Cloth Diapers - Mount Vernon, OH

I no longer use these diapers because i found the up-keep took too much time but when i was using them i just washed them in dreft its fragrance and dye free which does matter especially if you have a girl because the dye's and fragrance can irritate their privates and cause infections

K.,

I used cloth diapers when my boys were born. I always used Dreft and Borateem to keep the diapers white and fresh. I used the diaper pail to soak the diapers from use to wash and it worked out well. Both of my son's had very sensitive skin so we had to be careful not to use anything with perfumes and dyes. For a great disposible diaper for outings we used Huggies, with their sensitive skin they were better than the others on the market for my money. Good luck with the little ones.

M.

It has been a while since I used diapers in any form but when I did, I used Dreft on them. My older son had a lot of problems with allergys to milk so I had to be very careful. This was also long before disposibles where on the market. I would rince the diapers out in the toilet and then I had a cloths rack in the tub which I would dry the diapers on. When I had a load full I would rince in clear water first, then wash in Dreft, with an extra rince added to be sure everything got out. I was told by the Doctor that this was the best way, if I could I would hang them outside in the sun to have the wonderful smell they get from the sun. I also hung them out in the winter as long as it was sunny.

Karen

I believe the primary reason for this is little ones have no defense againist the dyes and they can get broken out very easy. I have had to start buying these kinds of detergents because I watch our 2 year old grand son and he breaks out from regular detergent so baddly. I sometimes need to wash his favorite blankies and his unders as we are begining potty training and I don't want the little boogger breaking out because my detergent does it.

Hi K.:
My youngest daughter had such a high concentration of ammonia in her urine she could not wear the disposable diapers or rubber pants over cloth diapers because if her urine layed against her flesh for even a few minutes she would get severe diaper rash.
That was many years ago, but I used birds-eye cloth diapers. I used bleach and oxydol soap. But after washing through soapy clorox water I would run them through both wash and rinse cycles twice to get out all soap and clorox residue. Then again through the rinse cycle with white distilled vineager as the fabric softener. That would soften and steralize the diapers.
No the cloth does not smell like vineager. I use vineager as a fabric softener on all my clothes. It's the soap that turns your whites yellow and the vineager totally sterlizes your whites and keep them spanking white. It's cheaper than fabric softener. It does not have the perfume odor and it does not smell like vineager either.
Hope this works for you.
D. Y.

We love BG's and Happy Heiny's OS dipes. I use Arm and Hammer Free (recommended by a site I found on cloth diapering) and it works great and is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much cheaper than dreft. I get it for 2/$5 at Menards!
I also throw in a cup of vinegar to help with smells and any yeast there might be.

diaperpin.com and diaperswappers.com both have great info.

I have a few. I also use Rumparooz and Fuzzi Bunz. Out of all my diapers the BGs elastic always shot. My first BGs I didnt even have for 5 months and the elastic shot in the leg....They replaced them for me and it happened again. I also am not a big fan of the velcro. Rumparooz makes one size diapers with snaps and they have the most adorable prints!

I use Tide (HE) to wash them.. although it does have enzymes in it so it can cause irritation.. just keep an eye on your baby's butt. I use to use Purex Free and clear but it just didnt "clean" as well so I switched to Tide. I strip them less now that I am back on Tide.

Here is a good chart for Det choices:

http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

I just stick them in a dry pail for a few days and wash them on a cold prerinse (to get the stains out) and them HOT HOT water with det.. then 2 or 3 more washes without det. I also use Imse Vimse liners.. so I can just flush the poops.

Cottonbabies.com says not to use vinegar b/c it can ruin the elastic.. they actually say not to add anything to the wash except det.

www.diaperswappers.com also has a lot of useful information!!!

Hi! I just started cloth diapering and am using the thirsties all in ones. They are very similiar to the bumGenius. I use original Tide, no febreeze or bleach or anything. Just plain old Tide. If you have a front loader make sure you use HE. Also, don't use any fabric softener, it affects the absorbency. I like the washing instructions on www.abbyslane.com. Good luck!! :)

K.,
I use the BumGenius diapers also and really like them!. Once my pail is full, I wash them once on a cold wash with some detergent. I just use a tablespoon of Sun laundry detergent. I read on abbyslane.com that many moms like this brand. Its cheap, and I haven't had any problems with it. After the cold wash, I run a hot wash with another tablespoon of detergent. I do a double rinse, and that's it. I dry in the dryer. All the washing I do on a normal cycle. Once in a while, it will seem like the diapers can build up an odor or they just don't seem fresh. I don't know if you have experienced this or not, so sometimes when I do my cold wash, I substitute 1/2 cup of baking soda for the detergent. Then do the normal hot wash with detergent. During the final rinse, I add about 1/2 cup of white vinegar. This really seems to help.

I use bumGenius diapers and love them. I use All Free and Clear. I read something about the dyes and perfumes can build up on the diapers and cause them to be less absorbent. I would recommend following the manufactures directions and using the extra rinse cycle. They are expensive and you want to get the most life you can out of them!

I have been using BumGenius diapers for my 15 month old since she was born. I use Allen's Naturally detergent purchased before she was born and I still have at least a quarter of the bottle left! It only requires about 1/8 of a cup each time if it is a full load. I wash the diapers every other day. First I take just the liners and run a hot water wash with no detergent. Then I add the diapers and run a warm water wash on both with no detergent. Then I add the detergent and run another hot water wash with the large load setting. Finally, I run another warm water wash for the rinse. I know it sounds like a lot but it really doesn't take that long! I dry the diapers in the dryer on Delicate. I think the main reason for the no dyes and perfumes is to make the diapers last longer and be more gentle for baby's skin. I haven't used any other detergent and I don't plan to!

We use bumGenius cloth diapers. I wash them on our washing machine's sanitize cycle (just use hot or extra hot water if your machine doesn't have the sanitize option), and add a pre-wash and an extra rinse. We use Allen's Naturally detergent (I've never tried anything else). I think most people dry their outer layers line dry.. but I just toss them into my dryer with the inserts for 20 minutes and we haven't had any issues. Once a month I use a little bit of OxyClean powder in with the wash and that helps keep them a little brighter and knocks out any of the ammonia smell that builds up since I only wash them every four days.)

Hi K.!

My BG's are currently on loan to my new mom SIL, but I mostly use Purex Free and Clear on the PF's and covers I use right now. I found this page - http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm was very helpful when I first started out. I've been doing it for three years now.

fragrances and dyes can cause diaper rash. even dreft has fragrance...

we use the generic grocery store brand of free and clear detergent. we do a prewash, then wash in hot water. line dry or dry in dryer.

Bumgenius was my favorite brand to use on my son before we started our diaper service. I did a soak with just baking soda, then washed them with unscented Method detergent (found at Target). We tried Charlie's Soap for a while, and while I did like it, I couldn't justify the expense over Method. I would stay away from the dyes and fragrances just because they're unnecessary and you don't want to irritate your baby's skin. It's also true that build up from detergents (or fabric softeners, a big no-no) can reduce their absorbency. Then you'd have to strip them, and there are plenty of directions for that on the internet.