Changing the world by changing diapers

Learn More About Cloth Diapers

Choosing the right style of diaper

Getting Set Up For Cloth Diapering

How to use cloth diapers, setting up your own system

Washing and caring for your diapers

Washing and caring for your Wool Covers

The big deal about organic cotton


Choosing the Right Style of Diaper

Exploring cloth diapering can be overwhelming at first. There are many resources and retailers on line and just as you would expect some are better than others! Mamas to be have so many options today with cloth than I had even seven years ago. Once you decide to say “Yes” to cloth the first step is choosing the right style.

The most common types of cloth diapers available are prefolds, fitted diapers, formed or contour diapers, and all-in-one’s. Here are the essential differences...

Prefolds are the (beautiful, old fashioned) flat, rectangular diapers made of several layers of strong, soft cotton. Often they are divided into thirds by a soaker layer in the middle third. The other two thirds fold in over it to make a long strip, or it can be opened more on one end to cover the baby’s bottom. Prefolds fit into a cover and require no pins if a snug wrap style cover does its job. Some Mamas go with pins or Snappis to fasten the diaper but in my three years of diapering I never used a pin and never hit a snag.

When shopping for prefolds be aware that some are poly/cotton blends, some are 100% conventionally grown cotton. At Vermont Diaper Company we use a durable, soft, and absorbent organic French terry weave cotton. Prefolds are completely versatile as a changing pad, burp cloth, and overall cleanup cloth. Prefolds are the most economical choice and are my sweet sweet favorite!

At first glance, Fitted Diapers have the same silhouette as a disposable. Made usually of 100% cotton they have Velcro or snaps where the disposable has a plastic sticker closure. They do a beautiful job of containing the mess of which we mamas so often speak. And Nanas and Aunties can not believe that such a thing exists! Very different style from what they remember..

Contour Diapers are like prefolds, except they are hour-glass shaped. They function like a rudimentary fitted diaper, only without the fasteners to hold them on. You can use pins with these or take your chances like you would with a prefold. Some mamas love them. Sometimes they aren’t the right match for your little one.

All-in-one diapers are the most tempting of the diapering choices, but are almost always a let down. They are a fitted diaper with a built-in cover. The appeal is in having one piece to deal with, rather than a diaper and a cover separately. The problem with these diapers is that the materials used to make diaper covers is not able to handle the amount of washing and drying that the rest of a diaper requires. Covers last longest if they are never dried in a dryer at all. With the cover built in, the diaper also takes forever to dry.

Also, all-in-one’s are notorious for not holding in what they need to hold in. With a fitted diaper and separate cover, the occasional diaper blow-out or leak can be contained within the cover until clean-up. The all-in-one leaks directly to the outer clothing, or worse yet, your clothing. The all-in-one is also a petro-chemical heavy choice since the cover portion is of “waterproof” fabric…

Getting Set Up For Cloth Diapering

How to use cloth diapers, setting up your own system

Any mother will tell you that you are going to be doing laundry- breast milk leaks, baby spitting up on sheets…Caring for cloth today is no harder than doing a load of laundry. And YOU are going to be doing laundry!!

Instead of a trashcan next to the changing table, you'll have a diaper pail. When you change the baby, just fold over the velcro tabs on the Fitted diaper to protect them from getting jammed with lint and threads in the laundry, shake the bulk of the poop in the toilet if you wish and toss the diaper in the pail.

The diaper pail should not be full of water unless you are interested in serious weight training and want to lift the fifty pound pail of water and pour it, without spilling, into your washing machine. What works the best is a diaper pail liner, a waterproof, strong drawstring bag you can lift right out of your pail and turn inside out into your machine.

Take your diaper pail liner bag, walk it over to the machine (try not to trip on toys or felines), turn the bag inside out into machine, close door/lid, add soap and run the load. Toss clean diapers into dryer and you are ready to start again.

At first, I washed diapers every third day. I had three dozen prefolds and six covers on hand. But you can do with less if need be. For example, two dozen diapers and four covers. After awhile, as baby needed fewer changes I washed less frequently.

We have had loyal VDC customers who are off the grid or use the laundromat to care for their gear. Mamas are pretty ingenious folk and if you actually have a washer and dryer in your home or apartment building you are walking a charmed path. Very straightforward from there!

For tips on washing, read the section about washing and caring for your diapers.

Washing and Caring for your Diapers

Washing your cloth diapers is something you will develop your own system for over time. You know your lifestyle, schedule, and rhythms better than anyone, so here are a few suggestions to get going.

At the time of purchase

Wash your new diapers several times before using them. This makes them more absorbent by washing away the natural waxes in cotton. Because Vermont Diaper uses organic cotton you have pure natural fabric to start with!

At the changing table

You will need a good diaper pail that holds a washer load of diapers and has a tight sealing lid. Dry pail with washable liner is the simplest method. Remember when you take the diaper off your baby to fold over the Velcro tabs. For infants just toss the diaper into the pail. For older babies and toddlers empty out any mess you can into toilet before adding to pail. No need to pre-rinse or soak. Let your machine do the work. Toss diaper in the pail and deal with it later. If you choose, sprinkle baking soda on diapers as you fill up to manage odor.

On washing day

Place the diapers in your washer. Fill the machine not more than 2/3 full for best cleaning. Wash in COLD water for the first short rinse cycle. Use detergent, rather than soap (see links below). Avoid Arm and Hammer Fabricare Advanced Power, Tide, and any detergent which has whitening enzymes. Avoid Dreft, it coats fabric with a waxy residue thus deteriorating the absorbency (for more, see links). Use the safest, most natural possible detergent you can. DO NOT use bleach. DO NOT use fabric softener (kills absorbency, leaves chemical residue). DO NOT use washing soda thinking that it is baking soda (see links below). DO NOT put covers in the dryer.

Washing Cycles (one series to consider).

For removing stains

Nothing works better to remove stains from diapers as the sunlight. Line dry them, inside-up on the clothesline in the sun for a few hours and the stains literally disappear. Not only that, but it cuts down on dryer costs.

Here are some links to check out on washing and caring for cloth diapers

7 Jay Street | Montpelier Vermont 05602 | (802) 262-6016
mamasays@sover.net
© 2006 Vermont Diaper Company, LLC


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