Newbie cloth diapers questions: Do you wash diapers separete from clothes &

[Catprints]

does the velcro on Bum Genius go? towards the back of baby?

I only have 2 cloth diapers right now but I want to try them out, it just seems wasteful to run the wash just for 2 diapers. Also, it seems like your running the washer & dryer a lot with cloth...is it really better for environment or are we just wasting a different form of energy?
Perhaps I didn't give enough insight into what I was thinking. I had no intention of washing her stuff with ours...I've read some peolpe do a pre-wash cycle w/ diapers & was thinking after that they might be clean enough to go in w/ her other dirty clothes at that point? I also thought I read something about velcro going in the back so baby can't un-do them. There is a cinched part on 1 side, is seems like it should go on her frontside to me.

 

[TMOM]

Wash them separately from your clothes. Yes, it's wasteful to run the wash for just 2 diapers, so you should get more if you are serious about cloth diapering. I had about 35-40 diapers when I used cloth.

The velcro should go on similar to a disposable diaper...in the front. I used Kushies diapers. They were so easy to use, just as easy as disposable. I would recommend washing every other day, and not having wet/dirty diapers waiting to be washed for 3-4 days. I washed about every 18 hours, so there was never any odor.

 

[Pumpkin DBAB]

I personally always wash my diapers serperate from our clothing. Three reasons, one being, that the diapers wash better without a bunch of other stuff in there, 2nd of all because I am just not comfortable washing soiled cloth with our other clothes, and third of all because I use a different detergent and less of it for my cloth as well as omitting fabric softner to my cloth diaper load.

Does your washer have a small load cycle? I usually have a large load of clothes that need to be washed, but on ocassion when I only have a few diapers, I use the small cycle wash.

As far as your velcro question, are you referring to washing? Yes, the tabs on the back of the diaper as meant for the velcro to be adhered to during washing to help prevent wear and tear on the velcro during the wash cycle. You can line dry them as well.

When washing, wash with a mild detergent which is fabric softener free, phosphate, and preferably fragrance free. I use very little detergent in my diaper load and then add some baking soda as well as vinegar to the wash, which is natural and very gentle on the environment

The benefits of cloth diapers on the environment far out weigh the impact of disposable on the environment, no doubts about it. When comparing disposable to cloth, most people only about the fact of disposables sitting in land fills (which do not discompose for hundreds of years) but also quickly forget about the factory end of manufacturing diapers. Diaper factories release many carcinogens into the air during producing the diaper, during bleaching materials in the diaper as well as assembling.

The average American child will use more than 6000 disposable diapers before potty training.

I have been able to cloth diaper my son with 18 diapers for months. What do you think is better on the environment?

 

[Song Title?]

If they are soiled diapers they should be washed by themselves.Otherwise it is gross.You are right though if you only wash two diapers;water and electric/gas is being wasted.

 

[crunchy momma]

I have some bum genius -- I wash them sometimes with other clothes. sue me I don't have to use a lot during the day because we use disposables at night, and I want to do them every 3 or 4 days so there's no mold or mildew. I have to pay for laundry too, so doing an itty bitty load with 10 diapers in it just isn't practical. usually I have a little laundry that I can throw them in with. if you wash them on the hottest water you can, it'll kill all the germs. with cloth diapers, you have to use about 1/4th or 1/3rd of the normal amount of detergent that you normally use and I still only use about 1/3rd of the amount of detergent when I wash them with the regular clothes. I pull the covers out and hang dry them to make the velcro last longer.

I've never had a problem doing it this way -- I also rarely have a poop cloth diaper because my son poops in the morning and I put him in a disposable to poop in sometimes. it's fine, in my opinion, to do all the laundry together. the hot water kills all the germs and I cannot do a 'low water' wash so it'd be less economical for me to wash the diapers only. I also don't want to risk mold on them from sitting wet and dirty in a garbage can until I use all the diapers.

 

[gibson.samantha23]

i buy diapers

 

[Sunny]

I think it is a waste to wash only 2 diapers all the time. I have 2 dozens of prefolds & few pocket diapers & all in one for night time & babysitter. You shoul wash diapers only with different wash instruction from your clothes. Otherwise the build would be a problem. If you really want to try cloth, buy a dozen or two prefolds & 2-3 covers. It's the cheapest option. If you like it then purchase pocket or all in one diapers for going out or nighttime - bumgenius is one of the brand poplular for pocket. I do not like Velcro, get buttons.

 

[Fantabulous]

Bum Genius are GREAT diapers! My sister uses them and she loves them! And now I will be using them for my baby. To be honest, I have no idea how she washes them. If they are separate or with other stuff like towels. But yes the velcro goes towards the front like a regular diaper when and when she washes them she always puts the velcro tabs down so they won't attach to anything else and ruin that. Anyways she always hangs the up to dry to make them last longer. She has her own wipes that she uses as well. I'm not sure what kind of fabric the wipes are made of. Maybe I should do some more homework on them. But like everyone else I was very wishy washy on the whole cloth diaper idea but when I watch my nephew it is very easy to use. When they go out of town they do use G Diapers which is another eco friendly diaper brand. They are just more handy when out of town. Good luck deciding! But my vote is soo for the Bum Genius!

ADDED BONUS! NO DIAPER RASHES!!