Mailbox Mondays 2/21/11 - Prepping Diapers & Stinky Pails!

 

Every Monday, I will answer reader submitted questions in my Mailbox Mondays post, and ask you to weigh in your opinions.

Questions don't have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with "Mailbox Mondays" in the subject, or Fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.

Julie says:

Hi Maria!!

First off I just want to say I LOVE your blog! It was one of the first cloth diaper related blogs I came across when I was pregnant and looking into cloth diapers. I had a couple of questions for you.

First off, I started my cloth diaper stash with a big purchase so it was easy to just throw all of the items in the wash to prep them all together. Nowadays, I find myself buying one or two diapers or inserts at a time and I would hate to run a laundry load for just a couple of items. Do you have any suggestions for prepping just a couple of diapers or inserts at a time?

Also, my daughter was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, but now that she is almost 9 months and eating solids, I am finding that her diaper pail is getting MIGHTY stinky. I do try to spray the poopy diapers with my sprayer but that doesn't really seem to be helping. Any other suggestions?

Thanks so so much!

Sincerely,
Julie J.

I really appreciate hearing that you enjoy the blog, and find it helpful!  You really have no idea how warm & fuzzy that makes me feel!

If I get a new diaper that doesn't have special prepping instructions (if it's made of microfiber, microfleece, PUL etc.), I throw it in the wash with my other diapers once, then use it.  Things like organic cotton and hemp usually need to be washed at least three times before using, and will continue to gain absorbency for up to 10 washes. 

The problem is that they need to be washed separately, since the fibers contain natural oils that could be deposited onto your other diapers, and cause them to repel.  Check with the manufacturer/the product packaging, because some companies send natural fiber products partially prepped.  As annoying as it is, and wasteful as it seems, you really do need to wash them separately to protect your other diapers. 

I have heard of people boiling hemp prefolds/inserts to remove the oils faster, but I haven't tried that myself!  I would definitely suggest exercising caution if you try that, and I am not responsible for any burns or fires that may occur, eek!  "Ma'am, what were you doing when the fire started?"  "Errr, well, uhh...I was just...uhh...boiling my...hemp."

As far as your stinky pail goes, my first two suggestions would be to keep the pail open a crack, and to wash more often.  You'd think keeping the pail closed tightly would keep the smell in better, but I find that letting the air circulate means less stink.  Washing no more than every 2-3 days, and washing the liner each time helps quite a bit as well.  Wahmies pail liners have a swatch of fabric at the seam, where you can add a few drops of essential oil to help with the odor.  If yours doesn't have that feature, several WAHMs also make pail powder that you can use to eliminate odors and add scent.

How about you?  How do you prep new diapers when you only have 1 or 2?  How do you combat pail stink?

Mailbox Mondays 1/17/11 - Wet Bag/Pail Liners and Washing Natural Fibers

 

Every Monday (if I receive submissions, that is!) I will answer reader submitted questions in my Mailbox Mondays post. Questions don't have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with "Mailbox Mondays" in the subject!

Tamara says:

I have a question! I meant to get it in in time for submission today, but alas, life got in the way. So.....Which side of the pail liner do you put toward the diapers? I have a planet wise pail liner, one side is the shiny PUL and the other side is the fabric. I've always put it in the pail so that the diapers are touching the shiny side. But, I had a friend of mine ask if that was right and it made me wonder..... I investigated and noticed that the tag is on the fabric side and I know that sometimes manufacturers recommend putting a drop of essential oil on the tag so then I was confused. Does that make sense? What do you do? Does it matter? Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?

Diapers do go on the shiny PUL side, so you are doing it correctly! 

Whamies Pail Liners have a patch of fabric at the seam for essential oils, but as far as I know, Planet Wise's tags are just for brand identification and laundering instructions.  If you're having trouble with smell, you might try keeping the pail open a crack.  It seems counterintuitive, but I find that air circulating actually helps with the smell.  Washing every 2-3 days at most helps of course too!

Hope this helps!


Stephanie says:

Hi Maria!

I was wondering if there was any rule of thumb about washing microfiber inserts with natural fibers. If so, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks! :)

--
Stephanie

When you get a new diaper or insert that is made from natural fibers, wash it separately to prep per the manufacturer's instructions.  For example: a hemp product may say to wash and dry it 2-3 times before use.  This will remove the natural oils and get it ready to use.  It will continue to gain absorbency up to 10 washes.

Once you have prepped it, there's no issue washing them with your microfiber products!

Kickin' Creations Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 9/21)

I originally contacted Mandy of Kickin' Creations to buy some wool dryer balls.  As it turned out, she was not happy with the new method she was trying (at the time) for making them, and didn't want to sell any to me until she was pleased with how they ended up.

We got to chatting and I agreed to review her cloth diaper safe laundry detergent, deodorizer powder (pail powder) and baby legs.  (She also sells sugar scrubs, burp cloths and more!)

Kickin' Creations items are normally shipped in nice, heat-sealed bags.  Since mine were samples, they were shipped in regular baggies. 

I received the detergent and pail powder, both in Wild Cherry Blossom scent.  Other scent options include: Sweet Pea & Jasmine, Lavender Essential Oil, Apple Cinnamon, Fresh Linen and Unscented.

I've had such a hard time with detergent, that I was really surprised and impressed by Kickin' Creations.  Like the other scented detergents I've used, the scent was very strong.  I could smell it as soon as I opened my mailbox!  I'm a little more sensitive to smells than others, so I put the detergent and pail powder in an OXO container for storage.  Like that, it made my laundry room smell great!

Each bag of detergent contains up to 70 wash loads, and sells for $15.00 plus $4.95 shipping.  A half-batch sample pack sells for $8.00 plus shipping.  The instructions are to use 1-2 tablespoons (3 to soak, less per load for an HE machine.) 

The first time I used it, I used a little more than I needed to.  After that, I used a little bit less, and while the laundry room smelled great while washing, the diapers rinsed clean.  When they were finished, they had a faint scent, but just smelled clean.  I used the whole bag (it lasted at least a week, I should have kept track!) and it worked wonderfully.

I use a Planet Wise large hanging wet bag as a pail, and don't have a lot of stink issues.  However, since I've started washing every other day, things get a little...eh..."gamey" by wash day.  The Stink Be Gone All Purpose Deodorizer Powder is available in the same scents as the detergent, and a 10 ounce package sells for $5.00 plus shipping. 

If you used it in a shaker bottle (relabeled for safety!) like an empty baby powder or spice container, it would be very easy to sprinkle a bit in your diaper pail or trash can. I just shook a little bit out of the bag onto the diapers as I added them to the pail & noticed some stink.  It really did a good job of neutralizing the odor.  My laundry room (where I keep my pail!) smelled fresh, not like flowery dirty diapers, hee hee.

Last up are the baby legs.  You really have to cut me some slack on my pictures.  Lately, trying to photograph my son feels like trying to photograph a squirrel on redbull.

The pair I received are navy blue, and like other WAHM baby legs, they are made from knee socks.

Mandy also makes a "Tiny Legs" version of baby legs for 0-3 month olds.  They sell for about $5.00 plus shipping.

I am looking forward to using these when the weather gets cooler and he gets that chilly gap between socks and pants!

Kickin' Creations sells both in the Cuties with Cloth Booties Congo (CWCB) on Hyenacart and the Bliss Congo.  Her CWCB store stocks tomorrow, September 15th.

Giveaway: Mandy is offering one reader his/her choice of any one in-stock item!  (Value up to $15.00)


Here's how to enter: All entries go in the form below.  Feel free to leave a comment about the post, or simply to remind yourself that you entered however, comments will not be counted as entries.  Mandatory entries include name, email address and the item you like best after visiting the Kickin' Creations CWCB store.  You may "like" the Kickin' Creations Facebook page for a bonus entry, and double your chances!  This post will be updated daily (or so) with the # of entries received, for those of you who like to know your odds.


I will accept entries until Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 at 9 P.M. Eastern.  I will select a winner using random.org's true random number generator and notify him/her by email.  View my giveaway rules page for complete details.  This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

# of entries as of September 21st, 2010 at 8:30 P.M.: 116



FTC Compliance: I was provided with review samples for the cost of shipping, and a giveaway winner will receive a free item as well.  I was not otherwise compensated for this post; I was not required or requested to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Planet Wise wet bags

I love my Planet Wise small wet bag, but I wanted a few more.  You can read more about why I love them in my wish list post.

The colors and prints are adorable. 

I got a medium, to give me a little more wiggle room than the small I have now (that holds 2 diapers but it's a tight fit).

I also got a wet/dry bag, which is almost exactly the same size as the medium bag.  However, it has a separate "dry" pocket on the outside to hold clean diapers, and also has a snap loop handle.  I thought this would be great to keep several diapers in the car when we were going to be out and about for a bit longer and would need more than the two or so I could easily fit in my bag.

I fit four clean diapers with no trouble & tons more room.

I also got a large wet bag to keep in the laundry room to use as a diaper pail basically.

I looped it on the drawer handle for now.  It's awesome!  It fits a day's worth of diapers (10) easily, with no wicking & no smell.  Boy does it stink when I unzip it at the end of the day, ha ha!  I've put dripping wet diapers in it after rinsing, and it doesn't leak when closed, even if I hold it upside down.

At the end of the day, I just unzip and shake the diapers into the washer.  I pull the inserts out and fold laundry tabs in before I put them in the wet bag to make things simpler.  Then I toss the bag in too!

You can dry these in the dryer, but I want to baby them, so I hung them to dry.  The insides of the bags are PUL.

By morning, it's dry & ready to use again, but I'd love to have a second one, so I can have one in use constantly.

I wish all of the wet bags had the loop handle.  A medium would be great to hang on the dishwasher handle to hold wet towels, dish cloths, and cloth napkins (when I finally get some!)  It would also be handy to be able to loop a wet bag around my diaper bag handle.  I love the wet/dry bag, but I usually just keep 1 or 2 diapers and a folded up wet bag in my bag for short trips.  It workd wonderfully, but would be convenient to hang it on my bag handle instead of trying to shove it back in the bag.

I also got a large "basic" pail liner.

The outside is super soft and it has an elastic drawstring and PUL inside.

I haven't tried it in my diaper dekor yet.  As I said in my post about pails, I'm not sure if it would be worth the trouble, it might be easier to stick with what I'm doing now!

Pail or no pail

Part of my going with the flow has actually been not using a diaper pail.  I went from 3 to 6 to 12 to 15 diapers, so I was/am constantly washing.  I was essentially using my washing machine as a diaper pail, which only became a problem when I was doing laundry (pretty much every other day). 

When that happened, I just put the diaper sin the utility sink.  That's fine, but it can get a little smelly.

If my husband changes a diaper, he just puts the dirty one there, and I have to fold the laundry tabs and pull the insert.

I've been interested in trying a pail liner, probably one with a drawstring, to see if it would fit in my diaper dekor pail.  However, since I wash daily, it seems like an extra step.  It would work wonderfully if all diapers had their laundry tabs folded in and their inserts removed before being put in the pail, so I could just dump it into the washer and go.  Otherwise I'll be left wading through a dozen stinky diapers to find inserts & tabs.  I'd probably still miss one and up with a diaper chain and an insert wadded up inside a diaper.

So the other thought was keeping a wet bag in the laundry room .  I wanted to do that anyway so I had a good place to keep dirties after spraying.  If I put them all in there, my husband could still just put the rare diaper he changes, into the sink.  It's a short trip to the laundry room, which is outside my kitchen, so it's really no big deal.

Go with the flow

The best piece of advice I could give for getting started with cloth is to go with the flow. 

People who know me well know how unlike me that really is.  I wish I were easygoing, but I'm just not.  I have to have everything planned, figured out, all scenarios worked through in my head.  It's only been in recent years that I've accepted that I'm wound a little bit tightly and that's OK.

When I thought about starting cloth, I wanted to know exactly what brand to buy, how many,  and how often I would wash.  I wanted to wash, dry, stuff, fold and put away.  I wanted to have some upstairs and some downstairs.  A pail up and a pail down.  Everything neat and in order.  I wanted a stash in the diaper bag at all times.  Now, I just grab a couple as we're leaving, depending on how long we'll be gone, and go with it.  I needed to know exactly what my washing routine would be.  Now, I vary it based on whether they are wet or dirty, how many there are, whether they're stinky and so forth.

As I've been trying new things, my initial intent was to figure out what brand I wanted to stock up on.  I've managed to loosen up and take a different approach.  Instead, I am just trying new things and figuring out what I like best.  If there's something I really like, I will choose that brand if I have a few bucks to spend on diapers, or if there's a really good sale.  If it's not my favorite, it will be at the bottom of the pile, in essence a "laundry day" diaper.

While I was expecting my first child, I was worrying about the teenage years, college and weddings.  So when I was thinking about cloth diapering, I was worrying about solid foods and potty training.   I'm working on a post about solid foods and cloth diapers now, but again, right now I am just doing what works for us.

We're actually using our laundry room as a "diaper pail" right now, either throwing the diapers directly into the washer, or putting them in the utility sink if I am doing other laundry.  If we change one upstairs (usually just one or two a day up there) we just carry it down.  Definitely NOT what my little organized mind wants, but it's working for us!

I am really proud of myself for being able to stick with what works for us right now & not worrying too much about tomorrow.

Lil Outlaws Detergent

One of the moms from one of my cloth diaper groups owns lil' outlaws.  She makes/sells diaper safe laundry detergent, cloth wipe solution concentrate, cloth safe diaper cream and more.

She honored my special request and packed my order with smaller portions of five different scents of detergent!  I chose baby bee, butt naked, baby powder fresh, laundromat and midsummer's night. 

My order got here today and the package made my house deliciously smelly before I'd even opened it.  The scents all smell great, though they are very strong smelling in their bags.  They smell heavenly in the washer & after washing though (the smell makes my whole laundry room smell great).  I got the normal strength scent but she also offers heavy, extra heavy, light & extra light.  I've had a bit of a headache this evening from all the new smells, but from my experience with the last bag, the scent will mellow a bit after the bag has been open a while.  I actually suggest that if you "stock up" when you order, store the bags in a closet or drawer that needs some freshening, the bag will do duty as an air freshener until you're ready to use it!

I used the butt naked on diapers tonight, it is fruity & clean smelling.  I don't know what it reminds me of. 

She recommends 1/2-1T for a load in an HE washer, but I use less than half that amount for a smaller load of diapers.  I washed my hubby's coats in the midsummer's night & used more than I needed to make them smell extra good.  There is no soap or suds so there's no risk to your laundry or your washer by using more!  It smells just like the Yankee Candle scent.

The last detergent I bought (Giggles, smells just like Johnson's buddies body wash) is actually only maybe half finished and I've been using it for about 6 weeks. I just couldn't resist some new scents!  I also would like to switch over to using lil' outlaws on ALL of my laundry.  I want to see how it does, but I think it would be much better for our clothes, our skin, our washer and our septic system than the sudsy, chemical laden, gummy liquid kind!

**edit, it is doing awesome on all of our clothes & has even gotten rid of the weird, musty funk smell my 9 month old washer had!  My son's clothes don't have a residual sour milk smell like they did with Method baby either! 

The scent on clothing is very faint after washing/drying (we have soft water AND a water softener) but to me that is good, since you can enjoy the scent you like without worrying about smelling like you bathed in muffins, hee.  I did notice that some scents are stronger than others.

When I put a whole Tablespoon in with my hubby's coats though, the smell was noticeable & wonderful, though everything gets clean with much less.  If you want the smell to stick around more, choose heavy or extra heavy scent.  I would, but I don't know if my nose could take the initial smelliness!**

I'm already making my list of scents for my next order.  Lemon, Amazing Grace, Rice Flower & Shea and Winter Candy Apple.  This yummy detergent sure makes laundry more enjoyable!  Once I find a favorite scent, I plan to figure out what strength works best for that particular scent and stick with it.  However, the scents are so tempting, I probably will keep wanting to try them all!!

I still really want to try her wipes solution, rump rub and pail pardner.  I'm not sure what the pail pardner comes packaged in.  I guess you could put it in a baby powder shaker?  I could definitely see that turning into a giant mess with little ones around though!  I do think I'll wait until I find a favorite scent before I order that, although I will probably end up choosing baby powder for upstairs and lemon or midsummer's night for downstairs!

P.S. Jacklen also offers Gift Certificates!  If you are having buildup, repelling or stink issues, or if you have sensitivity issues and have tried other "green" or "homemade" products, to no avail, please give lil' outlaws a try!  You won't regret it!!

Edit August 2010: This stopped working for me for some reason, I don't know if the makeup of my water changed or what!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I've been a very good girl this year.  I won't elaborate since you see me when I'm not sleeping and you know when I'm awake rocking someone or tucking someone else in!  As such, I am going to go crazy with my wish list.  Hee hee.

First and foremost, I would like more diapers, so I don't have to wash twice per day anymore!

I have one Blueberry Minky one size diaper in blue latte, but there are so many other styles and patterns I'd like to try!  The Blueberry One-Size Minky Bamboo Velour has a bamboo/organic cotton inner instead of microfleece.  Then there's the Blueberry One Size Bamboo Velour Diaper.  Lastly, there's the Blueberry Deluxe One Size Diaper in snaps and hook & loop.  Microfleece wicks moisture away from baby's skin, but it is man made, and some babies can be sensitive to it.

Some come in snaps only and others come in snaps or hook and loop (velcro applix).  Generally speaking, I prefer velcro for ease of diapering and adjustability, but Blueberry's velcro is apparently super strength!  I have such a hard time getting the tabs off of the laundry tabs, I think the laundry tabs may just rip right off.  However, I would not complain if Santa brought velcro!

The prints I love are:

Blue on Chocolate

Blue/Yellow Dots

Lemon Lime

Blue Pop

Sage on Chocolate

Mint Patties

Winter Sage

My favorites are Sage on Chocolate and Lemon Lime.  I try to choose gender neutral prints but I gravitate towards cute boy stuff!  I don't think any of these are too boyish for a girl, but I'm sure if we ever cloth diaper a girl, I will want to buy all the cute, pink & ruffly cloth diapers too.   Eek now I'm feeling kind of guilty for not CDing my daughter.

I love the monkey print velcro diaper I have.  I would love to try one with snaps, as well as other prints in the velcro.

The monkey print on the left is what I have and love.  My daughter loves it too, she doesn't want me to change her brother when he's wearing it!  The peace bears print on the right is the one I'd most love to have!
 
I think the blue hibscus is adorable and would be great for a boy or a girl.

Of course, I'm a sucker for a cute print, so I like them all!

I am really anxious to try Rumparooz.  My favorites are the Lil Monster and kangaroos, but all of the colors and prints are cute!

There are also several accessories I'd love to have

I am definitely wishing for a BumGenius Diaper Sprayer.  We've just started solids and I'm scared.  Heh.  I was scared of some of my daughter's solid food eating dipes, and she wore sposies!

I have a single, small Planet Wise wet bag, but I am coveting several more types.

Why Planet Wise?  First off, they are PVC free and lead free.  Did you know most zippers are painted with lead containing paint?  Scary!  The bags come in awesome prints and are incredibly functional.  They have a locking zipper and hidden/sealed seams for no wicking.  They can be washed & dried with your diapers, though I hang mine dry, as I also do with my PUL diapers.  You can even use the wet/dry bags or large wet bags as a hanging diaper pail. 

Planet Wise is family owned and has very family friendly employee practices.  Not only do their products replace their disposable counterparts, their packaging is recycled/recycleable, and uses soy based ink.  When your children are no longer in diapers, you can use the bags to transport wet bathing suits, dirty laundry, even use them to separate shoes or toiletries from the rest of your suitcase when traveling.  I'm guilty of using plastic bags for all of these things!

The wet/dry bag would be excellent for storing multiple diapers when we are going to be away from home for more than a few hours.

I like the Geometric Studio

Black Curly Q

and aqua swirl.

I'd also like some medium wet bags for the diaper bag, and a couple of large wet bags to use for after rinsing dirty diapers.  The small bag fits two dirty one-size pockets, but it's a little snug.  The mediums would be a little easier for more than 1 I think. 

I like the blue vista

Black Curly Q

and aqua swirl

I'd also love to have the cloth wipes/pouch and a small squirt bottle for wipes solution in the diaper bag.  I love that you can actually pre-moisten the wipes to take with you, and the bag won't leak or wick!

This is a little off topic but they have this little mini wet dry bag.  How awesome is that.  Very discreet for using mama cloth when out and about.  I've heard ladies say they use small wet bags in their bathrooms as well.

I haven't decided if I want to use a diaper pail or not, but I wouldn't mind a large liner to try out.  I'm interested in one with a drawstring so I can see if it would work in the Diaper Dekor pails I have.

I would like some Thayer's Alcohol Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel to use in my wipes solution.  It is extra soothing to little bums, and can help preserve wipes solution as well.

I'd also like another tube of Grandma El's diaper rash remedy to keep upstairs.

We don't have a chimney, and Santa probably doesn't like Almond Milk, so I'll hang onto this wish list just in case I win the lottery.  :-D  You know, so I don't have to waste any time deciding what to spend the money on.  Hee hee.

All images used with permission.