Apartment Dweller Newbie-- Read Archives -- Still Have Questions -- Help!

[brainysinglemom]

Please, please, please. I know this is long, but I swear, I’ve spent hours reading through all of the archives so that I wouldn’t post questions which have already been answered a million times. I so need you, CD divas! Please help!!!

A teeny bit about me: I’m a single mom by choice, with a 5.5 month old who probably weighs about 16 pounds or so. I live in one bedroom apartment in L.A., and work – mostly from home, but also about 12 hours a week out … then a caretaker is here at the apartment. The laundry is in the basement of the building and it is top loading regular (not super sized) machines. $1.25 to wash; .75 to dry, NO options (just hot, cold or medium, permanent press, delicate, or normal – that’s it, no extra rinse, and etc.)

I’ve been using a diaper service since she was born, and it’s time to graduate! I just bought a sprayer for the toilet, and I’m about to buy some diapers and covers. Questions about those at the end … first questions about “how to do it?”

From reading, I get that dry pail is good, wet pail is bad . And diaper sprayers are good. But, uhm, after you spray down the diaper and put it in your "dry" pail, haven't you just made it a wet pail? Or at least a “very damp” pail?

Bac-out, white vinegar, baking soda, tea tree oil, what's the deal? Oily stuff is not good for CD's, right? And is Bac-out chemically, which we're also trying to avoid, right (I know their website says they're environmentally friendly, but that doesn't mean their product is wonderful and pure for baby, right)? And doesn't baking soda in the dry pail get all over the CD's? I see posts saying folks do this or that thing, but not the specifics of how. Please share.

The diaper manufacturer says to use less soap. Does that include soaps like Allen's and Country Save where you already don't use much to begin with?

What to do with an apartment building machine with zero options? Some folks say they just washed hot. Some folks say they spent more money and did one full cold wash and one hot wash. One person suggested that perhaps using the toilet sprayer could count as the “cold wash.” Is that really true? Anything I should use with the sprayer then? A diluted white vinegar solution sprayed on with sprayer? Some soap?

Also, drypail liners. All made equal, or is there one or two brands that stand out?

Oh, and do a lot of CD users on here order their diapers form the same one or two places, or is it all over the place?

Diaper-wise, I have some “prowrap” covers to 25 pounds, and I just got an opportunity to buy six more plus ten Chinese prefolds (for $30 altogether). Should I do that? I was going to just use the Flip system (*heavy* wetter at night), but maybe if I already have these prowraps (about four that I have) and this opportunity to get more? If so, I should get more than 10 pre-folds, right? Should I buy my diaper service pre-folds? I know they use some bleach? Will they not work without bleach or is a prefold a prefold?

What about liners. What's the deal with using liners with the CD's?

I also have three AIO’s that someone gave me. Would it be too confusing to use those, and a box of Flips, and these prowraps with prefolds?

Anything else I need to know?

I’m sure you’re sick of answering all of these newbie posts, but I cannot tell you how appreciated your generous responses will be!

Finally, for any other apartment-dwellers, maybe someone could walk through their "system" in an apartment with a squirmy six-month-old? I currently have the diaper table in our bedroom and the diaper service pail in there, but I think I'd move it onto our miniscule patio, or else get a hanging door bag and put it in bathroom? So I would change baby and put the dirty diaper … where? Maybe in a little plastic container near the changing table? Somewhere else? Then put baby in a safe place or on me, and when I have a chance, bring that little bucket to bathroom and rinse? Then put wet rinsed diaper into "dry" pail? Then rinse little bucket out and return to near baby changing station? It already feels inefficient. Aack! I’d love to hear about a few “systems” not leaving out details.

Julie, exclusively pumping (we never latched!) mama of beautiful baby girl

[justmama]

what a nightmare of confusion huh? Felt like that for me 5 years ago when I started! I swear! Good job reading the archives first, I can tell you tried researching.



Okay, first off, diaper options. You've been using prefolds. They are AWESOME. If you like prefolds, have you tried flats? Do you have a recieving blanket from the infant days? Try one as a diaper. They are NOT hard at all. You don't need fancy folds. If you already wanted to do flips, try folding your prefolds or a flat into one of those instead of buying the fancy expensive inserts. Flats are super super cheap and one-size so you don't have to rebuy. Proraps are good solid, cheap covers. I liked them for my girls. I see no reason to change if you like what you are using already. Lots of people like varied diaper stashes so that they have different diapers for different purposes and occasions. I personally like a simple streamlined stash. I like all one kind of diaper and cover. Righ tnow we are just using nightime and nap diapers so we are using bamboo velour fitteds made by me and interlock wool soakers. Before she potty learned we used flats and flip covers or bummis super whisper wraps. They were PERFECT!
Next how to store. I dry pail, always have, always will. I've been at this 5 years straight and two kids and really, simple is better. When they start solids and you have poop that can dump in the toilet, go for it. Dump what dumps and toss the rest in the pail. I find the idea of a diaper sprayer complicated and gross. I would rather let my washer deal with the mess as long as it actually does deal with said mess. And it does!
I toss everything in the pail together, washing everything in the same load. I wash every other day typically because that's what my washer can fit. Hot wash with 1/2 the recommended amt in the cap of Tide(i've tried everything and I know Tide is a no-no but it's what works here. other homes and water I've had success with dawn dishsoap and tea tree oil or sun but in this home with our city water, Tide works best and it hasn't harmed our diapers) and cold rinse. That worked in our top loader and now in the front loader we just do the Tide HE. Baking soda is great for absorbing smells in your pail and it won't hurt your diapers when it gets all over them. Wash like normal. Tea tree oil is used by a lot of people to kill germs and disinfect without using chemicals. You are using about 5-10drops per washer load so you aren't making a massive oily mess for your diapers to soak up. No, it won't hurt them. Vinegar is another disinfectant. You can use if you so choose, I found that I don't have to use it unless I have stink issues(which I haven't since starting Tide 9 months ago). Bac-Out is a natural enzyme cleaner(and it smells like heaven in a bottle!) and it works well to keep stains at bay. But it's super expensive and I like to put my diapers in the sun to bleach them out. If you are in an apartment, my guess is you won't have a sunny balcony to sun the diapers. You can still do it if you have a sunny window but it may take longer. Bac-Out is not necessary but some people take offense at stains.
Less soap, yes! I always hear 1/2 the recommended amt. Start with that, on any detergent. Worst thing that happens if you rewash with a larger amt. I like to use 1/2 the line 1 amt on the cap of Tide in my diaper wash. It comes to like 1 1/2 tablespoons surprisingly enough.
Regarding bleach. Well, I personally don't think you need it. I prefer to avoid as many chemicals as possible(i know, my beloved tide is chock full of them though). I would use it if I had stink issues with my diapers that I thought were related to bacterial growth or I just couldnt' get rid of the stink. But switching detergents helped us immensely and I didn't need to use bleach.
Liners. I dont see the need unless poo in the washer bothers you or you hate stains. I see them as one more thing to buy and they always get bunched up funny and miss half the poo anyway. Why bother? I do use fleece liners. Those are different than the disposable liners meant to keep poo off the diapers. Fleece liners are basically usually cheapo fleece from he fabric store cut into squares to lay in the diaper as a stay-dry layer to keep baby's skin feeling dry or to protect the diaper from rash cream on baby's bottom when they have a rash. I like to use one at night to keep my 2 year old feeling dry since she's not yet able to wake up and pee on the toilet.
Pail liners. I don't see the need. Just one more thing to wash and worry about. Just chuck the dirties in the pail and when you empty the pail to wash the diapers, fill the pail in your sink with water and vinegar and soak it and dump it out. CLEAN! For a pail, we used sterilite garbage bins from wal-mart. I want to say they were around $5 each. One upstairs, one downstairs(I'm lazy!).
For a storage system, we had a 3-drawer plastic dresser thingy for diapers and wipes and pins and snappi's and fleece liners and covers and such. I always changed her on the floor and the diaper pail was right next to the dresser thing. Everything was within reach. I kept wipes dry and folded in a small basket on top of the dresser and a small spray bottle of plain water to wet them so I didn't have to chase down a toddler after I went to the sink to wet the wipe and back to change her. Keeping everything in one place is a BIG help. I would have LOVED to have a changing table or something in the bathroom to be close to the sink but my bathroom is. . . . . well. . . . . .let's just say two adults would have to be. . . . intimate. . to fit in my bathroom at the same time. So it was not to be. Everything is in my living room. Because the diaper pail is not airtight, things dry out well and there's no stink issues. Before company comes, I may toss some baking soda in the pail but I've never once in 5 years of cloth diapers had someone comment about a dirty diaper smell in my living room even when sitting right next to the pail.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I have been at this 5 years now and have used pretty much every single kind of diaper out there and every kind of washing routine and I've come to the conclusion that simple is best. Cloth diapers are only as difficult as you make them.

[chase_mommy]

My answers are in blue.. hope I help some.

Originally Posted by brainysinglemom

Please, please, please. I know this is long, but I swear, I’ve spent hours reading through all of the archives so that I wouldn’t post questions which have already been answered a million times. I so need you, CD divas! Please help!!!

A teeny bit about me: I’m a single mom by choice, with a 5.5 month old who probably weighs about 16 pounds or so. I live in one bedroom apartment in L.A., and work – mostly from home, but also about 12 hours a week out … then a caretaker is here at the apartment. The laundry is in the basement of the building and it is top loading regular (not super sized) machines. $1.25 to wash; .75 to dry, NO options (just hot, cold or medium, permanent press, delicate, or normal – that’s it, no extra rinse, and etc.)

I’ve been using a diaper service since she was born, and it’s time to graduate! I just bought a sprayer for the toilet, and I’m about to buy some diapers and covers. Questions about those at the end … first questions about “how to do it?”

From reading, I get that dry pail is good, wet pail is bad . And diaper sprayers are good. But, uhm, after you spray down the diaper and put it in your "dry" pail, haven't you just made it a wet pail? Or at least a “very damp” pail?
I have always done a 'dry pail'. Technically, I guess you are making it a damp pail by spraying the diapers but its ok. A wet pail from what I understand is full of water.

Bac-out, white vinegar, baking soda, tea tree oil, what's the deal? Oily stuff is not good for CD's, right? And is Bac-out chemically, which we're also trying to avoid, right (I know their website says they're environmentally friendly, but that doesn't mean their product is wonderful and pure for baby, right)? And doesn't baking soda in the dry pail get all over the CD's? I see posts saying folks do this or that thing, but not the specifics of how. Please share.
I never had to use Bac-out in our 2 years of CDing. Some mommas do though. I have used baking soda. It helps eliminate odors in the pail, yes it gets on the diapers but no biggy it washes out. I rarely had to use it for stink issues in our dry pail. If I did use it I would sprinkle it in. I also use it occasionally (once a month) with white vinegar to wash the diapers... I don't know, makes me feel like I am doing some extra cleaning... probably in my head. I do use Tea tree oil and vinegar to get rid of yeast when DD broke out with a yeast rash. Yes TTO is an oil but it rinses clean and leaves no residue.

The diaper manufacturer says to use less soap. Does that include soaps like Allen's and Country Save where you already don't use much to begin with?
I have only used soap nuts so I am no help here.

What to do with an apartment building machine with zero options? Some folks say they just washed hot. Some folks say they spent more money and did one full cold wash and one hot wash. One person suggested that perhaps using the toilet sprayer could count as the “cold wash.” Is that really true? Anything I should use with the sprayer then? A diluted white vinegar solution sprayed on with sprayer? Some soap?
Umm.. this is personal preference. I would just do a hand wash in the bathtub and then just wash with whatever cycle in the washer. I would bet a second rinse is a good idea because of all the detergent build up in the washer.

Also, drypail liners. All made equal, or is there one or two brands that stand out?
Never used a pail liner. We have a trash can with a removable plastic part so it was easy to clean. So once again no help here.

Oh, and do a lot of CD users on here order their diapers form the same one or two places, or is it all over the place?
I stick with one or two places but thats because those are the places that have the best price and products IMHO. However, if I can find the same product elsewhere with a better price you better bet I am going to take my business there!

Diaper-wise, I have some “prowrap” covers to 25 pounds, and I just got an opportunity to buy six more plus ten Chinese prefolds (for $30 altogether). Should I do that? I was going to just use the Flip system (*heavy* wetter at night), but maybe if I already have these prowraps (about four that I have) and this opportunity to get more? If so, I should get more than 10 pre-folds, right? Should I buy my diaper service pre-folds? I know they use some bleach? Will they not work without bleach or is a prefold a prefold?
I never used prowraps. However, we are a prefold and flat family. I have no clue about the flip system... I am out of that loop. I do know how many prefolds you need depend on how often you plan on washing diapers. With DD, a heavy wetter, we would go through 2 dozen prefolds in 2 days... I may make it into day three but laundry was first on the agenda (this was when she was 1.5-2 years old). However, we go coverless a lot during the day and she would be changed after ever pee.

What about liners. What's the deal with using liners with the CD's?
I never cared for them. They never stayed in place and was a bigger hassle to deal with.

I also have three AIO’s that someone gave me. Would it be too confusing to use those, and a box of Flips, and these prowraps with prefolds?
I think not... you know what goes where. Maybe just set out a specific diapering system out for the caretaker so they don't get confused.

Anything else I need to know?
There is not a right way or a wrong way to cloth diaper. Take a deep breath, once you get into this you will think 'man why was I stressen."

I’m sure you’re sick of answering all of these newbie posts, but I cannot tell you how appreciated your generous responses will be!

Finally, for any other apartment-dwellers, maybe someone could walk through their "system" in an apartment with a squirmy six-month-old? I currently have the diaper table in our bedroom and the diaper service pail in there, but I think I'd move it onto our miniscule patio, or else get a hanging door bag and put it in bathroom? So I would change baby and put the dirty diaper … where? Maybe in a little plastic container near the changing table? Somewhere else? Then put baby in a safe place or on me, and when I have a chance, bring that little bucket to bathroom and rinse? Then put wet rinsed diaper into "dry" pail? Then rinse little bucket out and return to near baby changing station? It already feels inefficient. Aack! I’d love to hear about a few “systems” not leaving out details.
Everyone does it different. I don't have a changing table for baby its storage now. I always changed diapers wherever we were... bed, couch, floor, where ever. If baby was content to get some naked booty time I would leave her (making sure she was safe) and go deal with the diaper. When she became mobile we did most changes on the floor and out house is baby proofed so it wasn't an issue to go to bathroom and deal with the diaper... she often followed anyhow. I kept our diaper pail in the bathroom that has the diaper sprayer and at night I would take a wet bag into the bedroom and deal with those diapers in the am or when baby was napping depending on how much needed to be done.

Julie, exclusively pumping (we never latched!) mama of beautiful baby girl
Wow, you are amazing with the exclusive pumping!!! You rock momma!