Fab Frugal Mama

Parenting, Product Reviews & More

Cloth Diapering 101

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Cloth diapering can be extremely intimidating if you’ve never done it before. In fact, I was just talking with a mama friend of mine recently and she described how she was completely and utterly overwhelmed after visiting a local cloth-diapering store before her baby was born. Needless to say, she never went back. Well, I hope this posting will help all the newbies out there, as I’ve spent a TON of time trying to decode all of the lingo and cut through the mountains of information in my quest to find what works for me (and baby!).

And, now, some of the basics…

Diaper Styles

There are quite a few different styles of cloth, all with varying degrees of cost and effort associated with them. (Note: closure options are usually Aplix/Velcro or snaps – except on prefolds).

Prefolds are usually made of folded cotton or hemp and need to be secured using a pin, snappi (modern plastic clip) or can be used with a waterproof cover. Prefolds are the most economical type of cloth diapers to buy, but the least convenient as well.

All-in-Ones (AIOs) don’t come apart, most function exactly like a disposable. Very convenient, but drying time is longer.

All-in-Twos (AI2s) are All-in-Ones that come apart into 2 pieces. Best of both worlds – convenient, yet dry quicker due to separate inserts.

Pockets are diapers that have pockets in the lining that you stuff with various absorbent inserts – usually microfiber, hemp or bamboo. Convenient, quick to dry and ability to choose your insert/use boosters; but, you have to stuff diapers. (I personally don’t mind this… 🙂

Hybrids are covers with multiple insert options. Many of these have available compostable/flushable inserts for times when you want the convenience of a disposable.

All of the above – except prefolds – often use micro fleece or something similar as the lining material. This is because fleece wicks moisture away from baby’s bum (cotton, on the other hand, stays VERY WET!!).

Options

Many of these styles have two options – One Size or Sized diapers.

One Size (OS) have some sort of size adjustment built in to the diaper, such as adjustable leg elastics or the very popular rise snaps.

Sized diapers usually have a trimmer fit and have a weight limit (like disposables – size 1, 2, 3 or S, M, L, etc.).
There are many different reasons why parents like one or the other. Some small or lanky babies really need sized diapers, because the leg openings on OS diapers might not be small enough for them. Or, larger babies might need sized diapers because some brands of OS diapers may fit smaller than others.
I personally like OS diapers because they will take me through to potty training, without having to buy a bigger size as my baby grows. I have tried 6 brands so far, and done it quite cheaply. I visited diaperswappers.com and purchased gently used diapers from mamas who wanted to either thin out their stashes (there are a lot of cloth diaper-addicted mamas out there! LOL) or found what style worked for them and wanted to get rid of everything else.

Once you’ve learned a bit, it really does come down to experimentation. Just like clothing brands, each diaper brand fits differently. This is where cloth diaper forums come in – other parents share their experiences and opinions, and we all benefit! Here are some links to get you started:

I highly recommend visiting this link for a listing of the pros & cons of each diaper style. It’s a great place to start when searching for a style that would work best for you.

Inserts

Inserts can be made of microfibre, hemp, bamboo, cotton, etc. Inserts are used as the absorbent layer in any diaper. There are also inserts called “boosters”. A booster is an added absorbent layer that can be made of microfibre, hemp, bamboo or other materials; it’s usually used at night, when diaper bulkiness isn’t an issue.

Laundering Cloth Diapers
I am by no means an expert! But, I have experimented and found that, for me, the following regimen works:

1. rinse in cold (or rinse/spin, if you don’t have a dedicated rinse cycle available)
2. hot wash using 1/4 of the recommended amount of detergent
3. extra rinse cycle

Occasionally, the microfibre inserts need to be stripped (a term meaning washed once with no detergent… it’s meant to get out all of the detergent build-up). I know I need to do this when I start to see a decrease in their absorbency.

In short, there’s a lot of information out there and it can be a bit overwhelming, but please don’t let that stop you from trying cloth diapers! If you’re considering it, hopefully this helps you in some way… I’d love to hear your comments.

Comments

  1. Sarah Schulz says

    Out of curiosity, what kind of detergent are you using and how hard is your water? Do you have a Front Loader or a Top Loader? I'm always interested to see what success different mamas have with different laundering routines!

  2. Lisa - Fab Frugal Mama says

    I usually use Nature Clean 3X detergent in an HE front-loading machine. However, I've just started using Rockin' Green…thought I'd give it a try! I've only washed my diapers in it once, so I'll let you know if I like it after I've used it for a while.
    On that note, I was just speaking with Annie from AMP Diapers today and we got talking about detergent. She highly recommends Allens Naturally detergent. Hope this helps!