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Frequently Asked QuestionsHow many cloth diapers do I need?This question is a hard one to answer definitively because every child is different, but I will give you some estimates that should at least get you in the ballpark.
Newborn A newborn uses between 10-12 diapers per day for the first several months of his/her life. If baby is exclusively breastfed, many of those diapers will be messy. 12-36 cloth diapers: 12 cloth diapers would only get you through one day. I do not recommend going this route simply because washing diapers daily isn’t always an option due to hectic schedules and the adjustments required for a newborn. 24 is just about right for getting most babies through 2 days. Some parents prefer to wash every third day, making 36 their perfect number.If you are using prefolds, you will need about half as many covers as you have diapers. So for 24 diapers/12 covers. If you are using fitted diapers, you should be able to get away with fewer covers because the extra leg gusset in the fitted diaper should keep messes well-contained. My recommendation is 24 fitted diapers/8-10 covers. If you are using AIO or Pocket Diapers, 12-24 is the recommendation.6 months-1 Year At 6 months, many babies begin eating solids, and as a result, their bowel habits begin to change. Therefore, diapering needs may change as well. During this period, you may find that your baby begins using fewer diapers per day than before. It is important to note that babies who are still nursing frequently, may not reduce the number of diapers during this time. 10-24 cloth diapers: For many babies in this age group, 10 diapers per day are ample supply. Your big deciding factor will be how often you want to wash diapers. If you are just converting to cloth diapers during this time, count the number of disposables your child presently uses per day and then add 2 just to be safe. Cloth diapers generally need to be changed more frequently than disposables. At this age, it is also a good time to consider night time diapering options if your baby is sleeping for long stretches at night.1-2 years In the toddler stages, diapering needs again begin to change. Much of your needs will be dependent on your washing preferences and your child’s bowel habits. 8-20 cloth diapers: By this age, many children are having more regular bowel movements, and they may be using fewer diapers. In the toddler stage you can reduce your changing frequency by increasing absorbency of the diapers. For example, prefolds, fitted diapers & AIO’s often benefit from use of diaper doublers, which serve double-duty by keeping baby dry & boosting the diaper’s absorbency, without extra bulk. Many Pocket Diaper users are able to go longer between changes by adding stuffing a hemp insert along with a microfiber insert into the pocket. Making these changes may reduce your total diaper needs.2-3 years As you head into the potty-training period, the hope (of most parents) is that your child will naturally use fewer diapers per day. For some children (mine) this is not the case. But many do begin using fewer diapers at this stage, particularly as children begin working on potty-learning. 6-16 cloth diapers: From personal experience, I have to say that my children continue to use 7-8 diapers per day each, at 32 months old. That said, I have friends and customers whose children use 4 diapers per day. I still recommend at least 6 diapers for this stage because even children who are using the potty some at this stage tend to be inconsistent, and well…sometimes you just have a poopy day. J How often should I wash my cloth diapers? I personally recommend washing every other day. There is nothing magic about washing every 2 days. It just seems to be the most practical (financially & otherwise) washing schedule I have found. For a period of time I washed my cloth diapers every day, and personally I hated feeling chained to my washing machine. If my kids had a poopy day, that meant I HAD to wash immediately or we would have no diapers for the next day. I have had many customers echo similar experiences. We were all relieved when we went to the 2-day washing schedule. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have had customers who wash their cloth diapers once per week. I DO NOT recommend this! Once you get to the fourth day and beyond, you begin having mold, mildew, bacterial, fungal & not to mention ODOR issues. In my opinion, it’s just not sanitary to wait that long. Plus, you run the risk of ruining your diapers. Do I have to pre-wash/dunk or scrape my baby’s diapers if she is exclusively breastfed?NO! This is yet another glorious benefit of breastfeeding! If you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby, simply put the diaper (poop and all) into the washer and let the washer do the work. Your diapers will be nice and clean even without the dunking and scraping. Help! My diapers are stained! What should I do?There are a couple of options for removing stains from cloth diapers. The best method is sunning your diapers. After your final rinse, lay your diapers out in a sunny spot and let the sun go to work bleaching those stains out safely. It is amazing what one afternoon in the sun can do for a poop stained diaper! If sunning is not an option for you, you can use a stain remover spray during the wash cycle. The only one I recommend is Bac-Out by Biokleen. It is safe for cloth diapers and most babies are not irritated by it. Some sensitive children will not tolerate this spray well due to the enzymes in it. If this is the case for your baby and you wish to continue using Bac-out, try an extra rinse in your wash cycle. My diapers stink, even when they are clean! What should I do?· My first recommendation is to add ½ a cup of Vinegar to your rinse cycle. Vinegar is great at removing odors. Line dry or sun your diapers if possible. · If this doesn’t work the first time, try adding ½ cup baking soda to the hot wash and then ½ cup vinegar to the extra rinse. · If neither of these options works, try adding 5 drops of tea tree oil to the hot wash. · If you still have stinky diapers, try stripping the diapers. Instructions for stripping cloth diapers. · If you still have stinky diapers, call me: 865-804-2556 and we will put our heads together to see if we can come up with a solution. Can I Use a Wet Diaper Pail? You can, but I really don’t recommend it. Wet pails are a drowning hazard for tots. Plus, they are kind of icky in my opinion. If you want to get the same soaking benefit without the wet pail, I recommend filling your washing machine with diapers and starting the rinse cycle with the lid open. (This only works for standard washers, not HE ones) Let the diapers soak for 15 minutes and then shut the lid to allow the rinse cycle to proceed. My Diaper Pail Stinks! What should I Do?The first line of defense for diaper pail odor is to be sure you are washing your diapers frequently enough. I also recommend using a diaper pail liner. Diaper pail liners significantly reduce odor in diaper pails. WAHMies Diaper Pail Liners now come with a fabric swatch sewn inside the liner that allows you to put a few drops of your favorite essential oil inside. We recommend Tea Tree oil, Lavender Essential Oil, Or Sweet Orange Essential Oil. For more persistent odor issues try using a product that specifically treats cloth diaper pail odors. For a fragrance free option, we recommend Bumgenius Brand Odor Removing Spray. It is safe to spray this right onto the diaper or directly into the pail. For a product that will reduce odor and leave a pleasant scent behind, we recommend Sheepish Grins Pail Deoderizing Powder. It leaves a fresh baby powder scent and works wonderfully! What Detergent Should I Use? It might be easier to tell you first what not to use. These are detergents that I do not recommend for use with cloth diapers: Ivory Snow, Borax, Era, Gain, Dreft, Baby All, Method Baby, Tide Free & Clear, or any Detergent with strong Fragrance or added blach or Fabric softener. Brands that we have personally had success with are: Biokleen powder, Seventh Generation Sensitive, Country Save Powder Detergent, Tide with Dawn (does have fragrance, which some children are sensitive to), Purex Free & Clear Liquid (does have optical brighteners which can cause buildup on diapers and cause need for stripping diapers.) Detergents my children had adverse reactions to are: All Free & Clear, Tide Free & Clear, Sun, Cheer Free & Clear, & Charlie’s Soap. *Charlie’s Soap is one to be careful of. My boys developed scabbed sores on their penises from using Charlie’s on their cloth diapers. I contacted the company and learned that this was not an isolated event. Love the detergent, but not for my boys’ diapers. Other brands that customers have used successfully include: Planet Ultra Liquid Laundry Detergent, Tide, Arm & Hammer for Sensitive Skin, Arm & Hammer Essentials, Allen’s Naturally, Vaska by Fuzzi Bunz, All Free & Clear, & Charlie’s Soap. Can I use Bleach & Fabric softener on my diapers?In a word, ‘No’. Bleach can eat away the waterproofing on pocket diapers, AIO’s and diaper covers. Fabric softener can irritate baby’s skin when mixed with urine, and can also cause your diapers and diaper covers to repel, which is code for LEAK! So no bleach, and no fabric softener. If you want something to take care of germs and ickies, I recommend using grapefruit seed extract oil. Just add 5-10 drops of GSE to the hot wash as frequently as every wash cycle. GSE has anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties. It is safe for baby, diapers, and the environment. If you want your diapers to be softer, try using ½ cup of vinegar in the final rinse cycle. Vinegar is a great non-chemical fabric softener that is safe for your diapers and your baby. My baby has a diaper rash. Can I use Desitin?NO! It is very important when using cloth diapers that you do not use Desitin or any other diaper rash cream that has zinc oxide or petrolatum in it. These ingredients do not wash out of cloth diapers. We found this out the hard way. In a moment of desperation, I used some Boudreaux’s Butt Paste that was given to me and then put a pocket diaper on my baby. After the wash, the paste was still on the diaper. I used a toothbrush and Dawn dish detergent, along with a lot of elbow grease, but the cream did not come out of the diaper. As if the stain was not irritating enough, the cream caused the fleece to repel…meaning that every time my little darling peed, instead of the fleece wicking that urine into the absorbent core, it simply rolled right off soaking baby’s clothes. You would think I would have learned but I used a Desitin sampler once in a similar situation and it ruined my prefold, causing it to smell fishy, staining it, and causing absorbency issues. Lesson Learned! I have checked the creams and salves that local superstores and pharmacies carry, and NONE that I have found are ok to use on cloth diapers. Here are the creams/salves that are big No-No’s for cloth diapers: Aveeno, Desitin, Burt’s Bees, Triple Paste, Method, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, Balmex, Aquafor, A & D, Biolane, California Baby, Huggies, Mustela, Nature’s Baby, Weleda Calendula Diaper Care Ointment. What Diaper Rash Cream Can I Use?There are a couple of diaper rash salves that we have used and have successfully washed out of cloth diapers. Northern Essence Diaper Rash Salve (available with or without essential oils) & Grandma El’s Diaper Salve wash out of cloth diapers easily. AND they are made with natural and organic ingredients that are safe for your baby. Plus—they work GREAT! What About Baby Powder?When baby powder gets wet, it gets gummy, which can be difficult to get off cloth diapers, but the biggest concern with baby powder is your baby’s health. Many baby powders contain Talc which is a known carcinogen. You can find out more information here: http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/talc.htm As a result, I do NOT recommend using traditional baby powder on babies. We like Northern Essence Diaper Dust that is made from clay. Cornstarch is another safe option for baby and cloth diapers.
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