The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment (Part 3)

*If you haven't followed my journey to cloth diapering here are part one and part two of The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment.

After using cloth diapers for a week I love using cloth diapers but the jury is still out on if I love my cloth diapers. I have purposely omitted where I got them from my posts because I am still not totally convinced of their durability long term.  I purchased cloth pocket diapers.  The outer layer is made of PUL which is water proof to hold in the potty, the inner layer is made of soft micro fleece, and the inserts are made of microfiber.  The diaper construction seems good.  The snaps are all reinforced and the quality of the sewing seems excellent to my untrained eye.  The microfiber inserts hold a ton of liquid and the inner micro fleece keeps the babies dry.  I mean dry...much dryer than disposables.  Diaper rashes don't seem to be much of an issue.

This is the diaper (inside out) with the loosest PUL.

The only issue that I have is that most PUL diapers (polyurethane laminated fabric) have the polyurethane laminated or glued to the fabric.  What I did not realize is that the diapers I purchased have the PUL sewn in instead of laminated. They looked completely normal when I got them but once washed some looked like the picture.   PUL is supposed to be extremely durable and was originally designed for medical use so can withstand heat and multiple cleanings.  If you use heat it will shrink back down and be tight against the diaper.  With cloth diapers you are not supposed to use high heat in the regular washing or drying process because you wear out the elastic and can ruin the diapers.  After talking with the lady from whom I purchased my diapers she reassured me that she had made them this way for some time and the loose PUL was not an issue.  She said that they would stretch and shrink back down with washings and use and would not leak.  Within two washings I had a hole in the PUL of the green diaper shown above.  Some of the PUL has held true to the fabric.  Other diapers have let loose some but this is the worst.  Now I do have to say that she is standing behind her diapers and is sending me a new one free as well as a patch kit for the one that tore but needless to say I am concerned that this may continue to happen over time.  She has always returned my phone calls and been very patient and admits that maybe this diaper's PUL was not pulled tight when sewn.  She stands behind her product and has excellent customer service.
We have found that out and about potty diapers are not a problem but messy diapers are more of an issue, especially when we are gone for the whole day.  Our diaper sprayer at home makes clean up of messy diapers very easy and the laundry the diapers create is not much of an issue now that we have the routine figured out.
I will continue to use cloth diapers.  Because I love the way they work and the money that they save.  In hindsight I should have bought a few different brands and tried them all out to see what I liked best.  I have since found some other very economical choices for pocket diapers and will start purchasing a few at a time and try testing durability for a longer period to see what I decide on.  Both Monte and I are happy with our choice in spite of our concerns about the product and wish we had made the switch years ago.

The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment Part 2 (First Impressions)

You know you must order to much stuff online when the mailman drives up to the house rings the doorbell and says "well hello again."  My Cloth diapers finally arrived after being lost in transit between here and Wyoming for over a week.  They came all wrapped in pretty bows just like Christmas.  I purchased 17 cloth pocket diapers, 22 microfiber liners, and 17 snap in liners all for use on my one year old and two year old (hopefully to be potty trained soon).  It was recommended that I use one microfiber and one snap in liner with each diaper during the day and three microfiber liners with a snap in liner at night.
My first impression was that they are so cute.  My second, third and fourth thought was what have I gotten myself into, I hope I can do this, I don't want to waste our money.  I spent my afternoon trying to figure out how to wash and dry these beautiful diapers.  If you do it wrong they will no longer absorb and then we have a mess...ewww.  It is not hard, there is just way to much information out there and so many opinions on how to handle all the different fabrics.  Luckily I had purchased Charlie's Soap, a recommended detergent for cloth diapers.  But the question was do I wash the different fabrics together or separate, in hot or cold water?  I finally got an e-mail back from the , manufacturer  who gave pre-washing recommendations.

Diaper Sprayer

So from all of my research from other mom's blogs and the advice from the manufacturer, these are my regular washing plans:
*Dirty diapers will be rinsed with my new diaper sprayer that Monte installed for me (thank you honey).  Don't worry the children have been strictly forbidden to touch it...can you imagine the fun they might have in the bathroom!
*Soiled diapers will be stored in a dry lidded plastic tub until washed (within 36-48 hours).
 *Diapers and liners will then go through a cold pre-rinse cycle (so stains are not set in), then through a warm wash cycle (using 1-2tsp Charlie's Soap and occasionally 1/2 cup vinegar), and then sent through a second rinse cycle (surprisingly much of cloth diapers stink actually comes from the detergent not getting rinsed out).
*Diapers will be hang dried, preferable out in the sun which is excellent for bleaching out stains as well as getting the stink out.  Drying them in our dryer is not an option.  First of all the heat ruins the elastic second the residue from dryer sheets used in our other loads will cause the diapers to no longer absorb.

My one year old wore his first cloth diaper this afternoon.  For his first diaper change he graced us with dirty pants.  Luckily it was an easy one to clean up.  We were absolutely amazed at how dry the fabric against his skin was and how soaked the microfiber liner inside was after three hours.  I was brave and put him in a diaper with three liners for night.  We will see how he does.  So far I am impressed and it seems more do-able than I originally thought.  Change is never easy but I think once I get a routine for diaper changes and washing established it will quickly get easier.

The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment

They even come in colors to match Gracen's favorite Pacifier!

Shortly before the birth of our first child eleven years ago, a friend spoke of trying cloth diapers.  I thought that they were crazy.  Why in the world would you want to deal with the "ick" factor and all of the extra work that cloth diapers would create.  At the time, I was a working mom and really did not care about the money that it would possibly save.  It was just not feasible to expect those who cared for my children to deal with their poo in this way.  Anyway, we were a bit frivolous with our spending and we could be at the time, though we regret that now.

Fast forward eleven years.  We have now been blessed with five beautiful children, two of whom are still in diapers.  We have somehow been given the opportunity by God's grace for me to stay home with my children and be mother and teacher to them.  We can't really explain it but at the end of the month the children are fed and cared for and the bills are paid.  Over and over God provides for us in crazy ways and we are grateful.  But we still hold on to many unnecessary conveniences.  Our Mennonite upbringing naturally breeds frugalness but our selfish sense of entitlement says we deserve the best because we are good people you know.

A few days ago, as Monte and I were looking over our finances and paying bills, I noticed that our Walmart receipts had been creeping up again.  We are working hard to pay off that frivolous spending from the days when we thought that we could afford it.  Kind of ironic we are working on paying off bills from the days of two incomes with only one income but that's another blog post.  Groceries and hygiene items are one area that seems like a constant struggle to keep a handle on.  A few unnecessary items here and there don't seem like a big deal until you take it times seven.  I am always looking for ways to cut back.  Monte on the other hand is very satisfied with my frugal shopping abilities and says "good grief for seven people I don't think we can do better than that."  Even as a child, my mother has always complimented me on my ability to scrimp and save to accomplish what I wanted.  So when I heard those words "I don't think we can do better than that," it became a challenge.  You bet we can.  And so was born The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment...Dun Dun DUUUU (sorry felt the need for some dramatic music).

So here's the way I figure it.  Cloth diapers are an investment (they are not cheap) and they are tricky and hard to deal with right?  Well not any more (sorry not trying to sound like an infomercial but hear me out).  The cloth diaper market has become super innovative and competitive partially due to families trying to be more green and other families trying to save more green :).  The trend is going back to cloth diapers.  From my extensive research, the easiest cloth diapers out there are all-in-ones or pocket diapers but, they are much pricier than the cheaper, more difficult pre-folded diapers and covers, or so I thought.  I found a mom out of Wyoming who has a cloth diaper business and sells pocket diapers for very reasonable, actually cheaper than prefolds and covers.  She says she is doing it more as a service to single income families and making a bit on the side for herself.  For $180 I got adjustable size cloth pocket diapers and inserts that will work for two little people ($100 per child).  It will take 2 1/2 months to break even on the deal and then diapers will be FREE!  So I promised Monte to do cloth diapers for at least 2 1/2 months until they are paid for with the intention of using them long term.

I am not naive.  I have done my research and thought this through.  I will have to wash diapers every other day.  I do so much laundry now that another few loads a week is really no big deal.  There is also a special way to wash and dry cloth diapers so that they will still absorb those wonderful bodily fluids.  Monte has agreed to hook up a special diaper sprayer to the toilet water line so that I can rinse diapers without sticking my hand in the toilet and possibly loosing my lunch. And I know it may be a bit messy and leaky until I get the hang of it and remember to change those little bottoms more often.  I also know that there will be times when disposables are just more convenient and appropriate for the outing and I am going to be realistic and not feel guilty about that.  But I am going to try it out and maybe even like it. 
*My full shipment of diapers is scheduled to arrive shortly.  In the near future, I will update on how it is going and include links to where I purchased my diapers.