Detergents- Rockin Green, I have no words.

After Rockin a soak in Classic Rock with my diapers, my favourite jeans, my husband's socks, my son's soccer uniforms... just about everything that I could get my hands on, really, my order of Hard Rock arrived. There had to be SOMEthing that I could still wash! But what?

Well, my dog beds were washed last week, but I thought perhaps I'd try. After all, they get washed in regular soaps with fabric softener to keep them smelling nice as long as possible. Could it be true that the fabric softener is just sitting around in there, being oily and holding onto gunk? You tell me.

Detergents, and water talk.

When you first start cloth diapering you suddenly find that you talk about the strangest things. Poop comes up a lot in conversation. So does your water quality and what detergent you use. As much as we grew up thinking that Dreft was the perfect choice for baby clothes, it is not an option for cloth diapers. Also, if you love that "clean" smell of Tide you might be shocked to know that smelling your detergent means that the clothes are not actually clean! To be more accurate, they are not RINSING clean and some of the detergent is left behind. Eventually, you get a buildup of that detergent which causes the diapers to leak, since "soap scum diapers" can't absorb! That soap scum also will hold icky urine smells, which means that ammonia is still present, and can cause ammonia burns on little bums. In addition, many babies are very sensitive to detergent residue or perfume residue left on diapers and will break out in rashes when left in a diaper washed in the wrong detergents. People see that big scoop and think they need to use that much detergent, but with a quality detergent usually you only need 1 or 2 tablespoons. So picking the right one for you and your family is important! You need no enzymes, brightners, dyes, fabric softeners, and usually no scents. Even then, you sometimes get one like Bi-O-Kleen that causes build up and leaks anyway! A good list of most of the major brands is here. http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

To begin with, you again must look back to that first decision to cloth diaper and remember your reasons. Are you looking for the most economical choice, the easiest to find choice, the one which you can pick up at the store you already go to, the one which is best for the environment? In addition, are you on a well or septic system that needs to be taken into account? What type of system are you using? Prefolds are pretty bomb proof and can be abused much more, but pockets are notorious for build up issues causing repelling and microfiber commonly gets stink issues. Finally, how hard is your water?

Hard water is an extremely common complaint in cloth diapering. Hard water is water with a high mineral content. It is usually calcium and magnesium although iron, aluminium and manganese can also be elevated. You will often see white (or rust if iron is present) rings around your drains. If you live in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, or Kansas you almost certainly have very hard water. Don't despair, according to wikipedia 85% of America has hard water at some level. If you are one of them, all clothes washed will eventually get hard, scratchy, and greyish. According to Hardwater.org that is because insoluble salts are formed when mixing soils to the minerals, and it shortens the lifespan of the fibers by 40%. When you are talking about cloth diapers getting washed every other day that happens much faster, but there are detergents made to combat hard water. Thank goodness, because I want my favourite jeans to outlive their trendiness! I use the detergent for cloth diapers on all the family clothes now.

Okay, so which detergents to choose? Well, we have used several here and have found three that we think work well for us. Which to choose depends on your reasons for cloth diapering. My kids both have really (really really really) sensitive skin and these all passed the test for mine, but each child is different.

For most economical and easiest to find, we picked Planet detergent. If you need it right away, especially if you just ran out, Whole Foods has this detergent. It will cost you more than when you can find it for online, but we don't call it Whole Paycheck for nothing. :) If you order it online from a cloth diapering store that you can buy other stuff from (or enough Planet) to come up with free shipping, this is one of the least expensive options. Cottonbabies.com has it for $5.79. For reference, the one that says 20 loads is about 45 diaper loads for us top loaders. (Actually, I now use 1-2 tablespoons of detergent on my regular loads as well.)

If you are looking for a tried and true, you have Country Save/Bumgenius. We liked Country Save and BumGenius detergent equally well, which makes sense since they are made by the same people. We found Country Save at several local stores, while Bumgenius is only available online in our area. It is neither exciting nor offensive, and Country Save was the one most recommended to us. It is the one that I used with my son 11 years ago as well. Good well tested formula. It is usually going to run you about $12, although here you can get it for $10 with free shipping. http://countrysave.alice.com/?order=best We got about the same number of loads from the BumGenius that says for 66 loads as we did Planet that says for 20 loads. Both boxes came out to around 45 loads for me.

Now, if you are willing to pay just a little bit more for quality, I found a third detergent option. Rockin Green comes in three forms. Hard Rock is for hard water, Classic Rock is for normal water, Soft Rock is for soft water or skin that has sensitivity to the other formulas. I can tell you that with our sensitive skin we still do just fine with Classic Rock and Hard Rock. It'll run you $13.95 for Soft and Classic, or $15.95 for Hard Rock and it is new enough that you may not be able to find it locally. This is, again, 45 loads. At RockinGreenSoap.com you can get free shipping on $75 orders, and many other online retainers have free shipping when you purchase a certain amount. I just throw on detergent when I make other purchases to save on shipping costs. We use Classic Rock for our regular laundry and Hard Rock to do deep cleans periodically. I've got a few videos for "Rockin a Soak" that I'll put up for you to see. Those soaks really get that build up off from other detergents. You can also buy this detergent in sample packs, so even if you get the Classic Rock for wash days, pick up a few samples of Hard Rock for deep soaks. The big draw for many people to this detergent is that they come in scents. Honestly, the scents are nice and I love that my mail and laundry room can smell like watermelons or oranges*, but your laundry should still come out without smell. For me, the scents are the bonus. Come for the scents if you wish, but stay for the amazing clean that your diapers and clothing will get.

(*Edited to put in the newer Rockin Green scents. Edited from "Grape Soda, or the lime and coconut Monkey Snakcs")

BumGenius one size pockets, the Gateway cloth diaper.

BumGenius created a one size pocket diaper that can convert any family to cloth. This is the gauge that we judge every other diaper against here in my house, not because it is the best at any one thing, but because it is above average in every category. If you just want to start cloth diapering without thinking about it any more than you have to, or if all reasons to cloth diaper are equally important, this is the diaper for you.
At $17.95 each these are not the cheapest option, but they are far from pricey. A full set of 20 will run you $339 at www.cottonbabies.com and would be plenty to cloth diaper with them full time. They come packaged with a newborn insert and a full sized insert, and the one size means that your baby can wear these from birth through potty training. You simply adjust the snaps on the front to a small, medium, or large setting. Realistically it takes a few weeks for your baby to really fit well in them. We actually have both some of the 2.0s and 3.0s and the 2.0s were fitting my daughter at 2 weeks while the 3.0s didn't fit until closer to a month. It has stretchy Velcro tabs which allow you to get a nice customized fit each time, and you can get them on a squirmy toddler lightning fast. They clean easily, even if you have to scrape poop. Stains sun out very well, but they do seem a little more prone to staining than some of the others that we have. These are the most like a cloth version of disposables and the easiest to switch a dad (or mom!), grandparent, or daycare who is perhaps less interested in cloth diapering. The pocket covers last very well if line dried, and decently well if put in the dryer on medium heat. I line dry the covers overnight and dry the inserts on medium heat in the dryer.
Here are our only cons. Some of these diapers are made in the USA, but some are also made in Egypt. The inserts are made in China. This is not a make or break thing for us, but some people find it a sticking point. We always try to find a balance between local and economical, and I do think BumGenius does. The other drawback is that they do not have a natural fiber version. Some children, like mine, have skin that is sensitive to microfiber. This means that we cannot use these exclusively.
A lot of reviews talk about elastic issues and Velcro issues, but these are easily dealt with. I bought 2.0s which had been used for nearly 2 years and had perfect Velcro because they were always line dried. The did have loose elastics, but I got my 2.0 elastics replaced by this very talented lady named Deann Hadley for a very reasonable price which you can find here.http://bloomingbums.blogspot.com She also posts picture tutorials to do it yourself, if you have sewing talent. I do not. I'm happy to pay her to do it.

A word on used... If you choose to buy used, know what you are buying. Please read the blog about used diapers.
http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&products_id=1279

What to buy and what to pass, and New or Used, a Cloth Diapering Conundrum

Where do you spend your money? Where can you save it? A lot of people start cloth diapering for one main reason: to save money. You can certainly stand to save quite a lot cloth diapering, but where is it worth scrimping? A few dollars here and there can make or break your cloth diapering experience.
I'm going to quickly list out some of the main things that have made cloth diapering so much easier that they are well worth the money, some of the things that I think can be done without, and some of the risks to buying used diapers to watch for.
1. Buy a good diaper wetbag. In fact, buy 3 good wetbags in different sizes. Keep a large one at your changing table, a medium on in your diaper bag, and one small one in your car or in your stroller basket in case you end up needing one when you are out. I like Planet Wise or Wahmies brand. Planet Wise is sturdier and will hold up better, Wahmies is less expensive. I greatly prefer these to the pail as they can easily be thrown into the wash when soiled right along with the diapers, and anything that keeps me from playing in poo I appreciate. Also, they can fit in any spot you want like a shelf or hanging on a door knob or off the side of your changing table. They also look full so you know when to do laundry without having to open and check, which is one more way to keep out of the poo.
2. Buy good cloth diaper wipes. You will end up shoving the wipes inside the diaper and having to pick lint out of diapers later if you do not, plus you are just putting more chemicals on your child and paying for one more single use item. I like the bamboo ones best because they are naturally antimicrobial. My preferred ones are the bumGenius Bamboo Wipes.
3. Get one of the wipes warmers approved for cloth diapers. I like the Prince Lionheart Wipes Warmer best. It is sturdy, the cord is long enough, and everfresh pillow really does keep the wipes from browning or getting smelly.
4. Cloth diaper friendly detergent is essential. You must use detergents which do not have additives and are generally unscented. I have several that I have used, and there will be another blog entry on detergent later, but Planet is available at Whole Foods, bumGenius makes one that you can order from the Cottonbabies website and ships free, and I recently started using Rockin Green which allows you to have scents back in the wash room and has a special formula for hard water.
5. You will need a system for line drying. Ikea has a little octopus here http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80189663 for $4.99 and it'll hold 16 covers or inserts, so it is pretty much perfect for someone who washes every other day.

What can you pass on? If you are on a budget, pass on premade diaper wipe sprays and solutions. You can use water and it will work just as well. I'd also pass on a pail and pail liner system, as a wetbag can do double duty. You can pass on laundry additives, since only the cloth diapering detergents are needed.

New or Used diapers?
If you are new to cloth diapering then used may not be the way to go unless you are willing to put in some time asking questions. How many children have used them? What detergent was used? When were they last stripped? Are they put into the dryer? How is the elastic? How is the Velcro? Any broken or missing snaps? Is the PUL layer still intact? How many diapers were in the stash and how well were they rotated? All of these things give you a picture of how much the diapers were used and how they were cared for. I usually expect to pay between 60-70% of retail when I purchase a well taken care of diaper used. If it was not well taken care of then it is not worth buying for most people at any price. The only exception is if you are quite good at sewing and have the time to take on a project, and it is a VERY good price. I have seen several people start cloth diapering with purchasing lots of used diapers, only to become discouraged when the diapers leaked due to loose elastics or detergent build up on the microfiber. It isn't worth getting frustrated, and if you are new to cloth diapering you may not know how to troubleshoot the issues. If that sounds like it would be too much for you then it is not worth the extra money saved, just buy new.
If you do find a good to great set of used diapers, and they are in that 60-70% of retail range, pick them up. Give them a good wash, with 1/4 cup of bleach if you choose, and hang them in the sun to dry. We've all been burned at least once over eBay or Craigslist purchases, but you will still be saving money in the long run either way. Just make sure to ask those questions and keep your limits in mind.

The beginning, part 2. Types of cloth diapering systems, care of cloth diapers, and how many you need.

There are many many many websites out there to help you figure out the intraquacies of the different systems, but I will give a quick and short overview of the different types of cloth diapering systems. Not a lot of people that I know have ALL of one type, but that is certainly a way to go. I tend to like one diaper for one thing and a different diaper for another, so I have a few of everything.

First you have systems which require a cover.
One is the basic prefold and cover systems. You buy prefolds, which are the usual cotton cloth diapers that you may remember as burp cloths or car rags. They can be folded many different ways or just folded into thirds. These absorb well, but you need a cover to make them stay on and not leak through. There are also other types of inserts which can go inside a cover, and some are even stay dryso that your baby doesn't feel wet. You just lay them right inside a cover and snap or velcro the cover on the baby. Stay dry liners are also available to go over the cotton prefolds.
Pros and Cons? These are very inexpensive. You only need 5 or 6 covers as they can be wiped clean and reused. You can get good prefolds for $2 each and good covers for $15 (or fully functioning cheap covers for $5). If you have limited laundry facilities this is a great way to go, since you can get 5 dozen prefolds and 5 or 6 covers and still save lots of money. Also, they are super easy to maintain and any stains sun out quickly.
Also available are fitted diapers which have gathered legs and snap on the baby themselves. You still need a cover, and these can run to be pretty expensive options (Goodmama fitteds can be upwards of $30 each), but these can really contain a messy breastfed poop or heavy wetting baby. Contours are the same, but wihtout snaps or velcro to attach to the baby and less expensive.

Then there are systems with the covers integrated. All of these will run you a bit more money, but give back to you in ease. You can have an all in one system (AIO) which has the leakproof cover, the absorbant stuffing, and the liner all in one. An all in two (AI2) system usually has a cover that you snap an absorbant liner into.Pockets are the cover and liner in one piece, and they have an opening in the back where you push an absorbant cloth into the pouch.
AIOs are the easiest to use, and for those coming over from disposable diapers they are the most intuitive switch. They often take a long time to dry in the dryer. Some can take 2 or even 3 full dryer cycles, which is a lot of extra energy and time. They also only get used once per washing, so you have to buy quite a few, and they are not a cheap option.
AI2s take one more step, but dry much faster since the air can circulate through that absorbant stuffing better. You buy a few covers to reuse and lots of inserts, which is a more cost effective solution. The drawback is that breastfed poo can be loose and often gets on the cover, making you change those covers far more frequently and kind of negating this benefit with smaller babies. For that reason these tend to be better choices once the solid foods are introduced. If you can reuse the covers and only buy more inserts these are a middle ground on pricing between AIOs and the prefold/cover systems.
Pockets are, for many people, the best of all worlds. They are easy, the inserts dry in one cycle, you can line dry the covers/liners which dry very quickly, and they only take the one step of stuffing them. They are, however, also fairly pricy and have to be fully replaced each wearing meaning that you need a lot of them to make a system.
There are now a few hybrid diapers out there, like the gDiaper, Flip, and the Gro Baby (now Gro Via) diapers which allow you to use a system with cloth that can be converted to a disposable insert when needed, for instance when travelling.

An infant will need 10-12 diapers a day. A toddler will need 8-10. I wash my cloth diapers every other day, and if you are using synthetic fibers I would really reccomend trying to keep that up to avoid stink. If you are using cotton prefolds with covers you can really stock up on them and wash only once a week. Just get great diaper bags that will seal that smell up and make friends with Mr. Sun to remove stains!

So, how do you care for your diapers? There are some brands which require lots of special attention, but I stay away from those. Here is my diaper routine.
1. Cold soak. Sometimes I use 1 tablespoon of diaper friendly detergent, sometimes just water. It depends upon how long the diapers have been sitting around. I keep the water level at high regardless of how many diapers are involved.
2. Hot wash with a cold rinse, extra rinse turned on. For this one I use 2 tablespoons of diaper friendly detergent. (In an effort to conserve further, this is the point where I throw in the rest of her laundry to make a fuller load. If you do diapers every other day you'll have room for it all.)
3. Seperate into dryer load (inserts, cloth wipes, and for me the AIOs) and hand dry (pockets and covers, AIOs for some people). I do not line dry the AIOs unless it is a very sunny hot day or they have stains. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it just takes too darned long for them to dry on a line.
4. Dry the dryer load on medium heat with 2 Nellie's PVC free dryer balls and 3 wool dryer balls. (More on those later!)
5. Hang the covers and pockets up to dry, which usually is done by the time that the dryer is.

Once a month I take all of the microfiber inserts and bleach them with 1/4 cup added to the wash. I have a great system for remembering when to do it as well. My daughter was born on the 20th, so I always know when she is another month older. That week I do all of the things which get done monthly, insert bleaching included. I then find the sunniest day that week and lay out pockets and AIOs to dry in the sun, which is also a great sanitizer.

So, what system do you use?

Cloth diapering, the beginning. Why should you cloth diaper?

Okay, so usually I blog about things that make parenting an autistic child easier, but here is one that can make everyone's lives easier: cloth diapering.
"EASIER?" you ask? Cloth diapering conjures scary images of rags and safety pins, mountains of laundry, festering odors, wet laps, and lots and lots of work. That was your grandma's cloth diapering, and believe me when I say that today's cloth diapering doesn't have to be anything like your grandma's cloth diapering.
There are so many great reasons to cloth diaper. I'll just list some of the biggies:
1. Saving money- You can literally save THOUSANDS of dollars each child just by cloth diapering. IF you buy off brand at Costco and IF you are potty trained by 30 months you can expect to pay around $2000 for disposable diapers per child. You are literally throwing that money away. Imagine paying a quarter each and every time that you used your bathroom. With cloth diapering you can cut that to as little as $100, or do it with all the bells and whistles for $500. Since these are not thrown away they can be reused for multiple children, making for even more savings. For those of us with autistic children the number may be considerably higher, as many of our kids do not potty train at 2. My son wasn't fully potty trained until 5.
2. Saving resources- Not only does a diaper take (we think) 500 years to decompose, which is clogging our quickly overfilled landfills, but they take precious resources to make. Leave the planet one that your children will want. The amount of water to launder cloth diapers is much less than the amount of water used to make disposables also.
3. Know what is on your child's skin- Here is an interesting one. The gel that is inside disposable diapers, polyacrylate gel, is still sort of an unknown. We know that it dries out your child's skin, and we know that inhalation causes respiratory distress and potentially asthma. There have also been scientific reports that it gets quite hot when mixed with urine and may account for some sterility in boys due to raising the temperature of the testicles repeatedly day in and day out for 2 years. For my babies rashes only occur when teething, sick, or in disposables. Something in them causes red welts for both of mine.
4. Your baby gets wet- Okay, so this one seems like a strange one. Why would you want your baby to feel wet? There are a couple of reasons. First off, wet babies learn that they have gone potty. They then potty train MUCH easier than babies who have never linked the feeling of peeing with consequences of peeing. Also, and this one gets me every time, people usually point to the fact that you change less diapers in disposables as a bonus of disposables. Your baby still pees just as many times, you would just be leaving your baby in a half soaked disposable diaper sitting in urine. She may not feel wet, but her skin is still covered in urine. With cloth you and your baby both know when the diaper is wet and you change it. Your baby is rarely left sitting in urine, and that urine isn't mixed with chemicals. Now days there are even cloth stay dry liners that you can use to keep baby feeling dry if you don't want the baby to feel wet or are going to be unable to change for a bit, which I on occasion use when going for a longer drive.
5. They can be super cute- Today you have so many choices in cloth diapering! Don't underestimate how much more fun it is to change a diaper from one cute print to another. I really don't care for the cartoon characters on disposables and wanted a more sophisticated option. My husband prefers solids. With cloth you can find just about any kind of pattern or print, and you can even have them custom made for a few extra dollars per diaper. These guys are cute enough that you like leaving your little one running around in nothing but a t-shirt and diaper all summer, and pictures of babies in cloth diapers are so darned adorable!
6. Comfort- Do you enjoy wearing maxi pads? Remember those giant ones you had to wear postpartum? Would you choose to wear them every day for 2 years? I'm thinking that you would not. I know that I would not. Paper underwear does not sound like an enjoyable experience. Also, your baby is going to be trying out a lot of movements which can cause chaffing in disposables, and will have bumps and falls on a daily basis when learning crawling or walking. Those bumps are nicely padded with a cloth bum, which makes them less jarring on the spine as well.

Your starting point needs to be figuring out which of the many reasons for cloth diapering are MOST important to you. Come up with your top three and their order. This will drastically change what route you choose to go with cloth diapering. If your main goal is to save money you'll save a lot more with prefolds at less than $2 each (for the good ones) than you will with Goodmama fitted diapers for $30. Your second thought needs to be the other people in your home (and out) who will be sharing the cloth diapering responsibilities with you. My autistic son wont touch disposable diapers which feel and smell funny, but he is happy to help (so long as it is not a poopy one) with cloth. It isn't realistic to expect him to do a 2 or 3 step system, but if I keep pockets pre stuffed or another 1 step system around my work load in diaper changing goes down. My husband is happy to use cloth diapers so long as I do all of the laundry and they are easy to figure out. Happiness is all in the expectations: know where your family stands.
There are many types of diapers and literally hundreds of different brands to choose from. In an effort to make your life as simple as possible I've tried and reviewed, well, a lot of them! I get a diaper, then usually get a used one to see how they hold up. If I still like it then I get enough for a full day and put them into heavy rotation. A few weeks into making everyone use them the real test happens: they go into their respective baskets and I see which ones are being used when everyone has free choice. I then come back and report this all to you!
Make no mistake, my husband loves that he never has to buy diapers at 3 am or leave Costco with a handcart. He is also the child of two hippies, so he is glad that we aren't putting 8-12 poop or pee bombs into landfills each day that last 500 years. Neither of these are his reasons for cloth diapering. He does it because he loves me, and because I make it easy for him. If either of these changed he would not continue to cloth diaper. When I refer to "Dad friendliness" this is the sort of dad that I am talking about. :)
My reason? Well, aside from intelligence and beauty, my children also inherited my highly reactive red-head skin. When my son was born his Grandma Liz suggested that I try cloth diapering to help with skin irritation. I used prefolds and a Dappi cover system for the first year, and it completely eliminated skin issues! Back then there weren't nearly as many choices, and it was hard to get anyone else on board with cloth diapering, but in that year I fell in love with cloth diapering.
In the next blog I'll detail out some of the different types of systems that you can choose for your diapering needs, how to care for your diapers, and which systems are good for which applications.