Thanks to another blog I read, Hal and I got on the topic of cloth diapers and whether they’re really a viable option. While the blogger was most concerned with how eco-friendly and cost-saving they are, Hal and I focused on one question and one question only: how do you clean them?
Hal: How do you clean cloth diapers?
Jenn: You put them in the wash, I think.
Hal: With the poop?! What do you do with the poop??
Jenn: I don't know. Put it in the wash with the diapers?
Hal: Ew, that’s disgusting. If you took a dump in your underwear would you just put them in the wash?
Figuring that was a rhetorical question, I Googled “how do you clean a cloth diaper”.
Most responses said put them in the wash, without any further detail other than advice to prevent pilling. One website did suggest using a pail of some sort where you would store the dirty diapers and then sprinkle them with baking soda until you’re ready to wash them. There is no diaper genie for cloth diapers apparently, other than the magic of baking soda, I guess.
As neither of us was pleased with this lack of explanation for what do with the poop, I then Googled, “How do you clean a cloth diaper with poop in it”, which led me to a webpage entitled How to clean poopy cloth diapers. BINGO!
There is something called a diaper spray whereby you hook up a spray nozzle next to your toilet and you can hose down the poop into the bowl before the diaper goes into the wash. While conceptually this makes sense, it sounds like it could get messy if your aim isn’t perfect or if, as Hal put it, the poop is like pudding.
Alternatively, you can use flushable liners, which act as a barrier between the poop and the cloth diaper. But depending on the consistency, this may not yield a clean diaper either.
Feeling grossed out, Hal and I weren’t convinced that cloth diapers were a clean enough option that wouldn’t leave us up to our elbows in baby doo, especially when we learned that within the first couple weeks, babies poop 12 times a day. 12 TIMES! Doesn’t that seem excessive for such a tiny, little person?! And while it did state that this frequency eventually decreases to 1-2 times a day, I was hoping that this miracle occurred by the third week; it’s more like the sixth month.
I'm all about saving money and being environmentally conscientious when possible. But with all this baby doo doo, cloth diapers seem like a baby don’t don’t.
By the way, we're not in the market for diapers be it cloth or disposable, but it did pique my interest when I saw you could potentially save thousands of dollars with the cloth ones. Never hurts to start thinking about these options. I do love options!
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