The future of Cloth, Part III of ? Types and sizing

This is part 3 of my ramblings on the future of cloth.  See Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them!

As modern cloth evolves, I expect to see more "hybrid" diapers like the Amp Duo Diaper and the Softbums Omni.  Diapers that allow you to use them as a pocket diaper, all-in-two, or a cover with prefolds.  So you don't necessarily have to choose and invest in just one type.  We've already seen a pretty big boom with the hybrid/all-in two styles with wipe-able shells like the Best Bottom Diapering System, the Flip and others.

I also hope/expect to see even more insert options, more natural fibers, trim inserts, perhaps combined with a soft, wicking fabric on top, like microfleece.  I think if there were even more disposable/flushable/compostable inserts available, it would help people test the waters with cloth, and realize that washing the inserts really isn't a big leap!

One-size diapers have gained enormous popularity in the past few years.  When I researched cloth in 2004 for my daughter, I don't recall seeing any pocket diapers with the "snap down" rise one-size feature that is so common today.  Bumgenius was founded in late 2005, but I don't know who was the first to do this style.  I believe the "one size" fold down rise that's common on fitted diapers today, was introduced by Mother-Ease.

While they are great, in the future I see more companies considering a two-size system like the Thirsties Duo Diaper.  I didn't start cloth diapering my son until he was about 14 pounds at 4 months old, so I don't have experience cloth diapering a newborn.  Many "one size" diapers claim to fit starting at 6 or 8 pounds, but I hear many say they didn't fit well until about 10 pounds, and I don't at all doubt that is truth.  This means that most people will need to purchase newborn/extra-small diapers, unless they plan to use disposables in the beginning.

On the other end of the spectrum, Moms with larger babies or late potty trainers (learners) say the "one-size" diapers didn't fit through potty training.  Not only that, but you can't necessarily expect a diaper that's been in constant use for 2 1/2-3 years, to last through another child.

The two size diapers seem to be the perfect compromise between sized and one-size diapers.  No need to buy newborn, one-size and extra-large, or newborn, small, medium etc.  Two sizes truly cover the range from newborn to potty training.  it seems like such an ingenious idea to me, I'm surprised more companies haven't caught on.  I am still hoping that Bumgenius will come out with a mini-one size pocket diaper!

I think I'm going to stop here since I'm trying not to make these posts tl;dr worthy (too long, didn't read!)  I have more on my mind about the future of cloth, so stay tuned!

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Review & Giveaway (2 winners!) CLOSED

Mrs. Meyer's makes "Clean Day" aromatherapeutic household cleaners.  All products are cruelty-free, and have never been tested on animals.  There are no solvents, no petroleum distillates, no bleach, no phosphates and no ingredients that could cause harsh fumes.  Most of their products have a near neutral pH that makes them safe for skin contact.  

Their products are also environmentally friendly.  All of their liquid cleaning products are biodegradable, and the powdered products break down into "non-harmful decomposition products."

They are middle of the road, in my opinion, as far as being "natural" goes.  Here is what they have to say: We use naturally derived ingredients whenever possible from corn, sugar cane, coconut and palm. When we cannot find a plant-derived ingredient that performs to our rigorous standards, we use ingredients from the world of safe synthetics. These are materials with a long history of safety and efficacy in use for people and the environment they live in. At Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, we do our best every day to make our formulations as natural as possible without compromising freshness, and performance.

Mrs. Meyers sent me dish soap, hand soap and all purpose cleaner in the Lemon Verbena Scent.

The all purpose cleaner is to be diluted 1/4 cup to 1 gallon of water.  You can also use 4 Tablespoons to a half bottle of water to make a refill for the countertop spray.  The MSRP of a 32 oz concentrated bottle is $7.99.

I went off in hunt of an empty spray bottle and came home with a bottle of countertop spray!

A 32 oz, empty Rubbermaid bottle (the only one I could find other than travel size/personal care bottles) was $3.99 and out of stock.  The 16 oz bottle of countertop spray was also $3.99!  Easy choice.

The countertop spray is basically the all purpose cleaner, with an additional vegetable protein extract added to remove odors.

The spray is safe for all non-porous surfaces, so I suppose I technically should not be using it on my counters.

Don't tell the granite police on me, m'kay?  I think they look great!

The liquid hand soap is 12.5 ounces with an MSRP of $3.99.

It does contain sodium laureth sulfate.

I think the pump blends in nicely with my kitchen!

The soap foamed nicely, though it didn't make big, giant bubbles.  It rinsed off cleanly and easily in our soft water, something I can't say about other soaps.  Initially I thought the scent was a bit strong for my sensitive sniffer, but it mellowed out shortly after I washed my hands.  The scent sticks around, but it doesn't stay terribly strong.

I also received the dish soap in the lemon verbena scent.

I really don't hand wash a lot of dishes.  Mostly things that don't fit in the dishwasher, can't go in the dishwasher, or things that can't wait for the dishwasher to be full.  I washed the cake saver thingie that my son's Birthday cake was in; it had some pretty caked on, greasy buttercream icing and fondant on it.

Just a little squirt.

Nice and clean.  Rinsed easily.  The lemon verbena scent actually reminds me of lemon dish soap.  Hard to describe, but it is much milder and more earthy smelling then the fresh, citrusy "kitchen lemon" type scent.

Mrs. Meyers has so many more products.  I smelled the Baby Blossom scent at a store and it smells heavenly!  They have geranium, lavender and basil scents in all sorts of household products.  I'd love to try the automatic dish packs, window spray or toilet bowl cleaner.  Scrubbing toilets is bad enough; having to smell the stinky cleaner just adds insult to injury.  I'd rather smell geraniums! 

Interested?  Find Mrs. Meyer's products at a store near you, or shop online.

Or, win it.  Mrs. Meyer's is generously offering two winners Dish Soap, Hand Soap and Countertop spray in their choice of scent!

Here's how to enter:  You may do any or all of the below.  Leave a separate comment for each entry.  Please be sure your email address is in at least one of your comments if it isn't visible in your profile.

1. Browse Mrs. Meyer's products and tell me what products and scents you like best.

2. Subscribe to my blog via RSS feed/feedburner.

3. "Like" me on Facebook.

4. "Follow" me on Twitter.  (Anyone else humming "every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watchin' you?")

5. Tweet about this giveaway.  One tweet per day please.  Please include a link to this post.  You may use this tweet if you like: Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day prize packs - 2 winners from @chgdiapers, ends 6/21 http://bit.ly/8ZWdrX

This is open to the U.S. only.  I will accept entries until Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 9 P.M. Eastern. I'll select the winners with random.org's true random number generator and contact the winners by email.  Products will be sent directly from the manufacturer.

Thank you to Mrs. Meyer's for providing the review and giveaway products.  Though I was given products at no charge for review purposes, all opinions are genuine and my own.  Your opinions may vary.

Biokleen Bac Out

I had noticed that some of my diapers, specifically the BumGenius, had a stinky smell to them.  It seems that "microfiber stink" is fairly common, but the stink I was experiencing wasn't an ammonia or urine smell, it's more of a musty, wet towel smell.

Enter Biokleen Bac Out Stain & Odor eliminator.

I had read up on it online and found it at my local organic market.  It was $7.99 plus tax for a 32 oz concentrated bottle.  The same size bottle without the sprayer was $1.00 less.

Here is the info as listed on the container:

Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator

with Live Enzyme Cultures:

It seems everyone has a Bac-Out story. Bac-Out’s live enzyme-producing cultures attack pet, food and beverage stains, organic waste, and odors until they are gone, digesting them back to nature, safely and naturally. Bac-Out is safe to use around children and pets, even birds.

• Lime Peel Extract cleaning power

• Destroys the toughest odors so they are gone for good

• Excellent for mold and mildew

• Preferred by commercial carpet cleaners nationwide

It seemed a little spendy, but it is a concentrated bottle and it foams when you spray it.  I wish I could capture that in a photo, but I haven't been able to.  I figured if it saved my inserts from stink, it would be well worth it, being cheaper than new inserts!

I sprayed each diaper and insert quite liberally and used a good bit of the bottle. 

I didn't initially realize that I was supposed to soak the diapers after spraying, I washed them right away.  The spray smelled wonderful, a fresh, lime scent, and left the diapers simply smelling clean.

I even sprayed the washing machine itself, hoping it might help with some of the mustiness I've noticed.

I've got my shower curtain liner soaking now, and I hear it is great for pet odors.  I had used Odo Ban for pet odors in the past, but I'm not a big fan of the eucalyptus scent.

I have to wait & see if it does the trick on the diapers!

Edit August 2010: As of today, the only thing I've found that truly takes the ammonia smell out of my microfiber inserts is a dab of bleach.