Used diapers - what should I look for?

[dylan1984]

Hi, I'm new to CD, but plan to try it out on my baby due in August. It just occured to me to post a wanted ad on Craigslist to see if there are any used stashes to be had in my area at a reasonable price.

Just wanted your tips on what I should screen for - obviously they'll be used, so what exactly qualifies as not usable? Stains? I imagine a bit of staining kind of goes with the territory? I am no super easy to gross out, but I don't want to put my baby at risk for anything.

TIA!!!

[dylan1984]

Sigh. Here is my first response to my wanted ad:

Babies R Us is the only place in Reno that I found that sells cloth diapers. They are pretty expensive compared to disposable diapers. I think they were about $10 for 6 of the cloth liners and about $10-$15 for each of the covers. You will need a lot of both. Just my opinion - Cloth diapers are a big hassle and leak all the time. You will be constantly washing them since you will go through 5-8 diapers on a good day They don't save very much money since you will be running the washing machine and even if you wash them by hand, you will still be using lots of water. I used cloth diapers for a few weeks with my first one because she had a constant rash for some reason but they proved to be more of a headache than anything. I just let her run around the house naked from the waist down to dry out the rash and it worked great (minus the accidents). That's just my opinion. Do what you think is best. I hope this helps. Good luck on the little one!

BTW, I didn't say "wanted: advice on cloth diapering" I come here for that

[Galatea]

Buying used is hit or miss. Your best bet is here or DiaperSwappers, but after having bought a lot of used diapers, I won't ever do it again. People hide behind the anonymity of the internet and generally try to unload problematic diapers without telling you about it. And on DiaperSwappers, EVERYONE has 100% positive feedback... yeah, right. Generally what I have found is that people do not care for their diapers as well as you would, and even if they are not stained, you are inheriting their laundry problems. For example, we absolutely cannot use any type of Tide or we get headaches and rashes. I used to question people up and down, "Did you use Tide ever? Were you the first owner?" and on and on. They tell me, "No, no, just Allens," and then I get the diaper and I can smell the Tide wafting off it before I even open the package.

To save money, your best bet is to buy your diapers new, treat them right, and then resell them. If you buy quality, well-known diapers and treat them well, you will get about 70% of the purchase price back, depending on how long you keep them. So when you are ready to go to the next size, you will basically be getting 60% off. When I sold all my boy color FBs when I found out I was having a girl, it took less than a day and I made hundreds of dollars - b/c everyone is thrilled to buy used but good quality FB! I bought them when FBs were still $13.95 (hahahaha I am old) and used them for two boys and sold them for $12 each! They were stain-free with good elastic. The key there is to buy enough that you have a large rotation and aren't putting excessive wear on them. I never let stains sit but sun them out right away. I don't stretch them while they are still hot from the dryer, and I dry on medium.

HTH, mama. BTW, I found that response pretty funny in a bitter way! Better take your ad down before you get more "advice!" Now you learned the first lesson about being pg with your first - don't tell ANYONE ANYTHING about how you are going to raise your child, b/c to other parents, you are an idiot b/c you don't have a child yet, and they LOVE to tell you how it will never work and you shouldn't even try. Or they tell you their labor horror story. That's my favorite. So I'm here to say, you will be a GREAT parent simply b/c you are taking the time to read here on MDC, and to follow your instincts, and don't listen to bitter parents who have an axe to grind, and finally, labor was AWESOME and all three of my births were GREAT but especially the unmedicated home birth!

[Galatea]

But to answer your question, you would have to wash them a lot to strip out the detergent they used, and then bleach them, so don't get any dyed natural fibers b/c the bleach will mess them up. Insist on close up pictures of all surfaces and check their feedback somewhere - ebay, DiaperSwappers, somewhere.

[mother culture]

I have purchased a ton of used becuase you can save $ and try different WAHM diapers.
Good sites are Hyenacart http://hyenacart.com/Spots_corner/

there is also a FSOT in the FOrums.

I also use http://www.diaperswappers.com

I always want stain free or at least minimal. Ask to see insides too if they do not show them.

I also want to mention that having a varied stash of diapers is nice at first to try it all out. Wool may be your best bet for a cover living in Reno. I am near Auburn and have been making wool soakers and clothing for 5 years now.

[Funny Face]

I bought a lot of covers used but bought my prefolds new. I didn't have any problems.

I looked for 100% feed back.
Asked how they were washed, how many times and how long they were used.
Asked if there were any defects or stains.


I agree that buying new is a good deal too though. You can re-use them for future babies or re-sell them. I've already sold all the newborn covers I bought and made my money back minus a bit.

[schreiberwriter]

diaperswappers is a good place to get NIP (new in package) or just washed and tried on or just worn a few times.

But similar to the pp--my luck has been mixed. Lots of people wash their diapers in Tide. People pass on leaky diapers that are having problems.

However, I have supplemented my stash and tried some new diapers by purchasing on diaperswappers. I've also sold a lot of diapers that I tried and passed them on so I could have a simple stash.

What to look for:
--always buy from someone who has posted a photo of the diaper
--buy diaper that is EUC (exellent used condition) or hasn't been worn much
--seller is original owner
--new in package

[dylan1984]

Thanks for all the info ladies! And thanks for all the encouragement Galatea! Actually I am already mom to a 3 year old, but all your encouragement still applies as I am going about this second pregnancy so much differently and planning to do things a lot different with second baby, so much appreciated!

I have my registry on Galatea's online store, so I am pretty confident of what I want and want new - just have to wait and see if friends and family come through, at the same time we'll be saving to buy it ourselves if they don't, but I guess I am just impatient and want to start playing with this stuff already.

I have had two more responses, one a lovely one from a lady who didn't have any diapers but wanted to encourage me and tell me how wonderful CDing has been for her daughter. The second is a woman who actually has some dipes posted, 23 premies prefolds and 23 infant prefolds and a bunch of toddler size but she said they are so huge they'd fit her 40lb 4 year old just fine, so I'm thinking I'm not interested in those. She also has four motherease sandys. She says a few of the prefolds are stained, she has tie-died some of them - but they started out as chinese and indian bleached and unbleached. She says they are definitely well worn but still work great. She also offered to sit down with me and go over her whole stash and tell me her experience with all the different set ups.

So I'm thinking of getting the premie and infant prefolds and the motherease sandys (oh yeah they come with doublers she never used) and total it would cost $29. I guess I feel OK about it b/c it is pretty cheap and I don't feel like she's just unloading crap on me since she offered to spend time going over her likes/dislikes and all. I asked about detergent and she said her oldest has allergies so she has been using a natural lavendar detergent from costco (don't know the brand) I guess I never get super fired up about this as we've never had problems with any type of detergent as far as skin irritation...though I do plan to use the detergents Galatea recommends for caring for whatever diapers I get.

So that's sort of the plan. Maybe if I just get some in my hands to touch and see and make it real, I will be satisfied and can hold out for new ones a little longer

[jenmichelle99]

that's an awesome deal on the prefolds and sandy's I got a similar deal on cheap prefolds and though I use mostly pockets, I stuff them with infant prefolds and use the regular prefolds as backup when i've been lazy with getting the wash in. Congrats!

[jenmichelle99]

Oh and I have heard something about enzymes in detergent that could be irritating especially on a newborn. You might want to find out more about that and whether you need to strip them.

[Juliacat]

FIVE to EIGHT diapers a day???? No wonder her kid gets diaper rash!

[sarajane]

I was looking at www.myuseddiapers.com

Has anyone had a good experience there?

Thanks.