cloth diapers at the laudromat and tiny apartments?

[ciga]

Anyone here have experience dealing with cloth diapers and not having a washing machine at home? I'm trying to figure out how many I'm going to need and how often I'm going to have to lug them to the laudromat while also carrying an infant.
I'm starting to get nervous about a having baby in this washer free/tiny apartment even if we don't plan on being here for that long. To be honest what makes me the most nervous is having my mom come stay in this tiny apartment with us to help when the baby is born. I love her and I want her here but I don't know where I'll put her.

Maybe I shouldn't be worrying about this stuff so far in advance.

[tolliverfamily2000]

Cotton Babies is coming out with a hybrid diaper that has both cloth or disposable inserts. We have a washer and dryer but it is downstairs where my aunt lives so I only do laundry 2 days a week. I plan on getting the new hybrid diaper with liners for poop so I can flush that easily and then get a really good diaper pail to help with 3 day old diaper stink LOL! Then if for some sad reason I run out of the cloth insert I will have the back-up disposable, or for hubby since he is so against cloth.
I will be ordering 4 kits which contain 2 diapers and 6 inserts plus 4 pkgs of disposable inserts and 3 pkgs of bio liners since they are septic safe.

[VegMomma]

Is there a diaper service in your area? That might be an option to consider. You could ask for gift certificates (or "dontations") for it at your shower (if you're having one).
We were living in an apartment with coin laundry when DS2 was in diapers still, and we switched to 7th Generation disposables, because it would've cost us a fortune to wash diapers all the time (since most of ours were trashed, we would've had to wash the few we could still use all the time).

Just an idea! I hope you find a solution that makes everyone happy!

[Right of Passage]

All the local laundrymats and the coin-op laundry I share with my neighbors is low-flow. This SUCKS for cloth and I had to give up cloth diapering DS2. He slept through the night from day one, until our washing machine was switched from a regular machine to the coin-op. It was low-flow, front loading, doesn't clean worth a darn machine. He stopped sleeping through the night because of his horrifically painful rashes(he'd pee and wake up screaming). His penis was constantly chaffed and sore. I tried everything, washing with lots of soap, washing with no soap, TTO, oxyclean, borax, homemade detergent, a tablespoon of bleech in every load, multiple washes, presoaks, etc. The only time we got relief was when I was able to use someone else's washing machine. I couldn't do that every week so I had to give up and put him in sposies and then he started sleeping through the night again.

I know people who have had coin-op laundry and still done great with cloth diapering, in my area it just doesn't work.

[Right of Passage]

Originally Posted by tolliverfamily2000

Cotton Babies is coming out with a hybrid diaper that has both cloth or disposable inserts. We have a washer and dryer but it is downstairs where my aunt lives so I only do laundry 2 days a week. I plan on getting the new hybrid diaper with liners for poop so I can flush that easily and then get a really good diaper pail to help with 3 day old diaper stink LOL! Then if for some sad reason I run out of the cloth insert I will have the back-up disposable, or for hubby since he is so against cloth.
I will be ordering 4 kits which contain 2 diapers and 6 inserts plus 4 pkgs of disposable inserts and 3 pkgs of bio liners since they are septic safe.

Interesting, sounds like the gDiaper, I think I might go check that out. Thank you for sharing this info!

[ciga]

Originally Posted by VegMomma

Is there a diaper service in your area? That might be an option to consider. You could ask for gift certificates (or "dontations") for it at your shower (if you're having one).

I was actually really surprised to find out that even though we live 10 minutes from a small city there is no diaper service within an hours drive. It actually got me thinking about starting one. I might do a little reconosence work to figure out if there is a market for it beyond just me.

We have been searching so hard for an apartment with a W/D that I never even thought about the fact that different washers work better for cloth diapering. I know we'll make this work but I think it will be a little more complicated than we anticipated.

[Carley]

Originally Posted by ciga

Anyone here have experience dealing with cloth diapers and not having a washing machine at home? I'm trying to figure out how many I'm going to need and how often I'm going to have to lug them to the laudromat while also carrying an infant.
I'm starting to get nervous about a having baby in this washer free/tiny apartment even if we don't plan on being here for that long. To be honest what makes me the most nervous is having my mom come stay in this tiny apartment with us to help when the baby is born. I love her and I want her here but I don't know where I'll put her.

Maybe I shouldn't be worrying about this stuff so far in advance.

I had to do laundry every day with DD, especially as a newborn when they're going pee/poop ALL the time.

I think you have a lot of valid, realistic concerns here with the cloth diapering. I'd also add the cost effectiveness of having to buy more diapers than you would if you had your own washer & also the cost of using a laundromat. Doing that much laundry where I live would be much more expensive at a laundromat than it would be at home.

Also consider the environmental impact of both (which is one reason I assume you're considering cloth) - you'll be using more gas, water & energy than you would be if you had a washer at home because of your need to transport yourself & the excess loads you'll have.

I'd also add not just carrying an infant, but then being stuck at the laundromat until your laundry is done. You wont have pleasant options if your baby gets fussy/needs to rest at home.

Is this your first baby? ANYONE helping you should be the least of your concerns - help is a beautiful thing, & if you decide to go through with the cloth diapering w/o a washer you are going to NEED IT!!!

Good luck - make your decision based on what's going to work for YOU. After having gone through 1 newborn with colic, there's no way I'd sign up for that kind of stress/work for myself.

[ArtsyMomma]

If I couldn't wash at home I'd opt for all prefolds. They are the easiest to wash, they can tolerate a little bleach and they are the cheapest option. They are even cheaper if you get them through a co-op. You can hand-wash covers like bummis at home too, they dry really fast. I'd be concerned about fitteds and aios getting ruined in a laundermat machine, but that being said I've never used a laundermat.

If you are going to have to use a laundermat anyway, then the transportation and time issues are there whether or not you are using cloth.

[rachelsmama]

I'm in a pretty small apartment, and I cram a twin tub washing machine into my tiny bathroom, and some drying racks and an overhead clothesline. We'd have more space if I used the pay machines down the hall, but I'll sacrifice the space for less hassles and less cost. I have a friend in the same building who was using the public pay machines to clean her diapers and she was rinsing them really well by hand, then hanging them on her balcony to store them until she was doing a load of laundry. Even with her prewashing they still got nasty enough that I ended up stripping them in my machine.

[Carley]

Originally Posted by ArtsyMomma

I've never used a laundermat.

If you are going to have to use a laundermat anyway, then the transportation and time issues are there whether or not you are using cloth.

I disagree - if she's going to be using cloth diapers she's going to be doing exponentially more laundry than if she's just washing their typical clothes/linens, even with the addition of a newborn. For our family of 3 (OUT of diapers) I could sometimes get away with 1x/week haul in my 4Runner. Usually I was at the laundromat 2x/week for anywhere from 2-4 hours.

When I used cloth I was doing loads EVERY day by necessity. Dirty diapers can't "wait around" like dirty clothes can. I have NO idea how I'd manage that kind of laundry volume alone with everything else we typically wash/dry. Especially with a newborn. And no sleep.

Since you've never used a laundromat I'll fill you in on some inconveniences. There isn't a guarrantee you're going to get all of the machines necessary to get all of your loads done at once. Since you can't leave your clothes unattended like you do at home, this could have you stuck at the laundromat anywhere from 2 hours (1 wash/dry cycle) - 4 hours. I've spent 5 hours at the laundromat before.

I am SO relieved we have a washer/dryer now. Seriously - it is SO time consuming to go to the laundromat, especially if you're a mother & already pulled 5 ways at once.

Good luck OP. Take your concerns seriously. You can always start with disposables or use cloth part-time to get a feel for the volume of laundry you'd be doing and see if you have the time/energy for cloth without a washer/dryer. You'll have plenty of time spent up to your ears in diapers, cloth or not, to decide

Also don't forget you're going to be healing from birth - some women bleed up to 6 weeks postpartum & take even longer to feel "back to normal" physically. Your health & sanity postpartum should be your #1 priority, not getting to the laundromat, KWIM?

[mamacatsbaby]

I haven't read any of the other responses but we did cloth (PFs and Snappi) with DS, no private washer/dryer and it sucked. Seriously, not something I'd repeat. If we didn't have our own washer and dryer this time around, cloth would not make it onto my radar, even though I love them. Waaaaay too many issues without a washer/dryer. Excessive expense, time, stench (in a small apartment, the heat turns those suckers pretty quick). We washed dipes every other day and STILL ended up having to toss PFs out.

[Nicole730]

We didn't have washer for the first 3 months, but we had family we could use their washer and that was nice. Plus, they usually ended up doing the laundry for me

I agree with PP that said to just use prefolds, they would by far be the easiest for laundromating. I would also probably use a wetpail and soak in water with a splash of bleach. I do not use bleach very often at all, but when the diapers start getting really stinky I add a little to the washer and it takes all the stink right out.

Another laundry thing to consider, if you decide to use disposables, it seems to me kids poop out of those a lot more often. You might have more clothing washes, sheets, blankets, slings, carseat covers, etc... to wash if you use disposables. I never had a poopout in a cloth diaper, our first one was when DS was 3 months old and in a disposable.

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by ciga

Anyone here have experience dealing with cloth diapers and not having a washing machine at home? I'm trying to figure out how many I'm going to need and how often I'm going to have to lug them to the laudromat while also carrying an infant.
I'm starting to get nervous about a having baby in this washer free/tiny apartment even if we don't plan on being here for that long. To be honest what makes me the most nervous is having my mom come stay in this tiny apartment with us to help when the baby is born. I love her and I want her here but I don't know where I'll put her.

Maybe I shouldn't be worrying about this stuff so far in advance.

I wouldn't do cloth without a washing machine. I've done cloth without a dryer, but not without a washer (for the reasons cited already --- it's a LOT of trips to the laundromat, a lot of TIME at the laundromat because diapers dry slowly, a lot of WEIGHT to carry around (wet diapers), etc.

I did have my MIL live with us for about 4 months when my oldest was born though, and it was honestly a lifesaver. I was a student and we lived in a 594 sq. ft. apartment on campus. Having her there meant that I could go to class knowing my baby was in good hands, and then pop in between classes to nurse, etc. My MIL is a huge help and tries really really hard not to get in the way, though. It would have been a different experience with a different person. Also, as small as the apartment was, it did have two bedrooms so one was a nursery/guest room and the other was my bedroom. I don't know how it would work with only one bedroom or a studio. Also, I'm glad MIL didn't arrive until my daughter was about 9 weeks old. It was good for dh and I to get into the groove of parenting unhindered. I'm afraid dh might have deferred more to his mom rather than learning to parent with me during those first weeks.

[ciga]

wow! Thanks everybody.
After reading all these responses I sat down and thought about my current laundry situation. Basically, I already spend 2 hrs a week sitting at the laudromat, $10-20 depending on how many loads I'm dealing with, and lug it all around and that is just for the two of us. My husband is always willing to go deal with laundry when he gets home from work but I would rather that we get a chance to have dinner together and sit back a bit.
I am totally daunted by what I imagine the cost of laundering all those diapers will be and just the logistics of getting the laundry in and out of the car without having to leave a newborn alone. There is a mother at my laudromat who does it but her husband and MIL work there so she has people to help her the whole time.
Anyway, I was totally not interested in G diapers or disposable inserts until I really considered the implications of cloth for us. I'm thinking we might have to start off with some form of disposable compostable insert and then move up to prefolds once we move out of here. Unfortunately, I think my husband is going to be heartbroken. Contrary to the opinions of most men I encounter he is really really excited about using cloth diapers.
Unfortunately my landlord strictly forbids washing machines in our apartment (even though there is a hook up and I would gladly hand over my sewing room/closet to a washing machine).
Oh and Carley, yes this will be our first baby.

[lunita1]

If it helps, I think the most affordable way to diaper is to start cloth after the initial growth spurts. Newborn covers fit my babies until about 6 weeks, if that. The size small proraps and bummis (with infant prefolds) worked until maybe 4-5 months. After that, the size medium covers with premium prefolds worked until they potty trained at almost 3!

[Right of Passage]

ciga I think you are being very wise in your choice. I can't tell you how much money was spent on washing just diapers. I was so sad to give up cloth because it's just so wonderful when you can get it to work, but when you can't it can be one heck of a mess.

[ArtsyMomma]

Originally Posted by Carley

When I used cloth I was doing loads EVERY day by necessity. Dirty diapers can't "wait around" like dirty clothes can. I have NO idea how I'd manage that kind of laundry volume alone with everything else we typically wash/dry. Especially with a newborn. And no sleep.

I've cd'ed for about 5 years total (most of it with two in diapers), and the only time I needed to wash dipes daily was when I first started and had two in diapers and very few diapers. I usually wash about once a week with one in diapers. With my toddler, it's only one load in my average sized washer. When I had two toddlers in diapers I washed about every other day because that is when the pail got full. I let my diapers 'wait around', it doesn't seem to have done any damage so far. I just use a tall kitchen trash can as a pail.

[ArtsyMomma]

Originally Posted by ciga

wow! Thanks everybody.

Anyway, I was totally not interested in G diapers or disposable inserts until I really considered the implications of cloth for us. I'm thinking we might have to start off with some form of disposable compostable insert and then move up to prefolds once we move out of here. Unfortunately, I think my husband is going to be heartbroken. Contrary to the opinions of most men I encounter he is really really excited about using cloth diapers.
Unfortunately my landlord strictly forbids washing machines in our apartment (even though there is a hook up and I would gladly hand over my sewing room/closet to a washing machine).
Oh and Carley, yes this will be our first baby.

I think with the G-Diapers you can use the shell as a cover later, so if you do decide to change your mind as time goes on then they aren't a bad investment.