If I had it all to do over again...

Another cloth diaper entry, because after 8+ months of fulltime cloth diapering, I'm still learning. We are loyal gDiaper users, because they worked great for our now 3 1/2-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, we have one and off issues with our son. Can't explain them. I just don't know. For various reasons, in addition to our gDiapers, we've also tried a variety of other diapers -- one of these here, one of those there. I have two new favorites.

One of the diapers I currently love is my GroVia. We only have one in our stash, with airplanes all over it. I love the fit on our son, the snaps are easy to use, and it's the kind of diaper that's easy for anyone to use.

The other diaper I'm a big fan of at the moment is my AppleCheeks. I also only have one of these. Also a great fit, easy snaps, and easy for anyone. This diaper is an envelope style (similar to a pocket, but the opening is in the middle of the diaper, rather than at the back) and comes in just two sizes. We are in the larger Size 2 now.

So just my two cents on the whole cloth thing. They say gDiapers work for everyone, and it's probably true, but it's more work for some babies than others. I'm a fan of GroVia and AppleCheeks now too.

Cloth Diaper Stinkies

It was bound to happen -- we got the stinkies. Ugh! Worst part? I caused it! I was reading something online, and the poster said something about since we're dealing with poop, etc., two tablespoons of Rockin Green wouuld be better than one. So I started using two instead of one. Hello, detergent buildup. Hello, stinkies!

We are working on getting rid of them. I put all the diapers in the laundry sink with a squirt of Dawn and then rinsed like crazy. That didn't work for some reason. I called for help. I ended up soaking everything overnight with Funk Rock and then washing with Rocking Green (1 tablespoon!). Now I use a tablespoon of Funk Rock with my prerinse cycle, a tablespoon of Classic Rock in my hot wash, and then I do another wash with no soap. I've done two rounds of washing since I decided to take action with my stinkies. I was told it might take me a little while to get rid of them completely. Each time, it's a little better.

Lesson learned. Sometimes, less is more!

My Cloth Diaper Laundry Routine

Here is how I wash my cloth diapers in my Frigidaire Frontloader Washer and Dryer. This is what works for me with my washer and dryer, my well water, etc. It may or may not work for you; everyone seems to have their own variations.

Soiled diapers go into a dry pail. In our house, this is a white plastic "kitchen" trash can with a foot pedal with a Wahmies Pail Liner. I definitely recommend a can with the foot pedal; you won't always have a free hand with dirty diapers and babies around. :) Poopy diapers get rinsed with a diaper sprayer attached to the toilet before going in the can. I have two pail liners, so while one is in the wash, the other one is in the can. I also put a couple of drops of Tea Tree Oil on the little cotton square inside the bag. There is NO smell whatsoever in the nursery. Obviously, there's a little smell when you open the can to put another diaper in, but nothing outside the can. Nothing like what Ryleigh's room smelled like when she was in sposies.

Every two or three days I carry the pail liner down to the laundry room. I dump the bag into the washer, turning it inside out as I push it into the washer. This means I never touch anything except the outside of the bag, no dirty diapers.

I run a cold rinse cycle with a spin. I then run a second cold or warm rinse cycle with no spin. This is because I am using a front loader which uses less water. Diapers are meant to soak up water. By filling the diapers with water before the wash cycle, I get more water in the washer. I was getting stinkies when I did this without the first rinse and spin cycle. My theory is that I wasn't spinning the dirt away. So now I rinse and spin and rinse again.

Next I add my soap and run a heavy cycle, which is a hot wash with an extra rinse. I alternate using EcoNuts soapnuts and Rockin Green Classic Rock. If I feel like my diapers are starting to get a little stinky (I notice it sometimes in my overnight pocket diapers -- see post on my stash), I make sure I use the Rockin Green on the next load, and that takes care of it.

Finally, I do another warm rinse and spin. I added this step at someone's suggestion when I first started getting minor stinkies. I'm thinking about taking this step out, especially when I use the soap nuts. At least trying it.

My diaper covers, snap-in gLiners, and bamboo gFlappers get hung on a drying rack in the sun (outside in warmer weather, in my sunny dining room window when it's too cold for outside). The sun is AMAZING at getting out stains. Try it. When my gFlappers are mostly dry, then they go in the dryer, along with my cloth wipes, half inserts, etc.

That's it. It's really simple. It was more complicated to type this with a wiggly baby on my lap!

Cloth Diapers

Now, before I begin, let me say, that my experience with cloth is very limited. We use the flushable inserts in our gDiapers, and only used folded Gerber cloth as a backup to a flushie at night. g's have brought me to the place where, if we have more children, I am ready to try cloth. That is one of the things I love about the gDiapers -- they are so versatile. I can continue to use the outer gpant and the liner and use cloth on the inside.

There are lots of great resources out there if you want to know more. I recommend The Nappy Shoppe http://www.nappyshoppe.com/. Sharni is a wealth of knowledge and has tested every diaper on her son before she stocks that kind in her shop.