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Most of us know that no diaper is more comfortable than cotton, nor more absorbent nor better for the environment. Despite these advantages however, maintaining them can be challenging as well.

I am interested in your methods for washing them and which diaper pail method you use, wet or dry and why. And include any particular way you launder them.

In addition which type of diaper do you use, flat, pre-fold or contour. Also which fabric do you like, flannel, birdseye or gauze.

Hi there, JRB,

I wear cloth diapers day and night, resorting to disposables only when absolutly necessary.

My preference is pin on prefolds in gauze (source: AdultClothDiaper.com) covered with KINS 6 mil vinyl pants.

I use the dry diaper pail; when I drop in a wet diaper I splash a bit of pine cleaner onto them which controls odor very well without the need for separate deod. blocks.

I launder diapers about every other day. Diapers get dropped into the machine and timer set for 4 min and cold water. Fill, aggitate and spin out. This prewash flushes the diapers. Second fill is warm water and 10 minutes of aggitate time. Cheap powder detergent, just enough to create a few suds.

I use Borax, just a quarter of a cup and it's optional, but I feel it does boost the detergent power and result in cleaner diapers.

I set a timer to remind me to add bleach for the last 4 minutes. Not a lot, just about one quarter cup that gets diluted with tap water before being added to the wash load. Finish the aggitate cycle. Allow the spin out and rinse to proceed (most all machines use a cold water rinse).

In spite of what you hear about bleach and fabric softeners, I've used them for decades. The small amount of bleach provides sanitizing and insures odor free diapers. The fabric softener is a creature comfort!

If line drying, I'll add liquid fabric softener to the rinse water. If using the dryer I'll skip the liquid and use a fabric softener sheet (again the cheap store brand is fine) in the dryer.

I work with about 18 diapers (worn two at a time) and fold and store them in a rotation so I go thru all 18 before starting over. Not sure of exact life but it's probably around 5 years, maybe a bit more.

JoeK

Hi JRB,

I missed that "and why" in your querry about wet or dry diaper pails.

I don't ever recall using a wet pail which soaks diapers in water. There may be some value in using a wet pail if, say, you only use cloth at night and may be 4 to 5 days between washing diapers. I think a wet pail might control odor better but we need to hear from others who use that system.

Since I launder diapers every other day, the dry pail works fine and is much lighter to handle and no mess! The weight of the wet pail and having to dump the pail in the toilet after fishing out the dripping diapers and carrying the dripping diapers (somehow) to the washing machine unless you drag the heavy diaper pail to the machine and drag it back to the toilet to empty it....

I just carry my dry diaper pail to the machine and pick up the non dripping diapers and drop them into the machine. When the diaper pail is emty there is no liquid to drain.

The pine cleaner that I splash onto each diaper serves to deodorize the diaper pail and also provides the detergent for that cold pre wash flush.

JoeK

I use the dry pail method myself and for the same reasons given so far. I read somewhere on the net about diaper pails and it was suggested to use a wet pail and soak the diapers prior to laundry day. I wash a load of diapers every night or at lease every other day.

Also I see that Adult Cloth Diaper is a preferred place for diapers. I recently purchased a dozen flat gauze diapers for them. They are 36" x 36" and are supposed to fit up to a 52". I am a forty-two and after the first wash and dry they fit quite snug. I have since re-ordered some at the larger size. My question, is there a fail safe method of getting a great fit. I would love to buy prefold diapers but hesitate as to how to gwt the right size.

You raise an excellent point, JRB, about cloth diaper fit!

To answer your question, I have NOT found any sure fire way to get the size right the first time. Gauze seems to be the worst of the fabrics for shrinkage and my guaze diapers typically lose a couple of inches of width after laundering.

I knew, after rediscovering gauze when it made a come back a few years ago, that I'd be using gauze exclusively, so I went to the bother of buying only two diapers at a time, marking them so I could keep track of them and measuring the "new" size and then the washed size....allowing three laundry cycles to develope the permanent size.

Pin on cloth diapers need to be wide enough to have 3 to 4 inches of wing overlap for comfortable pinning. Take your 42 waist, divide in two for 21" and add the pinning overlap 4" x 2 = 8" for a total width of 29". Figure about 2" total will be lost to shrinkage and you are looking at a gauze diaper that needs to be 31" so a 32" wide diaper should be good.

Length is more a personal fit thing. I like the feel of my diaper high in the back....better for staying up and concealment and I four pin (as seen in the Diaper Primer) and yet a diaper can't be too long since pinning is controlled by the hip pocket and diaper cloth above that point will fold over and make this bulky roll over in the front that no one needs.

If you have a diaper that is too long, fold the material over in the back where it should be more manageable until you are sure of your length. Then, if have a sewing machine, you can cut the diaper back and hem it so you have a custom diaper. If the fold over is not a bother to you, you can continue doing that.

A diaper that is too short is pretty much hopeless....it is just too difficult to get it to stay up. I suggest you NOT buy the "night weight" diapers! Stick with "day weight" diapers and wear at least two at a time. Layering diapers is more flexible anyway for customizing a diaper for a short or mid range or long time outings away from changing facilities. AND.....the inner diapers used can be the mistakes! The diapers that are a little too narrow or a little too short.

I've always been a fan of multiple diapers; much easier to wash and dry than single heavy duty diapers. I think there is a advantage in the fit category as well, since overlapping the wings (again, per the Primer) provides a snug fit that stays snug all day.

I think Adult Cloth Diaper offers more than just day weight and night weight. I think you can order pretty much what you want. For your experimenting stage to get the size that you want, the lighter diapers will be less costly to acquire and won't go to waste because you'll be layering.

Try a light 2-6-2 diaper, that is: two plies overall with 4 additional soaker plies in the center. Once you get the size down, move up to a heavier diaper; my favorite is 4-7-4 which I wear doubled up for a diaper that is 8 plies overall and has 14 layers of gauze in the soaker strip. While that sounds like a lot, remember gauze is very thin material.

In your case, you already own flat guaze diapers that you can use for central soakers! I'd think two of the light 2-6-2 prefold diapers with a flat gauze diaper folded into thirds and placed in the center would make a great heavy weight (night) diaper. You may find a single 2-6-2 prefold with your folded soaker in the center may be what you need for a day weight diaper.

I hope this helps; please let us know how you make out!

JoeK

JoeK,

Without doubt, you are the most knowledgeable person regarding the use and care of adult cloth diapers I have every come accross. If I ever go back to using cloth again I am going to contact you for advise. I would print your recommendations/instructions and save it,... but I would probably forget where I saved the information. The only reason I gave up using cloth diapers was the amount of effort that went into maintaining them. I still have about two dozen stored in a box in the closet but stopped using them for reasons stated,... plus I've become pretty much bowel incontinent now too and that just adds to the work of using cloth diapers. Question: "What, if anything do you do to hide the bulk in the day?" I'm mobile and active so hiding the bulk of ANY diaper is always a concern in the day. When I wore cloth diapers before I only used them for night and disposables in the day. I NEVER had any leaks with cloth diapers but had bulk instead. Another question; ....."Do you think you have more skin problems using cloth vs. disposables?

Hey Gang,
I've been using the water soak method for my cloth diapers from the start. I have a little problem with odors even washing every day. I do add a few squirts of bleach in with the soaking diapers,and this has eliminated the odors.
I have never tried the dry bucket method. Joe, what type of pine spray do you use? The only thing I can think of is Pine-Sol. Is that what you use?
I do admit I do use more water that way, but atleast the first rinse is done. When I drop ny diapers in the washer, I do a quick spin to get the water out, then wash.

I'm like Joe, in using a fabric softner. My diapers are lasting long enough, and I want something soft protecting me.
Gauze diapers are my preference, but I have some flannel home made ones that work great. I only use these during the day, though. Gauze always at night.

On washing detergent, I like Dreft. It does a great job, and I love the fragrance. I gues my Mom must have used Dreft when I was a baby in cloth diapers back in the 50's. ......Paul Martin

Well I am pleased with all of the advise!@ Thank you Joe K for the great information on sizing the prefold diapers, I will order one per your instructions and see how it fits.
As far as the wet pail method goes, I can't see any advantage to it. I tried it a few years ago and I believe the odor intensifies during soaking. I use a dry pail with a good lid, (from Walmart), and wash often. I also use a concentrated air freshener spray from Bath and Body works that seems to due the trick.

In my opinion disposable diapers certainly have there place during the day or for air travel or times spentaway from home. However once I find a good fitting prefold diaper, I plan to use the cloth diapers, 80/20 over disposables.

Hi Johnstone,
Thank you so much for the kind words! Postive feedback is always much appreciated!

No need to save the info on cloth diapers...it's in the Primer written by myself and another member using our many years of personal experience and we added in many tips and ideas submitted by readers of this and other forums. We are trying to get around to updating it.

Hiding diapers is a big issue for any incon. Anyone new to incon and wearing diapers for the first time has a huge (and understandable) fear that the whole world will know he is wearing a diaper under his pants as soon as he steps outside the house. Fortunately, this unjustifiable fear will lessen as time goes on. There are many threads about this issue.

As a cloth wearer, I find a disposable is absolutely undetectable under normal clothing. For cloth I have to upsize the pants, go for loose fit jeans and pleated fashion for nicer pants. Pick shirts you can wear untucked.

And for casual (or maybe work if blue collar) dress, you can't beat old fashioned overalls....sure to bring some Farmer Jeb comments, but the no belt design of overalls is very comfortable and even the considerable bulk of cloth diapers cannot be noticed.

JoeK

Hi Paul Martin,
First, let me thank you for your support! I've never found using a small amount of bleach or fabric softeners to be detrimental and there are so many who follow the diaper mfr's rule of no bleach and no fabric softeners! They have to come up with exotic ways to fight odor and put up with less than perfectly soft, comfortable diapers!

Yes to Pine Sol, it is a brand name so you will be paying for the big brand in the price which is why I always go generic since diaper laundry is a forever thing and I've found generic works just as well for much less money. Detergent, bleach, fabric softener liquid, fabric softener dryer sheets and pine cleaner.

I've not used a spray bottle; I get the pine cleaner in as big a container as possible....lowest unit price that way....and I keep refilling an easy to handle container (such as a 16 to 28 oz size). I drill a hole in the cap to allow me to simply invert the bottle over the diaper pail and a few spurts of pine cleaner hit the diapers. Since it is concentrated, it provides good odor control without the need for additional pail deod blocks and it becomes the detergent for the flush wash.

On the wet diaper pail subject, I think it may be a throw back to baby diapers....which are dirty with poop as well as wet. After dipping the cloth diaper in the toilet to get most of the poop off, it went into the diaper pail where soaking in water was beneficial to work on poop stains and if completely submerged, odor may have been easier to control.

When we are dealing with just wet diapers, now a dry pail becomes viable as soaking for stain control is not an issue and deod blocks or spray or what have you can easily control odor and allow for a lighter diaper pail and no mess.

JoeK