Part 2 of the cloth diapering post here. Here's part 1. If you do not care at all about cloth diapering, please feel free to skip this post and enjoy your diaper-free day!
If you're still hanging with me, this post covers what I'm calling "troubleshooting" for cloth diapering. I realize that makes cloth diapering sound more high maintenance than I'm wanting to convey, but there really is no getting around the fact that there is more maintenance with cloth diapering. There is great potential for financial savings (+ friendliness for the environment), but you do have to put in a little more work.
As we've cloth diapered, we've run into a few issues that we've had to learn to work with:
1. leg hole elastic wears out
2. odor build-up/loss of absorbency
3. how to treat diaper rash without compromising the quality of the diapers
Each of these issues caused us quite a bit of frustration at first (and was gross). Thankfully, I found a lot of help online and was able to tackle each of the problems without too much trouble.
1. Leg hole elastic wears out.
This happened fairly early on for us with Claire- primarily because she was a scooter. She was harrrrrd on her diapers, given that she basically traveled everywhere on her booty. It took me a couple of days to figure out that her diapers were leaking EVERY TIME because the elastic around her thighs had given out. At first, I panicked, thinking that those diapers were done and that we were going to have to buy new ones. Then I thought about it for a second, googled it, and found a plethora of instructions for fixing them. It does take time, and you do have to do some stitching, but the skill level required for this is minimal. I do sew some, but I wouldn't even categorize this as actual sewing; it's mostly snipping and putting in a few stitches. I followed these instructions (very helpful and specific) to get started on my diapers with inserts. Once I got the hang of it, I adapted the process for my all-in-one diapers.
For the all-in-ones, you actually have to cut into the fabric of the diaper a tiny bit at each end of the leg holes to get to the elastic. I was very hesitant to do that, at first, but I figured if I tried one and it was a bust, I could try something else on the subsequent diapers. The diapers weren't effective with the broken elastic as it was, so I had nothing to lose. I ruined zero diapers in the process, and only a few of them even look janky because of the snips (it took me the first couple of diapers to get in a good groove with my snips and stitches). And y'all, replacing the elastic was a GAME CHANGER. Dramatic as it sounds, the new elastic (that set me back about $1.88 for 23 diapers) gave our diapers new life. It took me about 20 minutes per diaper, so it's not a quick solution; I would sit down with a pile of diapers after putting Claire to bed, turn on Netflix, and stitch until I was over it for the night. After a couple of weeks, all the diapers were done, and we weren't cleaning up from leaks every couple of hours. Well worth the time. I haven't had to do the elastic across the backs of the diapers yet, but I'm keeping an eye on it, in case that becomes an issue.
2. Odor build-up/loss of absorbency.
This is a gross one. It was something I dreaded happening when we started using cloth and was determined to avoid. I didn't want to be carrying around a baby that smelled like diapers all the time. Who does? Thankfully, we didn't run into this for over a year with Claire. I attribute a lot of that success to the fact that we used an "approved" laundry detergent that didn't cause build-up as quickly as standard detergent does. Even being careful with our detergent, though, there still isn't a way to completely avoid odor and loss of absorbency over time. But, the solution is really easy. It's called diaper stripping- the idea being that you are stripping away the layers of waste, oils, and detergent build-up from the diaper material, removing odors and restoring the fibers to their original absorbent state. I read about this process in several places before trying it the first time, but I found this site to be super helpful and simple.
Here's what I do when I strip our diapers (which I do every 4-6 months):
A. Wash all the diapers (putting the baby in disposables so I can do all diapers). I do NOT put the wet bag in while doing this part. The bleach will ruin the bag. Ask me how I know that...
B. After a regular wash in hot water, do another wash in hot water but this time with a 1/2 cup of bleach and a tablespoon of blue Dawn liquid dish soap rather than Charlie's Soap. This combo will strip the diapers.
C. After that cycle finishes, I do one more rinse. Hang to dry.
This, rather miraculously, restores the diapers immediately. Urine smells (this is the odor that builds up- not poop, interestingly enough) disappear, and the absorbency of the diapers improves dramatically. It's amazing to me how quickly this improves the quality of the diapers (and my life). I definitely recommend this to lengthen the life of cloth diapers. It's a quick and easy fix.
3. How to treat diaper rash without compromising the quality of the diapers.
Most cloth diaper brands discourage the use of over-the-counter diaper rash cream on the fabrics of cloth diapers (Desitin, Boudreaux's, A and D). This is because several of the ingredients in most creams and ointments weaken the fibers of the diapers if used regularly. Claire almost never had diaper rash until she started scooting. Then, she had diaper rash all the time because of the constant friction, and we had to find a solution (Lily doesn't scoot and very rarely has rash, which I think is a little more normal for cloth-diapered babies.). If diaper rash is really mild (just a little pink and irritated), we'll treat it with a slathering of coconut oil for a few diaper changes. This basically provides a lubricant layer that prevents the rash from becoming further irritated. Often, this will do the trick, and coconut oil is safe for the diapers.
If the rash is more aggressive, we do use Desitin or A and D. The way we get around this is by putting a rice paper liner in the diaper, providing a barrier between the cream and the actual diaper. Some cloth diaperers use liners in every diaper, rash ointment or not, so that when there is a dirty diaper, all they have to do is lift out the liner and flush. Folks who don't have a sprayer often do this (it's super convenient, I have to say). We always have a roll of liners on hand and put them to use when we need to treat diaper rash, and it works like a charm. This also works with prescription medicated ointment (yes, Claire's would get so bad because of scooting that we'd have to get a prescription). We just order a roll of liners off of Amazon, and it lasts us for a long time.
I'm sure there are other small diaper-related issues that I'm forgetting about, but these are the biggest ones that we've discovered and worked through. They all seemed kind of big at the time, but we don't even notice them anymore. We're very much enjoying the financial benefits from our diapering decision, especially now that we're on our second baby. We always remember how glad we are for this decision when we travel and have to pick up packs of diapers. (We do always have disposable diapers and wipes at our house and in the diaper bag. But, as opposed to buying diapers every 10 days, we buy a box- sometimes less- of whatever size she's currently in and that usually lasts us until the next size is needed.). It's a helpful lifestyle for our current budget, for sure. We also realize it's not for everyone. I think it's perfect for us, in part, because I'm a stay-at-home mom. I'm able to deal with the washing and care much more conveniently than if I worked a traditional job. It also just lines up with my personality really well; I'm definitely a use-it-up, wear-it-out, make-do, do-without personality, and this resonates with my natural bent.
Anyway, we're very happy with our system and hope that maybe our experiences will be helpful for someone else. Happy diapering!
