Honestly, I don’t see any reason why anyone wouldn’t at least try cloth.

The getting started can be daunting though. Just one visit to a diapering discussion board (yup, I said diapering discussion board! You’d be surprised at how many there are!) and you quickly see there’s almost a separate language for this cloth diapering; it’s a whole new world! Well, I’m here to try and dispel some of the confusion and nervousness about switching to (or starting with) cloth.

First there’s the language. There are many, many brands of cloth diapers out there with many, many different names. I’m going to start with the basics; this will get you through anyway.

Types of Diapers (this is very general, but will give you an idea what you’re talking about!)

Prefolds – These may be your first image of cloth dipes. The white rectangular piece of cloth, usually thicker in the middle, that makes up the actual diaper. You fold this and pin it and put a diaper cover over it. I never pinned; I always just used a good quality Velcro cover and no pins. These may also be called DSQ (diaper service quality) or Chinese prefolds; I always recommend DSQ or Chinese as these are usually the best and most absorbent. You can get them in bleached or unbleached. The best sources I’ve seen are online stores; the kind you buy at your local discount department store are NOT the same although they claim to be.

Fitted Diapers – similar to prefolds but they are normally hourglass shaped; they are fitted in the middle to be more comfortable. Some people swear by these, I’ve never used them. Still need a diaper cover on top.

Diaper Cover – As mentioned, these go over the actual diaper. As with anything in cloth diapering, the variety is seemingly endless. There are Velcro covers, snap covers, covers with cute patterns and in a wide variety of fabrics.

AIO, All In One’s – as the name implies these are diapers and cover “all in one”. There are, again, a variety of these as well. These are more convenient but are usually more expensive as well.

The best way to determine what works best for you and your baby would be to try a variety of diapers. Unfortunately this can be cost prohibitive. I think that’s why there are so many diapering discussion boards out there; so you can get opinions and compare notes. Many of the most recommended diapers are WAHM (work at home mom) made, but there are many good dipes made by companies as well.

The other issue I hear about a lot is cleaning diapers. What’s the best way to do it? Well, I can give you my technique, you may tweak it and make it work for you or do something totally different, it’s all up to you. I used a dry pail; that’s just a large lidded container that you can put the diapers in when they’re wet or soiled. The wet diapers just went straight in and the soiled ones got dunked in the toilet a couple times then thrown in. Normally I didn’t even get my hands wet, so it’s not as bad as it sounds! When the pail was full into the washer they went. I ran a first load with detergent and washing soda then I ran them through a second cycle with vinegar to take out any remaining odors. Then weather permitting they went onto the clothesline outside. The sun actually helps bleach the diapers and adds to their life expectancy. Using chlorine bleach will break the diapers down more quickly, and constantly using the dryer will do the same. If you do use the dryer (again, you’ll probably have to sometimes unless you live in Hawaii!!) never put fabric softener sheets in with the diapers; it will make them less absorbent. Same reason you don’t put them in with your towels!
As an aside, when you first get your diapers you will probably be instructed to wash them at least several times to “break them in” and get rid of all the waxes, etc... This will make your diapers very absorbent; if you try to use them fresh out of the box you’ll be disappointed.
You can also use a wet pail instead of dry like I did. You just fill your container with water and when you throw the dipes in they soak until washday. In my experience this was a tad more odorous but you can get products that help with the smell as well.

To even out my diaper discussion, I will mention that you can purchase disposable diapers that biodegrade more quickly. Tushies come to mind. Normally these are found in health food/alternative stores or online.

The main problem with disposables is that it takes them almost forever before they break down in the landfills; your child will be in old age before the diapers he wore biodegrade. And they’re made with chemicals that are bad for baby and bad for the environment. I guess what put me over the edge was thinking about what it would be like for baby; would I want cotton on my tush or would I want something akin to a sanitary pad on 24/7. Um, yeah, I’ll go with the cotton!

Please e-mail me if you have info to add or any other diapering ideas or advice that I’ve not thought of. It’s a huge topic!!

Links

Born To Love: This site is called the "Worldwide Cloth Diapering Resources" page and it lives up to that lofty title! Loads of reviews of popular brands. Ch-check it out!

The Diaper Pin: This site has a major amount of information on cloth diapering and also does offer lots of brand reviews.

Mothering Magazine article about cloth diapering. If you read only one article, make it this one!! GREAT article!