Comments on: 7 Cloth Diapering Questions, Answered Mom-to-Mom

By: saphire

saphire — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:47:54 +0000

with my first son i just used disposables, im currently pregnant and was wondering what kind of detergent do you guys use? ive heard/read dawn soap, and oxy clean, what do you think would be the best degergent to use and how much? thank you

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:23:22 +0000

FWIW, I don’t know if this is mentioned elsewhere in the comments, but from what I’ve read, it takes as much or more water to _manufacture_ a disposable than it does to wash one. The environment isn’t my primary reason for considering CDs, but even with the water issue it seems that CDs are at least slightly better.

I have a 3 month old, and was too overwhelmed to try CDs at first, but I think I’m going to give them a try now.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:22:21 +0000

This may have been mentioned already (I didn’t have time to read all 80-something comments, lol), but one way of getting those line-dried diapers to not be as stiff is to throw them in the dryer for 10 minutes or so. It softens them up quite nicely, with only minimum use of the ‘evil’ dryer.

By: Desilou

Desilou — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:25:31 +0000

WOW! you covered so many of my questions! I don’t know anyone in my town/church that uses CDs right (there have to be some somewhere though!), but my mom and mom-in-law have said so many times that CDs weren’t that hard when they had lil babies. Thank you for your tactful yet detailed post…I’m pretty sure we’ll be investing in CDs for baby # 3

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:11:07 +0000

No delayed milestones for us CD babies – my DD sat in cloth nappies better than disposables – more cloth to help her balance! And she’s nearly crawling at 7mths

By: Nixgrim

Nixgrim — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:13:53 +0000

Hi there.

There are three things you can do.
1) If the weather is warm, let him run around without a nappy on at all. Not only will this be easier for you, but if (when) he pees on his legs, it will help him to really ‘get’ the feeling of when he needs to wee.
2) Take him to the loo every 15 minutes or half an hour after a meal or drink – don’t wait for him to be ready to wee – until he’s done one. This way, you avoid the urgent rush, plus you ingrain the habit of going to the loo when he’s had a meal (eating & drinking automatically simulates the body to evacuate both the bowels and the bladder).
3) Use potty training pants – these are elasticated pants that have a built in waterproof layer and minimal absorbent layers. They are as easy to pull up and down as pants. The down side is that because they have minimal absorbency, you may wind up with wet clothes.

Good luck!

By: lehall

lehall — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:40:17 +0000

I know that this is an old post, but I need help! We’ve been cloth diapering (mostly) for 21 months now. We’re trying to introduce pottying, but I cannot figure out how to get his pants, cover, snappi, and diaper off in time to have any chance of making it to the potty. What do other moms do??
Thanks

By: Joy

Joy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:16:24 +0000

So… what do you do about diaper ointment and wipes? Do you use cloth wipes? Do you regularly use a diaper cream or not?

I’m getting ready to have my first and I have NO IDEA what things are good to do regarding skin care and what is just fluff!

Thanks for the great CD posts!

By: Nixgrim

Nixgrim — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:10:25 +0000

Mine was also a CD baby, and she walked at 1 year. There is no actual evidence either way that using CD delays or speeds up physical development, but from my CD business, I can say that anecdotal evidence is that they potty train faster and that CD has no effect whatsoever on crawling/ walking.

By: Nixgrim

Nixgrim — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:06:31 +0000

I make and sell my own brand of CD because they weren’t readily available in South Africa. I sell a bucket with mine, but I also sell a mesh draw string bag that goes inside the bucket. That makes it really easy to get the nappies from the bucket into the washing machuine – just remember to open the bag again so you don’t get an uneven load.

As for soaking… it’s not necessary if you’re machine washing. Modern detergents and a hot wash (50-60 degrees C) is more than enough to sterilise.

To combat smells in your bucket, put 10ml of water with a few drops of tea tree oil in the bottom of the bucket. Alternatively, keep a damp cloth that has been soaked in water with tea tree or lavender oil on top of the nappies.