Cloth Diapers: Week Twelve

Joanna still has a happy bum and we have a very happy bank account.  Thanks to the generosity of Joanna's diaper buddy Cullen, we have added 5 new diapers to our stash! Three home sewn, one Flipz, and one adorable animal print. We are proud owners of 22 cloth diapers and 2 covers. (most of them are shown here:)

In terms of smell, baking soda really did the trick. After stripping the diapers, I sprinkled baking soda into the load before the first wash.  We still love using Method Free and Clear.

And now by request, here is what I do: 

Step By Step Cloth Diaper Process

1. Pre-wash all diapers.
2. Put a clean diaper on your baby's bum. 
1. Cloth diapers are meant to fit babies 8lbs and over. If you have a bigger baby like us, don't use cloth diapers in their first week - the meconium will stain the cloth. 
3. When your baby finishes his/her business, take off the diaper.
1. Be sure to have a clean one ready to go!
2. As I stated in an earlier post, boys spray and girls "spill". If you have a girl, always have something below their bum. If you have a boy, have something to block their stream. 
4. Separate the cover from the insert (some don't separate, it depends on the diaper).
5. Place cover and insert into the diaper pail.
1. If you have a bigger surprise than just a wet diaper, you can use a diaper sprayer to get rid of the excess stool or you can do what we do and wipe up the stool using a plastic grocery bag. 
2. If the baby is nursing and not on solids yet, the consistency (and smell) are very manageable and you can just toss it into the pail. If you have a formula baby like us, it helps to wipe up excess stool so it doesn't stink up their room. 
6. When you're running low on clean diapers, take the soiled diapers in their pail liner and dump (haha) them into the washing machine.  
1. I wash diapers every 2 days with 22 diapers.
7. Wash on cold.
8. Wash on hot. (add baking soda if needed)
9. Rinse again.
10. Place the inserts and pail liner in the dryer and hang the covers to air dry.
11. Put 'em back together and start over!
12. At the end of the week, count the $12 - $18 you just saved by not using disposables.

Diaper Stripping:

1. Hot wash without detergent with a double rinse. This helps remove any buildup of detergent.
2. If a smell still lingers, try baking soda, vinegar (if you have hard water), Dawn dish soap, Bac-out, Oxyclean, etc.
3. Visit http://www.zany-zebra.com/stripping-cloth-diapers.shtml for more info. 

And now for my favorite part:

Total Personal Investment: $160

Savings To Date: $198

Return On Investment: + $38