't added to the stash since then. 22 is a lot of diapers for one little butt now a days, but when she was a newborn it allowed us to not have to wash every.single.day.

We love the one size because fit her when she as an 8 lb 5-day-old and will fit her until she's potty trained. Awwweessssome. 

The Details

-Dirty diapers are stored in a "wet bag" in our upstairs hallway....because there is no stink :) 

-If it was a poopy diaper, it is first sprayed off with this little thing before being put in the wet bag. 

-We wash them every 3 days. I was washing more often when she was younger, but she doesn't go through as many these days. 3 days is the most we let them go because bacteria can start to grow if you let them sit any longer. 

Washing

1. Cold rinse in the washer with no detergent (so you're not washing your diapers in detergent and pee)
2. Hot wash with detergent
3. Dry on low. In the summer time we line dry them outside. The sun gets rid of any stains. We haven't really had an stains since she was 3-ish months old, though.

We started out using expensive Rockin' Green detergent, but switched to a locally made detergent called Country Save. It is MUCH cheaper and does the job just as well. 

The only two things we've had to troubleshoot are leaks and stink. We fixed the leaks by tightening the fit around her legs. Leaks can also be caused by build up on the diapers. You'll get natural build up over time but you can also get build up from using wrong detergents or using fabric softener or dryer sheets in the same washer/dryer that you use to wash/dry your diapers. 

We fixed the stink and build up by soaking CLEAN diapers in 1/2 cup of Oxyclean overnight and then rinsing them in the washer 5-6 times. 

1 week old cloth-diapered Copleynn

8.5 month old cloth-diapered Copelynn