I bought Bummis Super Whisper Wraps from somebody on the internet. I also got some nice, thick cloth diapers. I think I've bought them from two or three places so far. I can't keep track of them, either they go out of business or their websites just don't look familiar anymore.
I bought (unbleached) prefolds the last time from Zannadu, as they prewashed the unbleached diapers several times for me for an extra charge... it's 35 cents a diaper now. It was worth it for me. All that time, hot water, washing and drying. Really good customer service, and even though I had to wait (a little bit) longer to have the diapers washed, they were pretty fast nonetheless. And it looks like it's a flat-rate shipping fee, which is good when you're buying a lot, or the things are heavy. I would recommend this website for cloth diapers and such.
The next time I buy diapers, I'm going to look further into organic ones. I got so overwhelmed when I did the research. There are just so many options. How to choose "the best"? So many decisions: which diapers, which covers, which seller, bleached or unbleached, washed or unwashed, which size, how many????? This is one of my problems... I get so caught up in what the "best" idea, thing to do, etc., is that I end up feeling paralyzed. So, maybe there isn't a "best," or maybe there is, but what we ended up with was good, it works for us, and Baby still hasn't had diaper rash. Which is definitely a good thing. We could have done worse.
I need to buy more, and I just saw on the site that they're having a 5% discount until May 7... just enter SPRINGBREAK as the discount code.
4 comments:
Thanks for the diaper suggestions. Now, ANOTHER question (my questions...there's no end to them)...I checked out the Bummi's site and read about washing suggestions. They pretty much ruled out every type of laundry detergent. What do you use? I wash all the baby clothes in Dreft, but, apparently, that's a big no-no with the diapers and covers.
Also, the disposable inserts sound neat. Do you use those? I don't know that I could keep up with all the mustardy sh!t these guys generate some days.
We have a front loader that requires HE detergent (high efficiency). We wrote to Dreft, can't remember if they're owned by Proctor & Gamble or not, but talked with them, and found out that there's no Dreft product that is for HE washers. At first I used Tide Free HE (no perfumes, no colors), but Baby didn't seem to have any issues, so now I just use the regular Tide HE detergent.
I know they're evil, too, petroleum-based or some such, but really, I just can't get my head around all this stuff that you're supposed to avoid. I do what I can.
The wraps and the diapers have been fine using Tide. We started out with the small (never got the newborn size), moved on to medium, and ordered large recently. Just in the past week or so, I started having some problems with the velcro-type tabs on a couple of the diapers. But I wonder if it's the diaper itself, because the two that I'm having problems with, they both have the same design pattern, and the other design pattern isn't having a problem. I don't know. It's annoying. But whatever.
Anyway, I never use fabric softener with either the diapers or the wraps. I just read something online about switching between two wraps at a time (at least at home), so that when you change a diaper, you change the diaper and the wrap. The wrap is usually still clean, but you let it dry out, because it will probably be just a slight bit damp (at least on the inside), and supposedly you'll go through fewer wraps that way. I think I made this unnecessarily complicated. Sorry, my brain isn't working full-strength today, I guess. Let me know if you want me to try again.
As to the disposable inserts... I don't know what they are. It doesn't sound familiar to me. We did try something called "doublers" which look like the really old-fashioned sanitary pads that used belts (like they had in the hospital after I had the baby). You put them in the diaper and it's supposed to hold a lot more pee. They didn't work so great, in my opinion.
In general, we haven't been having too much of a problem with the sh!t part, although we only have one. Anyway, I hope this isn't too gross... but if we can't rinse out the poopy diapers right away, we just put the diaper, poop and all, in the diaper box in the bathroom (no water), and deal with the poop when we can. Usually if it gets smelly, I remember. It doesn't usually get to that point though. I just dump what I can in the toilet, if it's chunky enough, and then rinse the rest in the sink. It sounds kind of gross, but the poop all goes in the same place, it's easier to rinse in the sink, and then I can just scrub out the sink, which is easier to get at (for me, anyway) than the toilet. And then I toss the wet diapers back in the box until I do the whole load, wraps and diapers.
Hope that helps. Keep the questions coming... I'll do my best to answer. Oh, and by the way, the diaper folks seem to be really happy to answer any questions, too.
Wow, you are a fountain of information! Thank you for the lo-down on the poopy biz.
The diaper box...is that just a pail with a lid? I read about storing them wet vs "dry." Do yours get just as clean after either storage method? I'm having a helluva time just getting the mustardy crap out of their clothes after blow-outs. If I let it dry before washing, it never comes out.
Thanks!
The consensus seems to be that leaving the diapers dry is best (not in water, obviously, they are at least damp on their own). We have a clear plastic box with handles that we got at the Container Store. It came with a lid, but we don't use it. So far, the baby isn't mobile enough for it to be an issue, and the cats leave it alone. I've heard that diaper pails with water are a drowning hazard for babies/little kids. And I am the queen of safety hazard prevention.
I haven't had any problems at all with getting diapers clean. Originally I just washed them with the Tide Free High Efficiency stuff, on a prewash/sanitary (I think that's what it's called) setting, which is a pre-rinse basically, I think. Then it washes with hot water. Second rinse. Never any fabric softener (it reduces the absorbency). High heat in the dryer for 90 minutes, although my husband swears you can do it for less time, but I think the inside of the diapers (multiple layers) is still damp that way. Whatever, I just do it my way.
Now, I just use the regular Tide High Efficiency, and I use OxyClean Free or the other one that's basically the same thing, OxyMagic, I can't tell them apart. I put a scoop of the OxyClean powder in the body of the machine, put the diapers in on top, and if the diapers are super-poopy, I choose pre-wash. Otherwise, I just do the long wash with hot water.
If I remember correctly, they say to do a pre-wash/pre-soak with COLD water. Then wash with hot water. The second rinse is important.
One thing I've done for food stains on clothes is to spray them with (I think it's) OxyClean. It's a blue liquid, and it works well to get stains out. You aren't supposed to leave it in for more than 10 minutes before washing it, so I do it as I'm loading the washer.
If there's poop that's either solid or semi-solid, I dump it in the toilet or give a quick attempt to rinse in the sink. Otherwise, it goes in the box, and then into the washer. No issues with dirty-looking diapers. They all look like brand-new. I never use bleach, only the Oxy-stuff.
Does that help at all?
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