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Quilter's Nappies Home | General Cloth Diapering Information
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Here is a list of topics in this section:

  • Why cloth diapers
  • Cleaning Diapers and Wipes
  • Cost of washing diapers
  • Types of cloth diapers
  • How many do you need?
  • Additional uses for cloth wipes


    • Why cloth diapers instead of disposables?

    There are many different reasons people choose to cloth diaper. For some it's the cost savings over the 2 to 3 years of diapering a baby. For others it's the desire to not add to landfills. Still others see the chemicals in disposable diapers and commercial wipes as a bad thing. Whatever the reason, many parents are switching to cloth diapering. The good news is, cloth diapering has become a whole lot easier in the last few years. Even Time Magazine did an article on cloth diapering in Jan. 2008. You can see the article here.
    A simple internet search will lead you to many discussion groups and websites dedicated to all the reasons to cloth diaper. I do not have any specific sites to recommend, however, if you search for cloth diapers, you'll find a lot of information.

    Personally, our decision to cloth diaper stemmed in large part from our son's severe eczema and allergies. With disposable diapers, he always had severe diaper rash. As soon as we switched to my homemade cotton fitted cloth diapers his diaper rashes disappeared. We don't know exactly what caused the diaper rashes, but once we switched to cloth diapers, we won't be going back!

    Cleaning wipes and diapers

  • The easiest way to clean up a messy diaper is using a hand-held sprayer like the Mini-Shower. There are other versions out there, however, this is the one I have and we like it. There is even a shut-off/pressure valve so you won't hose down the whole bathroom. It's very user friendly! Plus, it's a 5 minute job to attach to the toilet.
  • If you do not use a sprayer, you have to dunk the messy diapers in the toilet and sort of wipe them on the inside of the bowl. Flushing also helps wash the mess off.
    Beware however, do not let go of a wipe or diaper when the toilet is flushing. Cloth does not work well with most plumbing . . . trust me I know!!
  • For wet diapers, you just need to throw them in the washer when you're ready to do laundry. For messy diapers, be sure to rinse off (or hose off) as much as possible. There should not be any solids on the diaper because you don't want that in your wash machine!
  • One exclusion is, messy diapers of exclusively brestfed babies don't need to be rinsed off. The poop will disolve in the wash.
  • Use only detergents that are free of dyes, perfumes, whiteners and phosphates. The detergent I prefer is Country Save. Also, only use a minimal amount that is required to get the diapers and wipes clean and to get the odor out. If you use too much detergent, it can damage the diapers.
  • If you do use too much detergent, as I did in the beginning, you have to rinse it all out and that's not easy. I had to run the diapers through the dishwasher on rinse to get all the detergent out. And yes, they had already been washed and rinsed in the wash machine several times so they were clean. They were just full of detergent!
  • A must have for any cloth diapering family is a good drying rack you can put outside. When the weather is warm enough, it saves energy since you don't have to use a drawer but most important, the sun will make just about any stain disappear. Just put your stained diapers/wipes pointing toward the sun for a few hours and the stain(s) will be gone!

    Costs of Washing Cloth Diapers (personal experience)

  • Generally speaking, if you have a washer and dryer in your house, you very likely won't see much of an increase in your utilities. Below is a link to graphs of my family's water, electric and natural gas usage before cloth diapers up to late 2008.
  • See the graphs HERE.

    Types of Cloth Diapers

    There are 2 basic shapes of cloth diapers.
    One is the "prefold" that is a flat cloth that you fold into shape like your parents and/or grandparents probably used.
    The other is the cloth diaper that looks like a disposable. In this category there are 3 main groups, "Fitteds", "Pocket Diapers" and "All-In-Ones".

  • The "Fitted", "Pocket" and "All-in-One" diapers look and go on just like commercially available disposable diapers. You can get them in a one size fits all or in different sizes, usually small, medium and large. Instead of the tape tabs disposables use, cloth diapers in this category usually use velcro or snaps.
    The one size diapers usually use snaps to make the diaper smaller for newborns then you adjust the snap location to change the size of the diaper.
    The sized ones are less bulky when you have a small baby, however, you have to have many in each size so you may end up buying more diapers.

  • "Prefold" diapers are similar to what your parents or grandparents probably used. These are basically large rectangular pieces of fabric, sometimes several layers thick, that you have to fold and pin on your baby.

  • For the "prefolds" and many of the other styles of diapers, you have to use a diaper cover. A diaper cover is a thin water proof fabric that is put on over the cloth diaper to keep everything outside of the diaper dry.

    How many diapers and wipes are required?

  • The general rule of thumb is, breastfed newborns need about 4 dozen cloth wipes and older babies require 3 dozen.
  • For diapers, you'll want about 24 diapers if you want to wash every other day. The more you get, the less frequently you'll have to wash, although, you don't want dirty diapers sitting around for more than 3 days.
  • If you don't get the diapers with the built in waterproof cover, you'll need about 4 to 6 diaper covers as well.

    Additional uses and tips for cloth wipes:

  • If you want to use a soap solution, you can mix your own wipe solution or you can purchase solutions on-line.
  • You can use a spray bottle with plain water in it or a wipe solution in it and spray baby's bottom OR spray the wipe with the solution.
  • You can simply wet a few wipes with warm water before changing the diaper.
  • If you have one, an old commercial wet wipe container holds wipes, folded in half, very well. Just fill the old wipe container with water or your favorite wipe solution and keep 3 to 4 wipes in it at all times. When you're ready to use a wipe, just wring out the excess water and you are ready to clean baby's bottom.
  • I do NOT recommend using a wipes warmer. I am not certain how it would affect the fabric. Also, I have heard from others that they have mold and mildew issues with wipes warmers.

  • I keep a basket of wipes (8x8) and napkins (8x16) on my kitchen table. My kids love picking their napkin out for meal time.
  • Clean baby's face and hands after meals.
  • You can use the wipes in the bath tub in place of boring old washcloths.
  • Nose wipes instead of facial tissue for the kids.
  • Wipes instead of facial tissue for the parents. The velour is so gentle on a sore nose.
  • Cloth wipes can be used in place of toilet paper, usually referred to as family cloth.


    You can email me at quilter@QuiltersNappies.com