r/clothdiaps

I’ve been using multiple brands of diapers and I’ve tried using one insert and 2, used the inserts it came with and the ones that fold. Changed how tight they are and I cannot seem to get the leaking to stop. We change every 1.5-2 hours. Anyone have any advice? Brands I’ve been using are Nora’s Nursery, Alva Baby, Mama Koala, and Simple Being.

Hi!!! I’ve been cloth diapering for just about eight months, I’ve used a mixed of pocket diapers I bought second hand to see if I would stick with it and then I bought some mothers ease sandies fitted diapers once I was committed. But I’ve gotten into sewing and thought I could save some money by making my own for the next size up. I was curious if anyone has made their own cloth diapers before? I’m looking for fabric and pattern recommendations if anyone has any?

I live in Japan and I have exclusively cloth diapered my 2 week old ebf baby. She has a mild diaper rash on her bum as of today. I use the Alva baby pockets but with hemp and cotton. I just lay the inserts on top of the diaper instead of stuffing so no polyester touches her bum area. I also use cotton cloth wipes with plain water instead of wet wipes. I’m worried my wash routine is causing the rash, especially because the top loading Japanese washer I have does not have a hot water hook up or hot water settings. Right now my wash routine is every morning (diapers never sit for more than 24 hours unwashed), a 30 min cold water rinse with agitators, two back to back 72 min cold water washes with the agitators, Tide free and clear and Calgon water softener (the water here is very hard), and a final 30 min cold water wash with agitators. I then throw the inserts into the dryer and air dry the diapers (I don’t have any access to an outdoor space with direct sunlight to line dry). Can anyone see a problem that might cause rash? She is changed every 2-3 hours but her diaper is checked every 1-2hr. The only time she could sit in it longer is if she pees or poos in her sleep but she always fusses to let us know. She also farts a lot and kind of sharts when she does and I think we’ve been missing poo that could be sitting in her bum when we check the liners and don’t see anything. I just want to be sure it’s not something I’m doing wrong😭

Wife and I both break out in hives from tide. For our main laundry, we use Kirkland free and clear but sometimes I find that it really doesn't do that good a job on just regular laundry so I have experimented with amount and sometimes for heavier loads like towels I wash twice. We don't use any fabric softeners in our machine as I break out in hives from those as well. Wife can do most non-tide detergents, I've always had to use free and clear options. We have a water hardness around 94 mg/L or 5.1 grains per gallon or 87 ppm. PH is 9.04.

Looking for a good option for washing cloth diapers. I know tide is the gold standard but it cannot go in my machine. I break out from using laundromat machines unless I pay for an entire wash cycle before putting my own clothes in. This isn't an ask for a more natural alternative. Give me all the chemicals, but make it not Tide and then let me pray that it doesn't make me break out.

Not sure how this keeps happening but starting to get frustrated. My son is 14 weeks and he’s not particularly big, he’s 24” long and about 12 pounds, hanging around 10th percentile. He’s got a little bit of a pot belly but he’s really not chubby. We did disposables for the first 4 weeks and then dove into GMD prefolds with Thirsties covers. The orange edge newborn size lasted maybe 2 weeks and then we went to the yellow edge (medium?) size. The issue was with the angel fold, the edges were barely coming together at the hips and the snappi had to be waaayyy stretched to reach. Then the cover to be tight enough around the thighs, was way too snug on the belly. Sizing up helped somewhat but was still awkward. Now the same thing is happening with the yellow edge prefolds, so I sized up to red edge, but he’s not ready for the next size up in covers without some serious gaps around the leg, but red edge prefolds with his current cover size leaves a lot of prefolds sticking up out the back.

We do disposable at night and are also kind of between sizes with those so maybe it’s just a phase? From what I’m seeing online it seems like the only solution may be to start pad folding but I hear that ends in lots of leaks, and he still poops 4-5x a day.

Am I missing something here or doing something wrong? I’ve been looking at picking up some pocket diapers to use on the go anyways so maybe that will be the answer to my problem?

just to preface i use flats, prefold, and covers.

so i was washing based off of the 101 in this subreddit but my dad and mil said i should just soak the poopy diapers after rinsing in a bucket with bleach or vinegar until i wash. i use vinegar but i dont put the covers in to protect the integrity of them and because they arent covered in poo. but i was wondering if theres a particular reason people dont do this its been working very well for me also helps with staining, then i just leave the covers to air dry and put any stained cloth in the sun and they turn back white and i put the pee diapers in a open air basket like fully unfolded and taken apart… no smells no issues so far. was hoping maybe this could help someone if theres rly no issues with this
(btw i wash with all free and clear with a quick wash first with half amount of soap then a heavy duty wash with vinegar in the softener compartment, both with warm water.. have been meaning to get borax for my hard water but so far no issues there either)

My 9mo is only two weeks into cloth diapering and I am using workhorse fitted diapers. he has never had a rash from disposables but has had terrible ones since switching. I doubt it would be a buildup of bacteria on the diapers because it’s only been two weeks! I’m doing a warm pre wash with one scoop of essembly detergent and a hot heavy duty wash with two scoops of essembly. We previously used Molly suds for regular laundry of his but have been using essembly for diapers since it has the added enzyme. His skin doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by his clothes now being washed in the essembly powder, it’s just the diaper area and I change every 2-3 hours. Am I supposed to be using a balm with every diaper change?? I never used anything with disposables and he was fine! But this rash covers his entire butt and thighs :(

Due in 5 weeks. First time mom.

i didn’t buy any diapers or wipes yet.

I want to potty train early (it’s done commonly where I am from) and heard cloth diapers help with that.

either way, I want to use cloth diapers cause I hate disposable items in general and the cost for them as well. But is it too much work along with other things that come up with a new born?

We hired a postpartum doula who is also an expert in cloth diapering and she will gladly help us.

I am curious when did you start and what brands do you recommend initially?

Hi, my friend just gifted me a bunch of pocket diapers. She gave me a quick rundown but I’m still pretty clueless lol. My baby is almost 9 months and is in a size 3/4 disposable and is size 6-9 month in clothes. I wouldn’t say he’s a heavy wetter, he’ll have saturated diapers but never had a pee leak. My main questions are do I use a single insert or do I need to double them? Does the cover get changed every time or do I just change the insert? Any and all tips/tricks/ or just general information is appreciated!

Quick edit to say most of the inserts seem to be naturally natures and Alva baby

My baby boy is 9 weeks old, 2d percentile for weight at 9.5lb but 62d percentile for height at 24in. He jumps percentiles in height at every visit while dropping them in weight. I'm struggling to find diaper strategies that cover his butt to his front lengthwise but still fit around his tiny skinny legs.

We've been using newborn size workhorses, and occasionally newborn GMD prefolds jelly-rolled, with Thirsties covers successfully until now. But he's outgrowing the workhorses lengthwise so that it barely makes it past his butt crack if it covers even slightly above the front genitalia. The Thirsties smallest rise is too short now to cover the cloth, but taller rises make the leg holes bigger and prone to leaks. I can still snap the smallest buttons around the waist.

We have a big stash thanks so lots of secondhand gifts. I have OS pockets and some AIOs (Thirsties, BumGenius, Grovia); plus newborn, small, and medium GMD prefolds; newborn, medium and large workhorses; and Thirsties and Cloth-Eez covers sized One and Two. The OS pockets and AIOs still seem huge on him even with the smallest rise settings, especially in the legs.

I'd love to stick to the natural fiber options if possible but anything that will work at this point. We have the same issue with disposables even. Like most boys he wets heavily in the front, and leaks happen most frequently out the leg holes. He's starting to sleep longer stretches at night too.

Anyone else diaper a beanpole boy? Any wisdom?

Hi! I have a set up of mostly flats, and some AIOs with covers. They have been carefully stored for 3 years. How should I prep them for my newborn? Do I need to strip and sanitize? Or is just a regular wash ok?

Thanks!

Pre-laundry:

i hand rinse all poop diapers as soon as they happen

storage:

open air in a plastic laundry baskey

1st wash:

normal cycle on warm with 1 scoop of essembly

2nd wash:

heavy duty wash on hot with 2 scoops of essembly (I add in his dirty clothes to this)

dry:

2 hours on low tumble

using workhorse fitteds

current problem is rashes!

i DONT want to use tide free and clear. I am using cloth diapers over disposables for the fact that they are organic cotton so I want something that is ewg rated or at least an A

Our General Electric top load washer does not have a heavy duty cycle which most of the routines I have seen have.

Originally I used the sanitize with oxi setting for our second of two washes, but I have also read not to soak the diapers. We use Green Mountain Diaper prefolds and workhorses and Esembly outers. The only other cycle on our washer that seems to come close is normal with hot water. We do not have a soil setting on our washer. Just load size, cycle type, and water temperature with an extra deep rinse setting.

Feeling stuck but we LOVE the cloth diapers for our LO. She's three months so no spraying of the diapers just yet. Any advice on washing the cloth diapers?

I am going to be using a diaper service which delivers washed/clean inserts, and takes away soiled inserts. I only need to worry about keeping up with diaper covers. I'm trying to think of how to build the routine.

How many diaper covers would I need every day? I might not want to wash daily, I'd prefer a weekly wash but that seems unreasonable. I know covers don't need the same intense multi-stage wash of inserts, but I believe they still need a hot water wash. How many times can a diaper cover be used before washing, if it isn't obviously soiled? If I'm switching out inserts 10 times a day, does a diaper cover last about half as many changes, or less?

EDIT: Do diaper covers need to be rinsed/dried between uses? If I take my baby to the station, remove the poopy/pee insert, should the cover be air dried before it's reused?