Welcome to our beginner’s guide to using cloth diapers! If you are exploring this more environmentally friendly and economical option for your baby, well done! But there are so many questions: how to wash cloth diapers? How many cloth diapers do I nedd? How do cloth diapers work? In this guide, we will explore everything that you need to know to start using cloth diapers.
- How many reusable diapers do I need?
- How to store cloth diapers before washing them? What is a ‘dry pail’?
- How to wash cloth diapers?
- Using cloth diapers outside the house and at daycare
How many cloth diapers do I need?
The amount needed may vary from family to family, depending on the age of the baby, the frequency of changing and washing. On average, we recommend that parents have 24 cloth diapers, to ensure they always have clean diapers available, while others are awaiting to be washed or dried.
Newborn babies, for example, tend to poop right after feeding, so they need more diapers per day, on average 10 to 12. As they grow and begin to regulate their bowel, they will need fewer changes per day. As a reference, consider 6 diaper changes a day until potty training.
For an average of 6 changes per day, washing every 2-3 days, we recommend a stock of 24 diapers. This way, while some cloth diapers are awaiting to be put in the washing machine or dried; others are clean and dry, ready to be used. This system allows you to wash the dirty diapers frequently, but without having to rush to wash them.
Pico Tango cloth diapers have an exclusive and patented adjustment system, which allows a perfect fit at 3 kg in newborns, and grows with the baby up to 15 kg. Additionally, it includes a booster for when the baby grows and produces more urine. This way you don’t need to buy new sizes or boosters as your child grows. Only if you have a very very heavy wetter!
How to store cloth diapers before washing? What is a ‘dry pail’?
Place dirty cloth diapers in a well-ventilated bucket or laundry basket (the so called ‘dry pail’), in the bathroom to ensure good airflow. The more airflow they get, the less they smell. A simple plastic laundry basket with holes is ideal. Not only does it allows diapers to get air flow, but it’s also easy to clean with a quick shower water from time to time. Plus, it does not rust and, when you’re finished the cloth diaper trip, you can reuse the basket for general laundry use. To minimize urine odour even further, put 1-2 drops of tea tree oil soaked in a tiny piece of cotton into the basket when it’s empty. It also works with eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil. These natural oils have a fresh and intense smell, and completely neutralize urine odor.
Before the baby’s first solid food (around 6 months), babies fed exclusively with breast milk make light brown liquid poop. Formula fed babies may have small grains in the poop. Both have a slight sweet smell, and are soluble in water. So, we leave the poop in the cloth diaper without rinsing until it all goes into the washing machine. Once babies start eating solid food, their poop becomes more solid, so it is flushed down the toilet. How? Simply turning down the diaper on the toilet, and then place the diaper in the dry pail. Cloth diapers should not be rinsed before placing them in the basket.
How to wash cloth diapers?
Cloth diapers are washed like very dirty clothes in the washing machine. Also, you can wash them together with other household clothes, to save you time and energy.
Pre-wash (30 minutes) + Main wash (minimum 2 hours), at 40 ºC, without softener, at 1000-1200 rpm
Pre-washing cloth diapers helps remove excess residue from fabrics. High spin speed of 1000 or even 1200 rpm is important to shorten drying time. As a general rule, wash diapers at 40 ºC, and only at 60 ºC when:
• The baby is sick, to eliminate bacteria and viruses effectively
• The diapers need a strip wash
• The baby is using a second-hand reusable diaper for the first time
After washing, you can choose to air dry them or use the tumble dryer. Exposing the absorbents to the sun helps to disinfect them naturally, and to remove any eventual newborn poop stains.
You can use the dryer, in a ‘low’ program, as very high temperatures wear out the organic cotton fabric more quickly.
Using cloth diapers at daycare
Changing cloth diapers outside the house may seem like a challenge but, it’s much simpler that you might think. You just have to carry a wet bag with you, to place the used diapers after changing, until you get back home. The wet bag can later be washed in the machine together with the cloth diapers.
In Portugal, according to the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security, daycare centers cannot accept disposable diapers only. However, it is good to talk to the caretakers, as they may not be familiar with cloth diapers. Explain them that instead of throwing dirty disposable diapers in a disposable bag, they shall place the dirty cloth cloth diaper in the wet bag. and At the end of the day, beside receiving your child back, you also receive the wet bag
with used cloth diapers inside. It’s also important to show them how to fit your cloth diapers correctly to avoid leaks.
Now that you know how to wash cloth diapers, how many you need, and how to store them when you are out, it is much simpler than what you might have though initially. Still, if you have any questions about using cloth diapers, we are very happy to help you. Reach out to our team on the Live chat, DM on Instagram or Contact us.