A couple months ago my husband and I purchased enough cloth diapers for a friend of mine to diaper her twins. She has since stopped cloth diapering and gave me back all the diapers we bought her. Her husband had been washing them and ignoring the instructions on how to wash them properly so they were in pretty shabby condition. They were grey instead of white and had all sorts of stains. Now that I have them clean I wish I would have taken before and after pictures but I didn't think of that until too late. After lots of work most of them look brand new again. Here's what I did:
I started out with a hot water soak with a scoop of oxy clean and a tablespoon of blue dawn and used my handy camp washer agitator(plunger with holes drilled in it) to stir it all up. I let that soak for three or four hours agitating it once and a while. Normally I would advise against soaking anything with PUL (waterproof material) but this situation called for drastic measures.
After the soak I dumped the tote out in the shower (we have no bath tub) and spread the diapers and inserts out so that I could spray them down with the shower head. I rinsed them until I saw no more bubbles coming out of them. Then I wrung out as much water as I could get out and put them back in the tote so I could take them up to my inlaws to wash.
Into the HE washer they went with 2 tbs of Ecos Free and Clear Detergent and yes, 1/4 cup of bleach. (I DO NOT RECOMMEND BLEACH under normal circumstances but there are occasions where it is needed like when baby has rotovirus, yeast or impetigo) I set the washer for hot wash and cold rinse with a second rinse. I also found that I must add two large watering cans full of water if I want the diapers to come clean. When I use anything other than CD safe detergent I always follow the first wash cycle with a second wash set the same way except I don't use detergent. This lets me see if all the soap was rinsed out. If I still see suds in the washer I repeat the water only wash cycles until I see no more suds.
I was very happy to find that the diapers came out looking almost new. Now I need to figure out what to do with them because I certainly do not need to keep them for my son. (read the previous post)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Major update: The Addiction has gotten out of control
I have been using cloth diapers on my son for 17 months now and there is a new patrol roaming my house. I now lovingly call my teenage daughter and husband the diaper police. Any time they catch me surfing the web for new diapers I get the same response: " OH NO! We don't need ANY more diapers!" I think they need lights and sirens because it never fails: I get caught. I joined Fluff Envy's Diaper of the Month Club(DOTM) back in October 2010. That was supposed to help alleviate my cravings to get new diapers but no, instead it fueled the fire. EVERY time I see a new diaper I feel the need to order one so I can try it out on the baby. After trying so many new diapers I can definitely say that my preferences have changed. Now I prefer snaps to hook and loop and I prefer natural fibers (bamboo or hemp) over microfiber.
So here what is in my diaper stash now and my thoughts on each diaper:
(I am only discussing my collection of pocket diapers as I have not purchased any new covers)
2 Applecheeks with bamboo inserts- Lemon Zest(yellow) and Storm(white with neon green snaps)
2 Applecheeks Swim Diapers- Corsica (blue with red lining) and Siesta Key (aqua)
I got the first Applecheek as a DOTM and I really wish that I wasn't so stubborn when I first started cloth diapering. I would have gladly used these instead of the pre-folds and and covers that we used. I see Applecheeks as almost a hybrid between the covers and pre-folds and pocket diapers.
3 Blueberry minkies- Saphire(DOTM), Blue Camo and Black (two with bamboo inserts and one with microfiber)
1 Blueberry One Size Bamboo Deluxe- Stars (DOTM)
2 Blueberry Basix- Giraffe and Messy Hands
The Blue Camo Minky was my first Blueberry product and one of my first pocket diapers. I like them all because they are all snaps and they are easy to stuff. I do prefer the bamboo inserts over the microfiber because the microfiber is really bulky. I purchased the Blueberry Basics out of curiosity and quickly found that because they are microfiber they are not absorbent enough for our heavy wetter. I had to add a bamboo doubler but this is not difficult to do because you can reach through the Basix. The Basix are also fitted and side snapping but there are only three snaps which makes it manageable.
1 Bottombumpers One Size in Canary (DOTM)
I have mixed feelings about this diaper. I probably would not have bought it if it weren't for diaper of the month. I love the natural fibers and we have never had a leak issue. I do not love side snapping diapers as I find it difficult to get them fastened on the baby when he is on my lap (which is most of the time). I have also found that the inside of this diaper likes to roll to the outside and if I forget to check it will wick urine onto his cloths.
1 BumGenius Elemental-Grasshopper (DOTM)
This was my first introduction to All in One diapers (AIO). I love that this is all organic cotton. I also like how this one fits nice and trim. I don't like how long it takes to dry and it also seems to stain much worse than any other diaper I own.
1 DreamEze Organic Cotton Fitted
I got this in a diaper grab bag deal from Baby Half Off. This is what started my new night time diaper routine because the first night we tried it there were no leaks at all. He had been soaking through and wet to his armpits every morning. I really wish that these were not discontinued because I would love to get more of these.
3 Fuzzibunz Perfect size- Big Sky (light blue), Blueberry (dark blue) and Watermelon(red)
These are some of my favorites. The way the lower snaps are curved make it easy to get a good fit around the legs. I will admit that at one point I had six but passed three along to a friend that was working on building her stash. I had to add a hemp doubler to the microfiber to increase absorbency. I also at one point had a FuzziBunz one size but did not like how that fit and passed it along to my friend.
1 Goodmama turned print one size- Earth Aware
I LOVE this one! Yes it is technically a fitted and should have a cover over it BUT it is so absorbent that as long as we don't put pants over it we have found no need for a cover. It fits wonderful, it's easy to put on, and its SUPER cute!
1 GroVia All in one- Owls
I love the cuteness of this print, the natural fibers and the trimness of this diaper. This is one I would not mind having more of (as if I really NEED any more).
7 Happy Heinys One Size Pocket- Puppy, Tye Dye Ocean, Red and Black Ooga Booga, Teal Ooga Booga, Jade, Navy and Black
All of these are hook and loop except the black one which is snaps. These used to be our go to for night time diapers now they are just daily use. Like the Fuzzibunz I have added a hemp doubler to the microfiber. Happy Heinys (new design) fit my son very well and are great to use during the day. He started soaking through them at night so we found a new night time solution (more on that later). I love all the different prints and colors that they offer.
1 Itti Bitti Snap in One-Turquoise
1 Itti Bitti Tutto-Silver (DOTM)
Another new favorite of mine! The Itti Bitti diapers seem very complicated at first look with all the different snaps but thanks to all the color coding they are really easy to put together. The Snap in one is a fitted diaper and the Tutto is a one size diaper. They are absorbent, trim fitting and super soft (made of minky fabric)!
2 Kawaii pocket diapers- Denim and camo
I bought these out of curiosity because they were about half the price of other pocket diapers. The two I have are cheaply made and don't fit well at all. I had to purchase other inserts to put in them because the ones they came with leaked no matter what I tried and they have major wing droop problems. I don't see these lasting as long as my other pocket diapers but if some one REALLY wanted to cloth diaper and this was all they could afford it is still a better option than disposable diapers.
1 Kissaluvs Organic Cotton/Hemp fitted
This is one of my new night time diapers. I pair it with a hemp doubler and put a cover over it for bed time. Most of the time he wakes up without leaks and if he does leak through it is only a little at the leg. I like how soft this diaper is and how it fits.
1 Lollidoo Overnight Eco-Pocket Diaper- Dark Blue (DOTM)
This is another good overnight diaper. I love the fact that the fleece is made from recycled plastic bottles and that this company supports work at home moms (they do the sewing). My only real issues is that the metal snaps are sometimes hard to snap.
3 Rumparooz-Platinum (DOTM), Little Monster and Ladder 6
Honestly Rumparooz have to be my all time favorite diaper. If I could I would probably build a whole stash of these and use them exclusively. I prefer the hemp inserts to the microfiber (of course). They have a very trim fit and come in lots of cute colors. I love the way they are made from TPU instead of PUL. I also have their wet bag and love it. The wet bag will hold about 4 days worth of diapers if you have to travel and don't have access to a washer and it also holds all the wet swim stuff including towels.
1 Soft Bums Omni Organic Bamboo (DOTM)-Sprout (green)
This is a one size that can be a pocket or an all in two where the inserts sits on top of the cover. The way to adjust the size is interesting because it uses elastic with a slide clasp that you adjust from the top.
1 sutainablebabysish (sbish) organic bamboo fleece fitted-sprout
This is another one of my night time diapers that I pair with a hemp doubler and cover. I would use this as a replacement of the DreamEze if I could find some to purchase. There seems to be a shortage of sbish products at the moment. The fit is great and its super absorbent.
7 Tots bots Easy Fits- Blueberry (blue-teal), Lemon, Lime, Orange, Pomegranate(red), Starburst and Cosmic
2 Tots Bots Stretch bamboozle (DOTM)
The Easy Fits come second to only the rumparooz. They are very easy to put on and fit almost as trim as a disposable. This is our go to diaper to use for church because it is very easy for some one who has never cloth diapered to use.
The Stretch Bamboozle is another night time diaper paired with a hemp insert and cover and performs about the same as the others.
That's 2 Swim Diapers, 5 over night diapers and 38 every day diapers for a grand total of 45 diapers! And I can't help it I continue to look at more every time I find new ones that I haven't tried yet or any time new colors or prints come out.
(I will come back later and add pictures as I find time to take them.)
So here what is in my diaper stash now and my thoughts on each diaper:
(I am only discussing my collection of pocket diapers as I have not purchased any new covers)
2 Applecheeks with bamboo inserts- Lemon Zest(yellow) and Storm(white with neon green snaps)
2 Applecheeks Swim Diapers- Corsica (blue with red lining) and Siesta Key (aqua)
I got the first Applecheek as a DOTM and I really wish that I wasn't so stubborn when I first started cloth diapering. I would have gladly used these instead of the pre-folds and and covers that we used. I see Applecheeks as almost a hybrid between the covers and pre-folds and pocket diapers.
3 Blueberry minkies- Saphire(DOTM), Blue Camo and Black (two with bamboo inserts and one with microfiber)
1 Blueberry One Size Bamboo Deluxe- Stars (DOTM)
2 Blueberry Basix- Giraffe and Messy Hands
The Blue Camo Minky was my first Blueberry product and one of my first pocket diapers. I like them all because they are all snaps and they are easy to stuff. I do prefer the bamboo inserts over the microfiber because the microfiber is really bulky. I purchased the Blueberry Basics out of curiosity and quickly found that because they are microfiber they are not absorbent enough for our heavy wetter. I had to add a bamboo doubler but this is not difficult to do because you can reach through the Basix. The Basix are also fitted and side snapping but there are only three snaps which makes it manageable.
1 Bottombumpers One Size in Canary (DOTM)
I have mixed feelings about this diaper. I probably would not have bought it if it weren't for diaper of the month. I love the natural fibers and we have never had a leak issue. I do not love side snapping diapers as I find it difficult to get them fastened on the baby when he is on my lap (which is most of the time). I have also found that the inside of this diaper likes to roll to the outside and if I forget to check it will wick urine onto his cloths.
1 BumGenius Elemental-Grasshopper (DOTM)
This was my first introduction to All in One diapers (AIO). I love that this is all organic cotton. I also like how this one fits nice and trim. I don't like how long it takes to dry and it also seems to stain much worse than any other diaper I own.
1 DreamEze Organic Cotton Fitted
I got this in a diaper grab bag deal from Baby Half Off. This is what started my new night time diaper routine because the first night we tried it there were no leaks at all. He had been soaking through and wet to his armpits every morning. I really wish that these were not discontinued because I would love to get more of these.
3 Fuzzibunz Perfect size- Big Sky (light blue), Blueberry (dark blue) and Watermelon(red)
These are some of my favorites. The way the lower snaps are curved make it easy to get a good fit around the legs. I will admit that at one point I had six but passed three along to a friend that was working on building her stash. I had to add a hemp doubler to the microfiber to increase absorbency. I also at one point had a FuzziBunz one size but did not like how that fit and passed it along to my friend.
1 Goodmama turned print one size- Earth Aware
I LOVE this one! Yes it is technically a fitted and should have a cover over it BUT it is so absorbent that as long as we don't put pants over it we have found no need for a cover. It fits wonderful, it's easy to put on, and its SUPER cute!
1 GroVia All in one- Owls
I love the cuteness of this print, the natural fibers and the trimness of this diaper. This is one I would not mind having more of (as if I really NEED any more).
7 Happy Heinys One Size Pocket- Puppy, Tye Dye Ocean, Red and Black Ooga Booga, Teal Ooga Booga, Jade, Navy and Black
All of these are hook and loop except the black one which is snaps. These used to be our go to for night time diapers now they are just daily use. Like the Fuzzibunz I have added a hemp doubler to the microfiber. Happy Heinys (new design) fit my son very well and are great to use during the day. He started soaking through them at night so we found a new night time solution (more on that later). I love all the different prints and colors that they offer.
1 Itti Bitti Snap in One-Turquoise
1 Itti Bitti Tutto-Silver (DOTM)
Another new favorite of mine! The Itti Bitti diapers seem very complicated at first look with all the different snaps but thanks to all the color coding they are really easy to put together. The Snap in one is a fitted diaper and the Tutto is a one size diaper. They are absorbent, trim fitting and super soft (made of minky fabric)!
2 Kawaii pocket diapers- Denim and camo
I bought these out of curiosity because they were about half the price of other pocket diapers. The two I have are cheaply made and don't fit well at all. I had to purchase other inserts to put in them because the ones they came with leaked no matter what I tried and they have major wing droop problems. I don't see these lasting as long as my other pocket diapers but if some one REALLY wanted to cloth diaper and this was all they could afford it is still a better option than disposable diapers.
1 Kissaluvs Organic Cotton/Hemp fitted
This is one of my new night time diapers. I pair it with a hemp doubler and put a cover over it for bed time. Most of the time he wakes up without leaks and if he does leak through it is only a little at the leg. I like how soft this diaper is and how it fits.
1 Lollidoo Overnight Eco-Pocket Diaper- Dark Blue (DOTM)
This is another good overnight diaper. I love the fact that the fleece is made from recycled plastic bottles and that this company supports work at home moms (they do the sewing). My only real issues is that the metal snaps are sometimes hard to snap.
3 Rumparooz-Platinum (DOTM), Little Monster and Ladder 6
Honestly Rumparooz have to be my all time favorite diaper. If I could I would probably build a whole stash of these and use them exclusively. I prefer the hemp inserts to the microfiber (of course). They have a very trim fit and come in lots of cute colors. I love the way they are made from TPU instead of PUL. I also have their wet bag and love it. The wet bag will hold about 4 days worth of diapers if you have to travel and don't have access to a washer and it also holds all the wet swim stuff including towels.
1 Soft Bums Omni Organic Bamboo (DOTM)-Sprout (green)
This is a one size that can be a pocket or an all in two where the inserts sits on top of the cover. The way to adjust the size is interesting because it uses elastic with a slide clasp that you adjust from the top.
1 sutainablebabysish (sbish) organic bamboo fleece fitted-sprout
This is another one of my night time diapers that I pair with a hemp doubler and cover. I would use this as a replacement of the DreamEze if I could find some to purchase. There seems to be a shortage of sbish products at the moment. The fit is great and its super absorbent.
7 Tots bots Easy Fits- Blueberry (blue-teal), Lemon, Lime, Orange, Pomegranate(red), Starburst and Cosmic
2 Tots Bots Stretch bamboozle (DOTM)
The Easy Fits come second to only the rumparooz. They are very easy to put on and fit almost as trim as a disposable. This is our go to diaper to use for church because it is very easy for some one who has never cloth diapered to use.
The Stretch Bamboozle is another night time diaper paired with a hemp insert and cover and performs about the same as the others.
That's 2 Swim Diapers, 5 over night diapers and 38 every day diapers for a grand total of 45 diapers! And I can't help it I continue to look at more every time I find new ones that I haven't tried yet or any time new colors or prints come out.
(I will come back later and add pictures as I find time to take them.)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Washing Cloth Diapers
After using cloth diapers for the last seven months I think I pretty much have the care of my diapers down to a science. We have a bucket that we keep next to the changing table that we put dirty diapers in. Every night I take the bucket to the bathroom and shake the solids into the toilet (unless they are super stinky then they get taken care of right away) and I rinse all the diapers that were used that day and put them in the diaper pail. Our diaper pail is simply a medium size trash can (about 8 gallons) after three or four days I put the diaper pail full of rinsed diapers into the shower and add a 1 cup scoop of oxyclean and fill the diaper pail full of HOT water to soak overnight. Then in the morning I dump out the water from the diaper pail and wring out any excess water so its not so heavy to carry (we have to go down two flights of stairs and drive to my inlaws to do laundry.) Once I dump the diapers into the washer I add two scoops (I pirated this one out of a small oxyclean container) of Lulu's in the Fluff Glamour Wash (http://lulusinthefluff.com/) also available at http://www.fluffenvy.com/. I have the washer set on 30 min soak with Hot Wash and Cold Rinse and always do a second rinse. I also have the water set on the super load size.
I have also discovered that there is a prepping that should be done on prefolds and on any organic insert. I didn't know this when I started and the only prepping that my prefolds got was a wash in diaper soap. Now I know that any prefold and organic insert needs to be washed five or six times before use to make sure you get the natural oils off of them. One other thing that I have found is that you have to be careful with the diaper rash ointments that you use with cloth diapers. Some can leave residue on the diapers that stop absorbancy. Our new found diaper cream is called CJ's Butter, I love the Cucumber Melon and the Cherry Almond scents.
Well that is my explaination of how I wash my diapers...hope you enjoyed it!
I have also discovered that there is a prepping that should be done on prefolds and on any organic insert. I didn't know this when I started and the only prepping that my prefolds got was a wash in diaper soap. Now I know that any prefold and organic insert needs to be washed five or six times before use to make sure you get the natural oils off of them. One other thing that I have found is that you have to be careful with the diaper rash ointments that you use with cloth diapers. Some can leave residue on the diapers that stop absorbancy. Our new found diaper cream is called CJ's Butter, I love the Cucumber Melon and the Cherry Almond scents.
Well that is my explaination of how I wash my diapers...hope you enjoyed it!
Cloth Addiction Update
Ok I have now received two diapers from Diaper of the Month Club from http://www.fluffenvy.com However, I can only tell you what the first one was...Another BlueBerry Minky...this one is the cool Saphire Blue color. The second one I got is really cool and I LOVE using it and I am contemplating buying more of them. But it would be really unfair to disclose what it is until every one in the club gets theirs. I am lucky enough to be local to Fluff Envy's location and I get to pick mine up on the first of the month. Almost every one else has to wait for theirs to come in the mail. As soon as every one gets their diaper I will write my review of it on here.
Here is the updated list of my diaper stash
1 Blue Camo Blueberry Minky pocket diaper (snaps with bamboo insert)
1 Saphire Blueberry Minky pocket diaper (snaps with bamboo insert)
1 Chocolate KnickerNappie pocket Diaper (snaps)
1 Red KnickerNappie pocket Diaper (snaps)
1 Twilight Katydid pocket diaper
2 Groovy Print WeeHuggers (hook/loop) cover
1 Round-About print weehuggers (hook/loop) cover
2 Pistacio weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
2 Chocolate sky weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
1 Twilight Flip One-Size Diaper conver (snaps)
1 Moonbeam Flip One-size diaper cover (snaps)
1 Mango Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Ocean Blue Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Meadow Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Scrappy cover from Cheeky Diapers (both snaps and hook and loop)
1 Red, black and white Ooga Booga Print Happy Heiny pocket diaper (hook and loop)
1 Ocean Tye Dye Happy Heiny Pocket Diaper (Hook and Loop)
(all covers and wraps are used with prefolds)
At this point I feel driven to purchase every cute print of every diaper that I know I like. My current favorites are the Happy Heiny diapers that I have purchased in the last month and the new one that I can't talk about yet. They keep coming out with adorable prints and I keep wanting to buy these adorable prints even when the baby really doesn't need any more diapers. Joining the Diaper of the Month Club was theoretically supposed to quell my desire to spontaneously buy diapers but I think it is just making it worse. Honestly I am leaning more toward using exclusively pocket diapers and if I were to do that we would need to get more for sure. I love the convience of just fastening the diaper on the baby and not have to worry about getting the prefold in the right spot and folding it over in the right way or making sure all the corners are tucked in so the pee doesn't wick out onto his clothes.
Here is the updated list of my diaper stash
1 Blue Camo Blueberry Minky pocket diaper (snaps with bamboo insert)
1 Saphire Blueberry Minky pocket diaper (snaps with bamboo insert)
1 Chocolate KnickerNappie pocket Diaper (snaps)
1 Red KnickerNappie pocket Diaper (snaps)
1 Twilight Katydid pocket diaper
2 Groovy Print WeeHuggers (hook/loop) cover
1 Round-About print weehuggers (hook/loop) cover
2 Pistacio weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
2 Chocolate sky weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
1 Twilight Flip One-Size Diaper conver (snaps)
1 Moonbeam Flip One-size diaper cover (snaps)
1 Mango Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Ocean Blue Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Meadow Thirsties Duo Wrap (hook and loop)
1 Scrappy cover from Cheeky Diapers (both snaps and hook and loop)
1 Red, black and white Ooga Booga Print Happy Heiny pocket diaper (hook and loop)
1 Ocean Tye Dye Happy Heiny Pocket Diaper (Hook and Loop)
(all covers and wraps are used with prefolds)
At this point I feel driven to purchase every cute print of every diaper that I know I like. My current favorites are the Happy Heiny diapers that I have purchased in the last month and the new one that I can't talk about yet. They keep coming out with adorable prints and I keep wanting to buy these adorable prints even when the baby really doesn't need any more diapers. Joining the Diaper of the Month Club was theoretically supposed to quell my desire to spontaneously buy diapers but I think it is just making it worse. Honestly I am leaning more toward using exclusively pocket diapers and if I were to do that we would need to get more for sure. I love the convience of just fastening the diaper on the baby and not have to worry about getting the prefold in the right spot and folding it over in the right way or making sure all the corners are tucked in so the pee doesn't wick out onto his clothes.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Current Inventory and more
Ok Here is the exact list of my stash:
1 Blue Camo Blueberry Minky pocket diaper
1 Chocolate KnickerNappie pocket Diaper
1 Red KnickerNappie pocket Diaper
1 Twilight Katydid pocket diaper
2 Groovy Print WeeHuggers (hook/loop) cover
1 Round-About print weehuggers (hook/loop) cover
2 Pistacio weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
2 Chocolate sky weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
1 Twilight Flip One-Size Diaper conver
1 Moonbeam Flip One-size diaper cover
1 Mango Thirsties Duo Wrap
1 Ocean Blue Thirsties Duo Wrap
1 Meadow Thirsties Duo Wrap
SO that makes four pocket diapers (so far the minky is my favorite for looks but the Katydid is my fav for function) and 12 covers of which the Weehuggers are by far my favorite. These are in addition to countless prefold diapers as well as some soakers. I actually caught myself designing a diaper in my head today...a black and orange one with the fleur-de-lis on it for my daughters high school....I decided against that one, it was going a little too far for school spirit.
My next big thing to look forward to is the Diaper of the Month Club that is starting in October...be ready for more blogging!
1 Blue Camo Blueberry Minky pocket diaper
1 Chocolate KnickerNappie pocket Diaper
1 Red KnickerNappie pocket Diaper
1 Twilight Katydid pocket diaper
2 Groovy Print WeeHuggers (hook/loop) cover
1 Round-About print weehuggers (hook/loop) cover
2 Pistacio weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
2 Chocolate sky weehuggers ( one hook/loop & one snaps) cover
1 Twilight Flip One-Size Diaper conver
1 Moonbeam Flip One-size diaper cover
1 Mango Thirsties Duo Wrap
1 Ocean Blue Thirsties Duo Wrap
1 Meadow Thirsties Duo Wrap
SO that makes four pocket diapers (so far the minky is my favorite for looks but the Katydid is my fav for function) and 12 covers of which the Weehuggers are by far my favorite. These are in addition to countless prefold diapers as well as some soakers. I actually caught myself designing a diaper in my head today...a black and orange one with the fleur-de-lis on it for my daughters high school....I decided against that one, it was going a little too far for school spirit.
My next big thing to look forward to is the Diaper of the Month Club that is starting in October...be ready for more blogging!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Intro to My Addicition
What is Fluff? Can you really be addicted to it? For those of you that don't have babies in cloth diapers Fluff is simply a cute way to say cloth diaper (CD or Fluff from this point out.) Yes you can be addicted to it, or at least you can be addicted to buying Fluff in all shapes, sizes and colors. In my case OBSESSED may be a better word than addicted. or in the words of my hubby "you are crazy obesessed woman"
My Fluff experience started fourteen years ago when my Dear Daughter (DD henceforth) was a baby. I was lucky enough for my mom to pay for a diaper service ( I was ignorant of chemicals at the time.) This was back in the day when Meijer carried the covers in their store (I still have some in storage that my DD used as doll dipes and will post pics of them when I come across them) CD was so easy, just put the prefold in the cover and velco it on the baby- put the dirty diapers in the nice stainless steel diaper pail provided by the service along with air fresheners and once a week put the bag of dirty diapers out in the morning and pick up the clean ones in the afternoon.
So when my Dear Son (DS henceforth) was born I figured that we should use Fluff for him too but for different reasons this time. This time I was prepared to do the washing myself and understood that it would be more labor intensive but I wanted to know exactly what chemicals my DS was going to be exposed to. My Dear Husband (DH henceforth) and I wanted to keep diapers out of the landfills and not have to worry about buying diapers every week and the work of rising the Fluff every night was worth it. By this point I decided that I wanted a similar system to what I used for my DD- prefold CD and Cover...the issue is that Meijer no longer carries the covers so I began my quest for covers. My sister gave me a website address for a store in Michigan that carried some supplies but I really wanted to be able to hold the covers and examine them in person and not just on a webpage...I found a cover I liked that was as close to what my DD used and did a search through their manufacture page and found my current Fluff supplier. She let us come to her "showroom" and look at what she had in persone. We started out with the Thirsties Duo Wraps. http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_13/Thirsties-Duo-Wrap.htm
DS wore those until he out grew the size one, which he seemed to outgrow overnight. We did get adequate use out of the fifteen wraps we had...he wore them for five months and they have now been handed off to CD another baby.
Now I was faced with having to get larger wraps. At the same time DH and I had started putting DS in the nursery at church and a few of the poor nursery workers shied away from the Fluff. I wanted to find something a little easier for them so I started to get a little Fluff adventerous at this point. In addition to my search for an easier diaper and a discount offered for buying something red, white or blue I decided to try a Knickernappies Once Size diaper (in red to get the discount). http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_90/Knickernappies-OneSize-Diaper.htm
This was my first pocket type diaper ("A pocket diaper is a popular diaper style that has a moisture-wicking stay-dry lining and a waterproof outer layer. It has a pocket that is made for either a prefold or insert." taken from Fluff Envy's website.) For my first pocket diaper I thought the Knickernappie was ok but it seemed to snap on backwards to me. The flaps from the back of the diaper go across the belly and the front comes and snaps on top. Most diapers the flaps from the back usually attach on top of the front part.
So at this point we have for my DS three size two Thirsties Duo wraps, a red Knickernappies One size diaper and a brown Knickernappies that I got on discount because it was gently used. That is not enough to get through three days worth of diaper needs and I really needed to get more. Then I saw a post of Fluff Envy's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/?ref=home page that she was ordering two new types of diapers for her store Blueberry and WeeHuggers. This is where my current obsession began. I fell in love with the Blueberry Minky http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_281/Blueberry-Minky-One-Size-Snaps.htm
not only because of how soft it was but because it was the first diapers I found in Camo prints. ( any one that knows me knows I go nuts for camo) In addition to the cool prints, seriously just look at all the cute prints the minky comes in, DS would be able to wear them until he was done with diapers. At this point I really must give the makers of the WeeHuggers credit for that cute video they made...just watch it and see what I am talking about. After I watched that video I knew that I HAD to get WeeHuggers http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_278/weehuggers-covers--hookloop.htm. So between my dad and our order we ended up with two WeeHuggers with snaps and four with hook and loops. Personally I prefer the hook and loop because I feel its easier to get them on the wiggly baby that is constantly trying to get away from me.
Now many of you that don't use Fluff may be wondering exactly how much work goes into keeping them clean. I really feel that its not that much work. I keep a bucket next to the changing table that the dirties go into and at night before I go to bed I rinse all the Fluff and put it into a bigger bucket. ("Solids" get shaken into the toilet") When we are on the go I have a couple wet bags with zippers that the dirties go into. The night before I am going to wash diapers I add a scoop of OxyClean to the big bucket full of rinsed dipes and fill it up with HOT water to soak overnight. On laundry day I dump out the water from the bucket and put the dipes in the washer on HOT wash with a scoop of Cruncy Clean Diaper Soap http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_46/Crunchy-Clean-Cloth-Diaper-Detergent.htm
(Monkey Fart is my favorite scent so far) and either put them out on the line to dry in the sun or just throw them in the dryer. I have found a few uses for the Crunchy Clean as well...I put some in a salt shaker and put that in the diaper bag after DD forgot to take the bag of dirties out of it. The diaper bag was a bit stinky and the Crunchy Clean in the salt shaker deodorized it quite well. I also put a scoop of Crunchy Clean in a knee high stocking and tossed it into the dryer with the Fluff for some added deodorizing.
So at this point I am looking to try each and every brand and type of Fluff I can get my hands on just to see how much I like it. I am even seeking out regular T-Shirts for DS so the onsies don't cover his awesome Fluff. Check out this months promotion by Fluff Envy and see which Fluff I am trying to win next...
http://fluffenvy.blogspot.com/2010/08/august-promotion.html#comment-form
Fluff Envy is trying to get to 1750 fans this month. I love this company. Customer sercive is great and they have so much more than just cloth diapers!
My Fluff experience started fourteen years ago when my Dear Daughter (DD henceforth) was a baby. I was lucky enough for my mom to pay for a diaper service ( I was ignorant of chemicals at the time.) This was back in the day when Meijer carried the covers in their store (I still have some in storage that my DD used as doll dipes and will post pics of them when I come across them) CD was so easy, just put the prefold in the cover and velco it on the baby- put the dirty diapers in the nice stainless steel diaper pail provided by the service along with air fresheners and once a week put the bag of dirty diapers out in the morning and pick up the clean ones in the afternoon.
So when my Dear Son (DS henceforth) was born I figured that we should use Fluff for him too but for different reasons this time. This time I was prepared to do the washing myself and understood that it would be more labor intensive but I wanted to know exactly what chemicals my DS was going to be exposed to. My Dear Husband (DH henceforth) and I wanted to keep diapers out of the landfills and not have to worry about buying diapers every week and the work of rising the Fluff every night was worth it. By this point I decided that I wanted a similar system to what I used for my DD- prefold CD and Cover...the issue is that Meijer no longer carries the covers so I began my quest for covers. My sister gave me a website address for a store in Michigan that carried some supplies but I really wanted to be able to hold the covers and examine them in person and not just on a webpage...I found a cover I liked that was as close to what my DD used and did a search through their manufacture page and found my current Fluff supplier. She let us come to her "showroom" and look at what she had in persone. We started out with the Thirsties Duo Wraps. http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_13/Thirsties-Duo-Wrap.htm
DS wore those until he out grew the size one, which he seemed to outgrow overnight. We did get adequate use out of the fifteen wraps we had...he wore them for five months and they have now been handed off to CD another baby.
 |
| Thirsties Duo Wraps and prefolds on the line |
Now I was faced with having to get larger wraps. At the same time DH and I had started putting DS in the nursery at church and a few of the poor nursery workers shied away from the Fluff. I wanted to find something a little easier for them so I started to get a little Fluff adventerous at this point. In addition to my search for an easier diaper and a discount offered for buying something red, white or blue I decided to try a Knickernappies Once Size diaper (in red to get the discount). http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_90/Knickernappies-OneSize-Diaper.htm
This was my first pocket type diaper ("A pocket diaper is a popular diaper style that has a moisture-wicking stay-dry lining and a waterproof outer layer. It has a pocket that is made for either a prefold or insert." taken from Fluff Envy's website.) For my first pocket diaper I thought the Knickernappie was ok but it seemed to snap on backwards to me. The flaps from the back of the diaper go across the belly and the front comes and snaps on top. Most diapers the flaps from the back usually attach on top of the front part.
So at this point we have for my DS three size two Thirsties Duo wraps, a red Knickernappies One size diaper and a brown Knickernappies that I got on discount because it was gently used. That is not enough to get through three days worth of diaper needs and I really needed to get more. Then I saw a post of Fluff Envy's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/?ref=home page that she was ordering two new types of diapers for her store Blueberry and WeeHuggers. This is where my current obsession began. I fell in love with the Blueberry Minky http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_281/Blueberry-Minky-One-Size-Snaps.htm
not only because of how soft it was but because it was the first diapers I found in Camo prints. ( any one that knows me knows I go nuts for camo) In addition to the cool prints, seriously just look at all the cute prints the minky comes in, DS would be able to wear them until he was done with diapers. At this point I really must give the makers of the WeeHuggers credit for that cute video they made...just watch it and see what I am talking about. After I watched that video I knew that I HAD to get WeeHuggers http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_278/weehuggers-covers--hookloop.htm. So between my dad and our order we ended up with two WeeHuggers with snaps and four with hook and loops. Personally I prefer the hook and loop because I feel its easier to get them on the wiggly baby that is constantly trying to get away from me.
 |
| Dear Son wearing his Groovy WeeHuggers |
Now many of you that don't use Fluff may be wondering exactly how much work goes into keeping them clean. I really feel that its not that much work. I keep a bucket next to the changing table that the dirties go into and at night before I go to bed I rinse all the Fluff and put it into a bigger bucket. ("Solids" get shaken into the toilet") When we are on the go I have a couple wet bags with zippers that the dirties go into. The night before I am going to wash diapers I add a scoop of OxyClean to the big bucket full of rinsed dipes and fill it up with HOT water to soak overnight. On laundry day I dump out the water from the bucket and put the dipes in the washer on HOT wash with a scoop of Cruncy Clean Diaper Soap http://www.fluffenvy.com/item_46/Crunchy-Clean-Cloth-Diaper-Detergent.htm
(Monkey Fart is my favorite scent so far) and either put them out on the line to dry in the sun or just throw them in the dryer. I have found a few uses for the Crunchy Clean as well...I put some in a salt shaker and put that in the diaper bag after DD forgot to take the bag of dirties out of it. The diaper bag was a bit stinky and the Crunchy Clean in the salt shaker deodorized it quite well. I also put a scoop of Crunchy Clean in a knee high stocking and tossed it into the dryer with the Fluff for some added deodorizing.
So at this point I am looking to try each and every brand and type of Fluff I can get my hands on just to see how much I like it. I am even seeking out regular T-Shirts for DS so the onsies don't cover his awesome Fluff. Check out this months promotion by Fluff Envy and see which Fluff I am trying to win next...
http://fluffenvy.blogspot.com/2010/08/august-promotion.html#comment-form
Fluff Envy is trying to get to 1750 fans this month. I love this company. Customer sercive is great and they have so much more than just cloth diapers!
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