Diaper service question! Wipes!

[feminist~mama]

I cd my dd, but didn't start until she was a toddler.

With the new babe on the way, I plan to start from the beginning. However- my DP is not so stoked on the idea of washing diapers. I found it easy with my dd, but whatever. So... we agreed to use a service with the new babe.

I just got the rates from the service and honestly, it's probably a bit more expensive than disposables. Plus, it's just diapers, no covers.

It also just occurred to me that it's not WIPES either! With dd I used cloth wipes and just washed them. So what do people using a service do with wipes? Use disposable wipes? And do what with them? I tuck the yucky wipe into the disposable diaper at work (I'm a nurse) and then chuck the whole thing. I can't imagine tossing poop-filled wipes into the garbage all *uncontained*. But I'm also not going to wash my own wipes and have the service wash the diapers- that's just silly.

Is there a solution that I'm not seeing here?

[Galatea]

You do the laundry and wash your own diapers. Seems like a waste of money to pay for the service and disposable wipes. I mean, if you found washing your own to be easy, who cares what DP thinks? My dipes are my favorite laundry and my dh has nothing to do with it.

[Amy@STL]

I have the same question as yours...did you find a solution?

[junipervt]

why can't you have a small wetbag next to the changing table to put your soiled cloth wipes in? then you can do a small load of laundry when the bag is full. I deliver for a diaper service & this is what a lot of our customers do.

they even make wetbags that have handles that unsnap so they are easier to hang & little swatches of cloth inside to put eo's (or tea tree oil) on so the bag is not stinky.

[Amy@STL]

I am still learning about CD..so pardon my ignorance. But my thought is if I am going to use a service, I want to avoid the extra laundry. As feministMama said "But I'm also not going to wash my own wipes and have the service wash the diapers- that's just silly".

I like the idea of the wetbag, but if I am going to do my own laundry for wipes,might as well do for diapers....or is that not how it is?

[CookAMH]

Well, I did it (washing wipes). It was no big deal. With the diaper service we used for the first couple of months, I recall the lady saying people threw in their wipes with the dipes and she washed them. You get the same diapers back that you use (or at least you should) and so your wipes would be returned as well.

However, we just threw our wipes in with our newborn's laundry and washed with his clothes and diaper covers. Wasn't silly to us, and it was nice to ease into diaper laundry by having the service for a little while.

Mine was about $20 a week for 80 dipes in Pittsburgh.

[Amy@STL]

Thanks...I will contact the diaper service here and see what they say. Thank you for all the replies.

[RoadBuddy]

We're doing a service as well, I think. Honestly, it seems worth it to me. I hate laundry, and get scared by all the complex wash routines people argue about. Too much to figure out when I can pay someone to do it for me for a similar cost to disposables

My plan is to use cloth wipes and wash with the diaper covers and other laundry that can be washed on hot (burp cloths, changing pad cover, etc). I'll also have a tiny trashcan with lid, lined with an old plastic bag, on the diaper changing area for disposable wipes. DH is OK with cloth diapers but afraid of cloth wipes.

[feminist~mama]

I ended up calling the local diaper services. One said they'd do cloth wipes (and provide them) for me and the other said I needed to provide my own, but they would happily wash them.

I'm going with the 2nd company- I later noticed that the 1st company uses a "wet pail method"- and I'm not excited about that!

[CookAMH]

Glad you got some answers!

I would add that after a couple of months of the service's lack of organization, I bit the bullet and did my own laundry in our shared apartment washers and it worked fine. The price was as much as buying disposables because I needed quarters, but I got to finally use my own diapers and I liked that. Poop stains didn't come out since I washed on hot, and I didn't have the option to do a cold rinse (which keeps poop from staining) so I just laid them in the sun and presto-chango, they were brilliant white after an hour or so.

[Amy@STL]

We do have washer-dryer in our apt itself...so it's going to be definitely easier for me. My hubby is also is not happy with th idea of sharing diapers..as will happen if we get the diaper service in our area.

Thanks Mamas for the inputs!

[feminist~mama]

Oh dear. There's another thread about how *many* wipes you'll possibly need- and I suddenly realized I'll need A LOT of wipes if I expect to get through a whole week! Yikes! The service recommends 80 diapers a week to start- so what, at least 100 wipes or so???

Huh. Well. Not a huge deal if I really intend to keep using the service, but I'm not positive I will. Hmmm...

[Amy@STL]

This is the reply I got from my local diaper service:

We do not wash the wipes or covers at this time. I use cloth wipes on my daughter and just throw them in the washing machine with her covers. I also use one of the diapers as my initial "wipe" if it is messy.

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by Amy@STL

This is the reply I got from my local diaper service:

We do not wash the wipes or covers at this time. I use cloth wipes on my daughter and just throw them in the washing machine with her covers. I also use one of the diapers as my initial "wipe" if it is messy.

That's a good tip about using the dipe as an initial wipe.

Many people buy their wipes, but mine are from washed yards of flannel that were torn into squares. Make a snip then tear and it tears in a straight line. We fold them over and keep a stack of them in the bathroom. We still use the same ones 8 mo later.