Our guest post this week is from Shirley Murdock and Maeghan at Bummis, a cloth diapering company that has been in business since the ‘80’s. That’s a lot of little bums in cloth diapers. We asked them to explain the basics and give us some insider tips on successful (and easy) cloth diapering. Thanks, gals
New parents put a lot of thought into the choices they have to make. One choice that is sometimes overlooked is the option to use cloth diapers instead of disposables. Contemporary cloth diapers are innovative, easy to use, and really, really cute! Not only that, the choice to cloth diaper your little bundle will save you a bundle in the long run, since cloth diapering is much less expensive than disposable diapering.
They Don’t Make ‘em Like They Used To - Thank Goodness!
If grandma plans to help with diaper duty she may need a tutorial first, because today’s cloth diapers are nothing like they used to be! Many cloth diapers are designed to be just as simple as a disposable: they have easy-to-use features like stretchy tabs, Velcro and snaps. Contemporary cloth diapers are made of absorbent fabrics like bamboo, hemp, organic cotton and microfiber. Their waterproof exteriors are usually made of laminated polyester - much more breathable and leak-proof than the vinyl pants of yore. In fact, many people who have experimented with both cloth and disposables have concluded that cloth diapers do a much better job of containing messes and preventing “diaper blowouts”!
Arguably the most groundbreaking innovation in modern cloth diapering is the flushable liner, like the Bio-Soft liner. The liner is placed inside the diaper so that when your baby poops, you simply scoop up the liner and flush it down the toilet - along with the mess! If you thought that choosing cloth diapers meant getting your hands dirty - think again!
Diaper Anatomy
There are two basic categories when it comes to cloth diaper design: 1-piece or 2-piece. A 2-piece diaper consists of an absorbent interior: either a prefold insert, contour insert or fitted diaper, as well as a waterproof wrap with snap or Velcro-style closures. 2-piece diapers are very versatile, simple and easy to care for. 1-piece diapers combine the absorbent interior and waterproof exterior into a single unit. All-in-ones and pocket diapers, like the Easy Fit, fall into this very user-friendly category.
Easy to Use, Easy to Wash
It’s the 21st century, after all, so let’s let the machines do the washing! Here’s what a cloth diapering routine looks like:
Ÿ Put diaper on baby, with Bio-Soft liner inside.
Ÿ Change diaper when soiled or wet: scoop up Bio-Soft liner and flush down the toilet. Put soiled diaper in diaper pail or wet bag.
Ÿ Repeat this process until diaper pail/wet bag is full. Choose a pail or wet bag that closes securely - like the large Fabulous Wet Bag - to prevent odours from escaping!
Ÿ Empty pail/wet bag into washing machine.
Ÿ Start with a rinse cycle if you have a front-loader, then select a regular wash cycle using the highest water level and hot water.
Ÿ Choose a clean-rinsing detergent (no additives like perfumes, enzymes, or fabric softeners) and use the right amount for your machine - not too little, not too much.
Ÿ Throw the diapers in the dryer, or hang them on a clothesline
Basically the difference between using cloth and using disposables comes down to this: instead of carrying a stinky garbage bag full of disposables to the curb, you carry an odour-contained wet bag full of diapers to the washing machine. You do a couple of extra loads of laundry a week, and your baby has soft, cozy cloth next to her bum instead of questionable chemicals, you prevent literally one TON of diapers from sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years, you’re keeping human waste where it belongs - in the sewage system, AND you save a lot of money.
So don’t forget: diapering is a dilemma - and you have the option of choosing cloth!
For more resources on how to choose, use and wash cloth diapers, click here.
To see the whole range of Bummis cloth diapering products, click here.
