Serious Cloth Diaper Questions

[ParaRomeo]

I don't want to sound disrespectful but if you don't wear cloth diapers or have experience with them please save for different thread.

Again I don't want to sound disrespectful but in process of switching over to cloth diapers part time and looking for real advice and help which I appreciate. When I mention doing research or anything like that almost like I did when I first became IC or have a diaper related issue, because info is lacking alot of the information are from pages for parents or baby use which alot can be scaled up but there is also some things that are useless because what's available for kids aren't always available for adults.

So I tried cloth few yrs ago but it was quite confusing and had a hard time getting info or help but I still own most of them but they are mainly contoured or fitted that requires fasteners. I am only looking to use cloth at home and at night time though I wouldn't mind doing short errands but not dealing with cloth diapers while out so I will still use disposables for anytime not home.

I recently ordered from a few places to figure out what brand or type works best like day and night weight prefolds as well as some flats and did get some contoured but slightly bigger than my older ones. I do also have some fitted and pocket diaper that I currently use mainly for night time but because of costs fitted diapers though easy to use aren't practical compared to other options like a Ecoable Fitted is close to $40 vs think Rearz night weight prefold was $24 also flats and prefolds can be used in other ways like I also have diaper covers and worse case you can lay a prefold or whatever in them(also pocket diapers though I own 2 aren't a cost effective option). You may ask why am I trying some when I already own others, well because the company that I previously bought from is no longer in business which sucks because those fitted diapers I work ok and we're affordable because they required pins vs alot of fitted diapers have velcro or snaps also the fabric used though works isn't as good as birdseye, gauze or bamboo and was part of my confusion back than I didn't understand there are different materials and how each works.

My biggest question is once you figure out what combination works best, how many diaper sets do you factor in per day like I know I use between 6-7 disposables should I plan to get that many cloth diapers?

Being disabled washing is already hard so it's not something I can do daily and I figuring depending on week I could do it every 2-3days so my thinking I would need at minimum enough diapers for 3.5 day so if it ends up being 3 days before I can wash I have few changes while the machine are cleaning the others. To me that would be minimum 15 for day and 3 for night so 18 min. The diapers I currently own though they will be in the rotation because I don't have enough of each I really don't want to factor them in my count of to buy but have them as backups also I do know this isn't something I personally can afford to buy at one time. Like if someone suggests ideally I should have 20 I would have to look at funds but using the Rearz Night Weight Prefolds as an example a Dz would be close to $300 but because I do have heavier voids so I do think even for daytime I will need to use a prefold with something added because in same token I would like to keep a similar changing schedule or every 3-4hrs.

My next question is I have heard mix things & though might be more confusing to have more opinions the issue is I trust the opinions I already got & might be a thing I have to try it out but open to feedback. So I have heard that night weight diapers though they work they can be extra work because of added material so like drying will take longer so it's easier to use more day weight ones or layering them. Basically trying to figure out if where I am a heavier wetter do they make a difference or do people have better ideas.

next is kind of specific but it seems from alot of things I have read flats have become very popular to use by parents because they do cost alot less and they can be used like prefolds in various different ways. Does anyone have experience with using flats vs prefolds.

I probably have other questions but for the moment the last question for someone that using cloth part time is there an ideal number of diaper covers(most if not all covers i use have snaps or hook n loop being paralyzed it's quite hard using pull on actually have tore some even when I had an aid they struggled with them). So I think I am pretty good. I currently own 3 older ones though they work & in good condition the velcro fasteners can be finiky and have had some irritation vs like I have 3 Ecoable brand that have snaps I know exactly which snaps to use for best fit & work the best. But I also own 2 pocket diapers (tech 4 but 2 are cheap chinese junk). But to start 6 seems like enough because unless they are soiled you can wipe them out with a baby wipe most sites say they can be used for 3-4 changes before using a different one so thinking 2 per day. I will add that I do plan on getting few Wool or Fleece covers made because of their benefits like being breathable and I will say water resistant vs proof basically if changed promptly but if you stay in a soaked diaper both can absorb what your diaper doesn't, but I seen and read a lot of reviews there is bunch of parents that put a pair on at morning change and unless they need to be swapped out they can be used for the day

I appreciate any and all help

 

[nwm]

Well - I use mostly cloth diapers myself, with the exception of if I am going to be out most of the day. end up in the hospital, ex.
I just use a "Nighttime" diaper all the time because of heavy leaks - never had a daytime grade (at least not since it was my mother dealing with cleaning them), so no real first hand thing to compare frying time to - but it does make sense it would take longer to dry, but likely worth it. One thing with the dry time vs. life of the diaper though. I know it's pretty hard at times, so I end up no doing it much myself - however, if you air-dry instead of machine dry, they do tend to last longer, but tend to be kind of stiff and rough feeling initially, so you still need a dryer to get them right, but because they would already be dry, only for about 10minutes. In any event everything I see (and follow all the time) only use medium heat in the dryer - low will never do anything, and high I seen a lot of places say can cause them to shrink - although I did put some in with high heat ONCE not realizing it was set to high, and nothing seemed to happen to that batch, but still - have not done that after that mistake, and was a bit annoyed about it (the ONE time I was in a rush and didn't check that setting!...)

DO NOT use bleach or fabric softener! - That shortens the life, and tend to make them not absorb as well. Although if there is a heaver stain on them - there is a type of bleach you can spray on it and not hurt them - but at least where I am, not easy to find, but I did manage (obviously). You need a bleach that DOES NOT contain chlorine.

As for the number, that sounds about right - it really depends on the person - but it sounds like we are pretty close there, and I manage with 16 for the week, but really I should have a few more.
Your cover sounds about right as well. I use pull on PUL pants, and have 9 of them and that seems to work out almost perfectly.

 

[Belarin]

because info is lacking alot of the information are from pages for parents or baby use which alot can be scaled up but there is also some things that are useless because what's available for kids aren't always available for adults.

There is definitely a lot less info floating around for adult cloth diapers but as you say a lot of the info for babies/children's cloth can still be valid especially with things like cleaning, layering, fabric types etc.

My biggest question is once you figure out what combination works best, how many diaper sets do you factor in per day like I know I use between 6-7 disposables should I plan to get that many cloth diapers?

Ideally you want to aim for about 4 days worth depending on how much you will use the cloth, for instance if you only plan to use them at home / overnight you may need less than if you were going to be solely using cloth all the time, only you can really do the math on how many you are likely to need per day.

Finding the right diaper that works for you is key, it may be costly to keep trying different brands/styles but everyone experiences different results from different cloth diapers but once you find what works you're good, I personally find pocket diapers to be terrible for me yet AI2's or pouch styles (which work on a similar concept to pockets) work ok, fitteds or flats are best for me though with PUL pants/covers.

Being disabled washing is already hard so it's not something I can do daily and I figuring depending on week I could do it every 2-3days so my thinking I would need at minimum enough diapers for 3.5 day so if it ends up being 3 days before I can wash I have few changes while the machine are cleaning the others. To me that would be minimum 15 for day and 3 for night so 18 min. The diapers I currently own though they will be in the rotation because I don't have enough of each I really don't want to factor them in my count of to buy but have them as backups also I do know this isn't something I personally can afford to buy at one time. Like if someone suggests ideally I should have 20 I would have to look at funds but using the Rearz Night Weight Prefolds as an example a Dz would be close to $300 but because I do have heavier voids so I do think even for daytime I will need to use a prefold with something added because in same token I would like to keep a similar changing schedule or every 3-4hrs.

You don't really have to buy them all at once if you are already using disposables and finance is an issue you can buy them as funds allow this can also allow you to get used to a washing cycle and figure out the best way to clean and dry them. Start by buying just cloth diapers for overnight use and then build from there until you have what you need. 4 days worth is a good amount if you are washing every 2 days, if washing for every 3 days you may need some extras just in case they don't dry quick enough or you have a day or 2 where you need more.

Washing may be an issue if you are less mobile however washing every 2-3 days is ok, I wouldn't go more than 3 days though unless you rinse them each day, I know many parents using cloth will pop the diapers in the machine at the end of the day and just run a cold rinse and spin and leave the full wash until the end of a week, This is not so bad with baby diapers which are much smaller but for an adult would leave you with 2 or 3 max loads for your machine on one day. I tend to wash on the evening after work on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday but I only really use 4 a day in the week (inc. nights) and maybe 5-6 on a weekend

An important thing with washing is load size/weight, you want to be washing at not quite max weight for your machine, this is the weight when clothing is wet. With diapers which can absorb a lot, for adults this may mean only a few diapers, if you are using 7 per day that may well be a full load depending on the type you use and the capacity of your machine and so waiting for 3 days will mean you need to run 2-3 wash cycles to get them all done, whereas using 4 cloth diapers a day will mean you can have 2 days before getting a full wash load.

Depending on where you live there may even be a local cloth diaper laundry service, while these are generally aimed at parents for baby diapers, if you let them know you are disabled and have trouble with regular washing you may be able to find one that can accommodate you, it will cost a little for the service but they would collect, clean and return them to you. These services usually rent baby diapers to parents so you would probably have to supply your own but it may be worth considering.

My next question is I have heard mix things & though might be more confusing to have more opinions the issue is I trust the opinions I already got & might be a thing I have to try it out but open to feedback. So I have heard that night weight diapers though they work they can be extra work because of added material so like drying will take longer so it's easier to use more day weight ones or layering them. Basically trying to figure out if where I am a heavier wetter do they make a difference or do people have better ideas.

It's not just about drying, as I mentioned above your washing machine has a max load weight, if you soak a diaper in the sink and then let the excess run off (or give a gentle squeeze so it stops dripping) then weigh it to get an idea of how many you will be able to put in before reaching that limit. for the ones I use a full fitted night weight diaper with added insert weighs almost as much as 3 of the insert sets I use for my day wear, the insert sets do also dry quicker as although they have probably more layers overall they separate out into thinner pieces.

This is one of the reasons why although I love a full fitted diaper for all the extra padding I tend to use a pouch style with separate inserts for absorbency most of the time (like the threaded armour or Gdiaper style) those smaller inserts mean I can wear more of them before reaching the machines max capacity and therefore wash less often.

Because I am not IC and can easily manage how much I am going in a diaper this works out for me but for someone who is IC and/or a very heavy wetter you might find the only ones that work for you are the thicker diapers, it's a balancing act.

next is kind of specific but it seems from alot of things I have read flats have become very popular to use by parents because they do cost alot less and they can be used like prefolds in various different ways. Does anyone have experience with using flats vs prefolds.

Yeah if I had to choose between the 2 I would go flats every time, while it is a pain in the neck folding them (especially adult sizes at 48" plus) they are much more versatile in what you can do with them. an additional point here is that in some cases it can be cheaper to buy a pack of children's flat diapers and fold them into strips (3rds or 4ths) to use as boosters than it is to buy adult sized inserts and they can work just as well (similar size, number of layers etc.)

I probably have other questions but for the moment the last question for someone that using cloth part time is there an ideal number of diaper covers(most if not all covers i use have snaps or hook n loop being paralyzed it's quite hard using pull on actually have tore some even when I had an aid they struggled with them). So I think I am pretty good. I currently own 3 older ones though they work & in good condition the velcro fasteners can be finiky and have had some irritation vs like I have 3 Ecoable brand that have snaps I know exactly which snaps to use for best fit & work the best. But I also own 2 pocket diapers (tech 4 but 2 are cheap chinese junk). But to start 6 seems like enough because unless they are soiled you can wipe them out with a baby wipe most sites say they can be used for 3-4 changes before using a different one so thinking 2 per day. I will add that I do plan on getting few Wool or Fleece covers made because of their benefits like being breathable and I will say water resistant vs proof basically if changed promptly but if you stay in a soaked diaper both can absorb what your diaper doesn't, but I seen and read a lot of reviews there is bunch of parents that put a pair on at morning change and unless they need to be swapped out they can be used for the day

As long as there is no soiling on the cover (either not used for that or all contained in the diaper) the same cover can easily be used all day if you just wipe it out, I have even used the same cover for a couple days when I have damaged some or have most in the wash. If they are looked after 3-4 covers is plenty to last a week, but I would look to getting more than that when funds allow just to keep them on rotation so they last longer and can be kept cleaner to reduce an chance of smells.

I don't like Velcro either and prefer snaps or pull ons, I do prefer to use PUL over PVC though as it is softer and slightly more breathable.

What I will say though is probably avoid the wool and fleece covers. They are fantastic if, and i mean IF, you are under 3 years old and being changed every 3 hours or so. Yes they are water resistant but an adult pees so much more and much faster than a child and wool wraps just don't do a good job of holding it all in especially if you are a heavy wetter, adult sized ones are expensive and just won't work the same way they do for babies. I have tried. They also do require a little more care as to maintain their water resistance they need to be lanolised once in a while and while they don't need to be washed as often to due their innate properties they need more delicate care to wash or they felt up and shrink.

 

[Napincolove]

Having to use additional absorbancy at night I used to use cloth Terry cloth Nappies but these soon rotted and fell apart some more every wash and then took forever to dry, so I thought I would try microfibre cloths, the misses sourced some decent sized ones 700 x 600 mm and I now use a few of these every night and they do not rot whilst bagged and waiting to be washed and they come up really well after a wash but best of all is they dry so quickly, in these winter months in a cold house they still dry in one day whereas cloth would be out airing for three days.
Very comfortable on the skin too !

 

[ParaRomeo]

Thank you all for the advice it's much appreciated. I do appreciate different viewpoints and or ic vs abdl usage(not meant and one vs other) like Belarin mentioned at times they can control output where depending on level of ic it can vary, in my case I have always been a heavy wetter because I do consume more fluids, also currently taking a diuretic (prescribed) but that increases output. But I do value everyones input b/c everyone has different experiences & knowledge.

So I am planning on only wearing cloth at home and at night and maybe like a short run to the bank or hardware store but I have accidentally worn cloth out and I am all set carrying wet diapers around it's just a pain but I have enough issues remember disposables. I will still use Abena L4 with and w/o boosters for what I call daily use or anytime I am not home or need, I do also have 2 special diapers 1 for when changing is impossible while out & I have at least one case because they aren't made anymore(there are fortunately others) but those were Rearz Inspire+ usually worn with a booster it like I said special occasions, the other special is being IC and a heavy wetter as is if I go out and have more drinks than expected I have found how to layer the cloth diapers I have right now where I won't leak fortunately I can't walk if in could it would probably be a waddle but like Rearz Inspire that combination is rare, though my night cloth is slightly thicker though still trying different things like double diapering vs inserts.

So I currently own 7 diapers, 2 snap fitted by Ecoable(I really like these but their expensive and why I want to try other options), 2 Contoured(unsure of brand), I also have 3 fitted that requires fasteners but I don't know how to explain them because they are a mix of a few styles and I don't know the material. So each one has 2 layers so if your a light wetter it can unsnap and you have 2 diapers but I only used them snapped together (so that's why I consider them 3) the top diaper has a pocket for stuffers. I also have a pocket diaper that I mainly use as a diaper cover over disposables but it can be used as a pocket if needed. Than I have covers being disabled I personally find more so where I don't have an aid that comes anymore(unless I need it like have had them after I been sick but mainly independent) so snap on to be easiest and quicker, though I have adapted it's like getting dressed being paralyzed it involves rolling side to side though some situation I can use my lift.

I have enough for almost a day but was planning to get enough like y'all mentioned for like 2 days and buy more as I can but I did want to try mainly 2 brands with 3 different types, though I did kind of assume when it came to flats that if they were them same material weight and material they would be similar in performance so originally I was looking at Purity brand from Adult Cloth Diaper but think the 2 layer ones that would fit me when folded was like $14 but Rearz/Incontrol (I can't remember which site) but one of them had some that were a lot more affordable only downside is they have prints but for the money I can get over it. But basically got 2 prefolds, 2 contoured, and one fitted(though cheaper than Ecoable still like $10 more than night weight prefold). I did steer clear of the fitted cloth Rearz(Omutsu) had they may work but when I tried cloth many yrs ago I had alot of issues with the cloth diapers that came from China so even though they were affordable I didn't want to risk it.

But someone mentioned flats can be a pain for those with larger waist and I am in that boat I have a 46" waist though I am up for the challenge to learn folding them but I did buy flats in 2 sizes one that I think will be the right fit but the larger one my thought process is I seen flats sold in 2 layer & 4 layer, so the larger one is tech 2 layers but where it's at min double my waist size I assumed I can make it like a 4 layer but for half the cost. As I mentioned me personally I am really not into prints but same time I am fruggle so if flats have prints but alot cheaper it's something I can overlook because they aren't super babyish, their going to be covered, and biggest no one is going to see them.

As for washing I was thinking of washing every 2-3 days but I never thought about weight though I have washed the 7 diapers I have without issue. But when I tried cloth before I still had an aid and after changing she would rinise the diapers before putting them in the pail or bag which is something I still do, I was looking at a unit that basically straddles the toilet and it's specifically made to rinse them like it has a sprayer but that unit does look easier that using the shower. Also because of horror stories and after reading bunch of articles I hand wash covers then let them air dry on a rack. As for the diapers everything I have read if you use a dryer it's only on low air or air alone last time I dried I used low air which worked well.

Again thank you for all the info and help

 

[ParaRomeo]

Another question that been on my mind and from what little info I could find wasn't much but has to do with when cloth diapers need to be changed. Though I think I understand that each type of material feels differently when wet is there anyway of quickly telling or a general way to assess them. Unlike disposables there isn't a blue line like hey dummy change me.

Like when I checked this morning (not to sound gross but I find feeling the diaper itself better guage than squeezing or pushing on the cover itself more so because each cover is different) my overnight diaper, the majority felt slightly moist but not really soaked so I decided to give an hour and check again (because I had no plans & felt it potentially could wait also changing is easier after morning meds) I really didn't feel much of a difference but I changed it(because I had it on for a while and though I can't feel it mentally I felt it had to be changed). Though it definitely had some weight to it there was a big difference between when I changed & when I rinsed them like I get the point is not to be dripping wet & for skin care proper changes are required, but wonder if I used to much padding(like wondering if I should try less inserts).

I am also wondering if what's confusing me is using different combinations & once I get the diapers that are coming than figure out what fits and what works the best it might be less confusing. My thoughts are basically find out of what I have currently works best for nighttime and than make them my dedicated night diapers, the rest will be like spares, then have ones dedicated for daytime.

 

[Belarin]

On the whole cloth diapers will feel a little "stiffer" when wet, it's a little difficult to describe exactly how it feels.

One way to tell if you are conscious of when you are wetting every time then obviously you would know if it's wet or not but figuring out how wet it is is a matter of experience after a while you will just get used to knowing when it won't hold much more.

If you are not aware of when you wet or don't feel anything then for a few days whenever you put a fresh diaper on (cover as well) just try feeling/squeezing/pinching it from outside the cover to get an idea of how fluffy, spongy and soft it feels, keep doing this every so often and once it is wet you will notice it feels firmer or stiffer and not as soft or spongy, this is a good indication it is wet but won't tell you how wet, the only real way to tell how wet is to take it off and check.

 

[ORBaby]

If I feel wet near the leg cuffs of my plastic pants then I know it's time for a change.