Family Cloth...what nobody ever told you - Page 19

[pastrygirl]

This is it: http://www.extendedlengths.com/weliascoapbo.html
 

Originally Posted by Sfcmama 

Originally Posted by pastrygirl 

I just bought a curved squirt bottle from Sally Beauty -- the kind meant for hair color. It works great! But I do have a question... do you squirt from the front or the back?

Curved? Can't picture that... Anyways - I was told ALWAYS front to back to keep solids away from your lady bits, if you KWIM. Unless maybe you have really good aim/control with your fancy bottle ;0)

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by pastrygirl 

This is it: http://www.extendedlengths.com/weliascoapbo.html
 

Have you tried this yet? I've tried a couple different bottles but I like that this one is curved a bit. Could make it easier to aim. And from what I know, hair color bottles are very squeezable, which helps a lot. I would definitely squirt from the front. I tried both ways and it was almost impossible to do it from the back. Plus I wouldn't want bacteria going from back to front, like Sfcmama was getting at.

[pastrygirl]

Yup, I've used it and it works great! I fill it with warm water, and it has good squeezability and pressure.

[Arianwen1174]

Thanks! I definitely want to buy one.

[mamayogibear]

Originally Posted by pastrygirl 

I just bought a curved squirt bottle from Sally Beauty -- the kind meant for hair color. It works great! But I do have a question... do you squirt from the front or the back?

-I squirt from the front to the back of course. Otherwise something might get 'washed' up front which would be no good.

[PrenatalCoach]

This is such an interesting thread! I've heard of family cloth but haven't talked to anyone that does this... Strangely, only one question comes to mind... assuming you are using cloth for pee only (one step at a time!) doesn't it get smelly if you aren't washing every 1-2 days. Does anyone do this and wash their laundry once a week? I probably wouldn't do this while we have shared washer/dryers. It would be completely different when I have the ability to just throw in a load of wash on a more frequent basis.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by PrenatalCoach 

This is such an interesting thread! I've heard of family cloth but haven't talked to anyone that does this... Strangely, only one question comes to mind... assuming you are using cloth for pee only (one step at a time!) doesn't it get smelly if you aren't washing every 1-2 days. Does anyone do this and wash their laundry once a week? I probably wouldn't do this while we have shared washer/dryers. It would be completely different when I have the ability to just throw in a load of wash on a more frequent basis.

I use 100% family cloth and wash every 2-3 weeks with no smell, whatsoever. It is really not much pee at all, it just dries. I used to be more fastidious and use baking soda and tea tree oil but I've gotten lazy and there is definitely no smell. If I was just doing pee, I would throw it in with my normal laundry. Right now my routine is to throw in the FC for a quick wash (or just rinse) and run it, then throw in other laundry and run the wash again and throw it all in the dryer, so it's only one load.. That way the FC gets run twice through the wash.

[PrenatalCoach]

Originally Posted by Toolip 

I use 100% family cloth and wash every 2-3 weeks with no smell, whatsoever. It is really not much pee at all, it just dries. I used to be more fastidious and use baking soda and tea tree oil but I've gotten lazy and there is definitely no smell. If I was just doing pee, I would throw it in with my normal laundry. Right now my routine is to throw in the FC for a quick wash (or just rinse) and run it, then throw in other laundry and run the wash again and throw it all in the dryer, so it's only one load.. That way the FC gets run twice through the wash.

That's great to know. Thanks! So what do you put the cloth in until you're ready to wash? A closed bin in the bathroom like a garbage can?

[Arianwen1174]

My wipes go into a plastic basket from the dollar store. It's ventilated on the sides and open on the top, sits right beside the toilet. I also have no issues with odor. When I did use a closed bin it was stinkier because the wipes couldn't dry. When company comes I just put the basket in the tub, hidden behind the shower curtain. I don't even mess with that when certain people come, folks who are used to my wacky ways. I toss all my nose blowers in there too. My panty liners too. The batch gets washed two or three times a week.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by PrenatalCoach 

That's great to know. Thanks! So what do you put the cloth in until you're ready to wash? A closed bin in the bathroom like a garbage can?

I have mine in a swing-top garbage can kind of thing. It's not tightly sealed but covered for those who are squeamish about the idea. It's really not gross at all, there's no visible poo or anything, but some people are sensitive! I line the pail with a pillow case (someone up-thread had that great idea!) and then the pillowcase and all the contents go in the wash -- no touching any icky wipes to get them in the wash!!

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Toolip 

Originally Posted by PrenatalCoach 

That's great to know. Thanks! So what do you put the cloth in until you're ready to wash? A closed bin in the bathroom like a garbage can?

I have mine in a swing-top garbage can kind of thing. It's not tightly sealed but covered for those who are squeamish about the idea. It's really not gross at all, there's no visible poo or anything, but some people are sensitive! I line the pail with a pillow case (someone up-thread had that great idea!) and then the pillowcase and all the contents go in the wash -- no touching any icky wipes to get them in the wash!!

Oooooh, I like that idea! Then I wouldn't have to be careful that poo wipes face down, lol!!!! And the pillow case is brilliant. Definitely spending a few bucks to buy a swing-top can on payday.

[treeoflife3]

I use family cloth and adore it :D  I have a genetic skin condition though that makes me really sensitive and I can get sores easily... I learned after switching to family cloth that tp was making it worse... I can always tell when I haven't been using cloth and have been using paper instead....  so I won't be giving up on family cloth any time soon!

[PrenatalCoach]

Thanks for all the great replies! It really helps me understand how to do it! I'll report back if we give it a go :) Should make for an interesting blog post hehe

[LCBMAX]

An improvement in my FC laundry technique:

I do the wipes in one small hot wash with bac-out and detergent, then leave them in while I do whichever load is up next. All our other laundry was going together, sheets, son's clothes, grownup clothes and kitchen cloths. But oh the frustration and wasted time trying to find all my little wipes stuck to the insides of fitted sheets when they come out of the dryer... My first change was to start doing son's laundry by itself - he has a 2 year supply of clothes it seems, so the only limit is how full the basket is. And now I just run the wipes before I do my son's laundry (1-2 x per week), since his things are smaller and easier to sort through. A minor revolutionary improvement in my FC and housewifely experience.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by LCBMAX 

An improvement in my FC laundry technique:

I do the wipes in one small hot wash with bac-out and detergent, then leave them in while I do whichever load is up next. All our other laundry was going together, sheets, son's clothes, grownup clothes and kitchen cloths. But oh the frustration and wasted time trying to find all my little wipes stuck to the insides of fitted sheets when they come out of the dryer... My first change was to start doing son's laundry by itself - he has a 2 year supply of clothes it seems, so the only limit is how full the basket is. And now I just run the wipes before I do my son's laundry (1-2 x per week), since his things are smaller and easier to sort through. A minor revolutionary improvement in my FC and housewifely experience.

I do the same thing with the first and second wash. Generally I like to throw the towels in next (in with the once-washed FC) because then you aren't finding FC in sleeves and sheets, etc... Works good so far!

[mamayogibear]

right now I just toss my wipes in with my sons dipes. before that I tossed them in my dd's dipes. i didn't discover family cloth until I had a family:)

for the brief amount of time when my dd was out of dipe and my son was dwelling in my belly I would wash wipes every 3 days or so. I store them in a small step can trash can with a sprinkle of baking soda. Then I would pre wash with bac out or vinegar. Wash with soap and bs and rinse with some vinegar. Then I would wash again with my next load which is usually all the 'unpaper' item like napkins, hand towels etc...

[minnowmomma]

Originally Posted by EricaLeigh 

Oh for those of you worried by the smell. We don't have a smell. I don't know if mama's also washing poopy wipes could tell us what they do for odor control? I bet most of them still have a babe in diapers & just use the diaper pail. My DD has been out of dipes for a while, otherwise I would be using the dipar pail too. I put a couple drops of EO on a little cloth in the bottom of the bean pot downstairs. It gets empied & sprayed out with vinegar/water often, about every other day or 2. I usually put some bs in the wet bag in the upstairs bathroom (only because I have bs upstairs & all of the eo's are downstairs) either way I find works. I dump the wetbag & beanpot out into a laundry basket in the laundry room. As long as I keep the basket covered with a dirty towel there is no smell. Remember if you use bs then dump that along with the wipes, that will absorb odors. I wash bathroom towels with wipes 1X a week. (I do keep kitchen towels & napkins in a seperate load) Once you work ot the logistics it should be an easy transition!

What is EO and BS?

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by minnowmomma 

What is EO and BS?

essential oil & baking soda

I love the activity in this thread lately

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Toolip 


I love the activity in this thread lately

Me too! I my family cloth, even though I'm the only one here who uses it. Still feels better in delicate places and saves on resources.

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Toolip 

I have mine in a swing-top garbage can kind of thing. It's not tightly sealed but covered for those who are squeamish about the idea. It's really not gross at all, there's no visible poo or anything, but some people are sensitive! I line the pail with a pillow case (someone up-thread had that great idea!) and then the pillowcase and all the contents go in the wash -- no touching any icky wipes to get them in the wash!!

Just wanted to say that I switched to this system about 5 days ago and am loving it. I can toss wipes and panty liners in without worrying which way they land, lol. No one can see any of it (no more hiding the basket in the shower when certain people visit). And it's so nice just grabbing the pillowcase and dropping it into the laundry hamper when there's a load to wash. Thanks again for sharing this, Toolip.