A Cloth Diaper Update

Alright, so it's no secret that I was pretty mystified by my initial experience with cloth diapering. I found it smelly and wet and messy and that I was still using a ton of disposables in-between laundry loads. And sometimes, I still do find it this way, but overall I have had a well improved experience with cloth diapering and I wanted to shed a little light/hope for those who might be disillusioned with the diaper.

Cloth diapering is wet. Like, you have to touch things that are wet, and ech. But this gets less bad after a while. More normal. And it doesn't end, so if I really do want to reap the environmental and financial benefits of this style of diapering, I must persist.

I found a way to handle the smell. I'm not even talking "disgusting-appalling-you-can't-smell-anything-but-diaper" smell. This is not sitcom. It's just this odour that makes you go, alright, I've got a pile of soiled linen sitting in a bucket waiting to be washed, and isn't that nice.

The secret to the smell? Vinegar water. I keep a spray bottle beside the bucket and each time I need to "dispose" of a liner, I spray'r down with vinegar water. The other secret to the smell is daily washing.

According to this website... no, not really. (And this isn't my picture.)

Now, daily washing is becoming a bit of an issue in terms of wear and tear. I only have 4 covers and 8 liners, and theoretically this lasts a whole day. In an ideal world, I'd love to be able to hang my cloth diapers in the window, and often I do overnight. But in order to maintain cloth diapering on a daily basis, I need to throw those suckers in the dryer, and I've heard this isn't the best thing for wear and tear. They look fine to me, but I'm only a few months in. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this? Or should I loosen up and embrace the dryer?

The stains are becoming a slight issue, but I think a little sun bleaching might tackle this problem. The thing I've noticed is that the stains don't look as though you'd expect. It's not skid marks I'm battling! (I never thought I'd write that.) It's more like black spots that you can't really notice, but I can, and I want them out.

I love my detergent. I'm using Allen's and I'd recommend it. $20 for a bottle does seem steep, but I've been using the detergent nearly every day for one load and only about a dime size (or less) is required. This bottle should last at least 6 more months, which is totally reasonable when we're talking about warranty maintenance on the diapers.

www.ampdiapers.com

I should also mention the style of diaper we're using. We purchased a set of AMP diapers and I'd recommend them heartily. Like you'd picture Santa would. Ho-ho-ho, I recommend AMP, with a jolly smile and a hearth of smoke around my head.

My only issue is that the buttons are almost too secure. But that's just being a weak ol' whiny pants.

I was also recently gifted a set of Kushies diapers which I'll be excited to try. They're a little big for Lilian at the moment but when she grows into them, I'll post an update.

So there you have it. Cloth diapering is still messy and wet, and we don't have a hose-thing for the toilet, we just give our liners a good ol' shake and then a solid immediate rinse (when required). I'm finding vinegar water a lifesaver, and am having questions about dryers. This is progress when you consider that I was feeling as though I wasted a few hundred bucks at the beginning.