Your cart is empty.
How to Choose Cloth Diapers
With so many reusable diapering options it can be overwhelming to choose cloth diapers that are best suited to your family’s and baby’s needs.
Ask yourself which of the 5 statements below seem to most accurately describe your diapering needs.
If you answer honestly, you’ll likely be able to match your ideals to your budget and lifestyle! The results? Finding the perfect cloth diaper solution!
I’m on a budget. I’m choosing cloth diapers to save money.
Choose prefolds & one-size covers for the most economical cloth diapering experience.
I want Canadian made cloth diapers.
Choose amongst several great brands including AMP, Monkey Doodlez, Applecheeks, Bummi’s and April’s Baby to support Canadian manufactured cloth diapers many which have been designed (and often) made by moms.
6 Reasons your Cloth Diapers are Leaking
Does it seem like suddenly your reusable diapers aren’t working as hard as they used too?
What’s a mama to do when her cloth diapers are leaking?
1. Check the Fit of your Diapers.
One of the main reasons for leak is improper fit. Make sure that the legs are tight with no gaps. The tummy should not have any gaps. Your cloth diaper should be snug.
If you are using a two-piece cloth diaper, it is key to cloth diaper success that all parts of the inside part (prefold, flat, insert, fitted) are tucked inside the cover. If any piece is sticking out, than you will have leaks.
2. Do you have a Residue Issue?
Consider the following questions…
- What laundry detergent are you using? Not all detergents are compatible with cloth diapering, check if yours is!
- Are you using dryer sheets with the diapers? Stop! Wool dryer balls are a safer alternative!
- Many detergents will leave a coating on the diapers as will dryer sheets. This prevents absorbency and leaves your cloth diapers full of yucky chemicals.
- Have you been using a cream on baby’s bottom? Is it cloth diaper safe? Check that there are no cod liver or fish oils in yours!
Six Tips to Solve Cloth Diaper Rashes
When you began cloth diapering you were told that your baby would not get any or very few rashes..am I right?
Perhaps you’re feeling frustrated or have switched to disposables and feel stuck. Don’t give up on your cloth diapers, yet!
We can solve this and you’ll be happily cloth diapering baby once more.
Cloth diaper rashes usually occur because of detergent, wash routine, sensitivity to types of cloth or food.
Tip #1. Examine your wash routine.
Do your diapers still smell a bit when they come out of the wash or is there a strong smell on them after your baby pees?
This may indicate a wash problem. If you look in your washer at the end of the cycle there should be no bubbles. If there are bubbles, rinse the diapers again because there is still detergent on them. You may need to “strip” them as detailed below.
Easy to love All in One Cloth Diapers
Not sure if you’re cut out for cloth diapering? Is your partner protesting?
All in One Cloth Diapers are as simple and close to disposable diapers you can get in the reusable diaper world!
Watch the first instalment in our New to Cloth Series to quickly learn what an All in One Diaper is and why you might fall in love with it.
Recommend your favourite All in One Cloth Diaper and help a new mama to cloth diapering find her perfect AIO match!
Stripping Cloth Diapers with The Laundry Tarts
I spent last Sunday stripping. It wasn’t sexy but it was kinda fun….
Over the holidays, both my husband and I and the kids had been sick-stomach flu sick. Barf.
It turns out we had each left a pail liner full of cloth diapers in the laundry room with the intent to return to put them in the wash.
We surpassed the limit for the number of days you can go between cloth diaper washes.
It’s best if I don’t tell you how long those poor diapers sat in the basement….
I ran our cloth diapers through two complete wash cycles but when baby M. wet them, they smelled T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. We had a serious smell situation with our cloth diapers and I needed to take action.
Here’s how I stripped our cloth diapers and brought them back to being fab and fluffy!
Strip Step 1. All the cloth diapers were put through a typical wash cycle so they were clean.
Strip Step 2. I filled up the bathtub with warm/hot water and two sample packages of The Laundry Tarts Strip It!
Baby M. not to pleased that the bathtub was not for playing in!
Prepping cloth diapers for first use
Prepping:
The art of supercharging your cloth diapers for maximum absorbency through washing
Why must I do this?
Prepping cloth diapers removes natural oils and any residues left over from the manufacturing process.
Step One:
Separate your cloth diapers and inserts into natural fibres (hemp, bamboo, cotton) and everything else (microfibre, suedecloth, fleece).
If you’ve got yourself some lovely wool covers, they are an art on their own and must be prepared for use differently.
Step Two:
Wash each set of cloth diapers (natural set & synthetic set) separately without any detergent. (Note: This step is not a MUST but rather something I prefer)
Step Three:
Wash each set of cloth diapers using a small amount of detergent (about 1 tbsp or less).
For natural materials repeat between 6-8 times for maximum absorbency. For natural materials, the first three washes should always be separate from synthetic materials.
For synthetic materials, less than 6 washes should have your cloth diapers ready to absorb.
That seems like an awful lot of washing doesn’t it?
You can go ahead and use your new cloth diapers after one prep wash cycle, just be aware that they will not be ready to do their best work until several washes. I would recommend not using your natural material cloth diapers for naps or overnights until they have been washed at least 8 times.
Easiest way to use Prefolds and Inserts
The word prefolds call up images of old school cloth diapering for many people.
Prefolds and inserts are economical, come in natural fabrics and are more intuitive to use then first imagined! An fab choice for the eco-savvy family.
Forget about Snappi’s, Boingo’s and pins! You don’t need them for this method of cloth diapering!
Use the trifold method for prefolds and inserts.
It’s quick and easy. Promise.
A little fact: This is called the “trifold” method because you fold the insert or prefold into three (tri=three in latin)
Tip: Use the trifold method for prefolds or inserts to get more life out of them by stuffing them in your pocket diapers. Great especially if you have a newborn stash.
Tip: Prefolds and inserts are a perfect choice for your newborn! Their little bladders are tiny and they cannot hold very much which equals quite a few diaper changes-think 10-15 a day!
Consider our newborn cloth diapers rental program if you are not sure if you feel the prefold love yet want a stash of cloth diapers for your new baby!
Tips for beginning cloth diapering….
12 Tips for Newbies to Cloth diapering
If at first you don’t succeed…
1) Wash, wash again….seriously. These fluffy things need plenty of washing to get primed and ready to absorb to their fullest cloth diapering potential. Give them a chance to show you their stuff. Follow the directions of your CD’s packaging or a basic laundry washing routine is cold wash with no detergent (get rid of the dirties), hot wash + recommended amount of cloth diaper friendly detergent & extra rinse. More about laundry to come soon!
2) Use a different detergent and less of it. Wanna know if your detergent cuts it for cloth diapers. Check out this neat tool. I use local Toronto made The Laundry Tarts for my cloth diapers!
3) Remember the BIG 3 Golden Rules: Wash diapers well, never put microfiber against baby’s bottom, and use a CD safe diaper rash cream . Unsure if your diaper cream is safe? Use a liner or some toilet paper between baby’s bum & the diaper!
4) Check the fit. If you are using One Size or any with snaps, experiment. Yup, it took me several tries to find the perfect leak-free fit with each diaper. Think about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears…too small, too big, just right. Change the rise, adjust the belly….
