Four Cloth Diapering Products that Surprised Me

Most of cloth diapering came very easily to me. You put the clean diaper on, take the dirty diaper off, wash it, and dry it. Easy peasy. But I have had a few surprises along the way. Here are four products that each surprised me in their own special way. :)

1. Wet Bags

The Planet Wise wet bag that I purchased has a zipper on it. So I thought that the zipper would contain the bad smells. However, our bathroom began to stink more and more. Someone on Facebook suggested that I leave the bag unzipped. Presto! No more bad smells!

When there happens to be a particularly nasty diaper in the bag, you can always add a sprinkle of baking soda to keep the odor away.


2. Soap Nuts

When looking for an economical, eco-friendly diaper detergent, I found Econuts soap nuts. I thought I would get granules of soap, but it turns out I received something far different:

My first thought was, "What IS this stuff??" It looked like actual nuts, not like detergent! According to this website, soap nuts are the fruit of a Himalayan tree. I was a bit skeptical about them at first, but I followed the directions and put 4-5 of the nuts into the included baggie and tossed it in the wash.

This baggie of nuts can be reused until the nuts disintegrate, sometimes up to 10 times. And can you believe that my diapers smelled wonderful!? There actually wasn't any scent at all... no smell of detergent, mustiness, or anything nasty either! Just... NOTHING! I highly recommend using soap nuts.


3. Coconut Oil

My daughter, who never had problems with diaper rash while she was in disposables, began to get rashes. I wanted a cream to put on her that would work with cloth diapers. After doing some research, I found that one of the best products out there was available at my local grocery store!

Coconut oil is a solid, but becomes a liquid once it warms to your skin. Aside from helping with diaper rash, it can be used to moisturize hands and to... um... lubricate other things. I've heard that it helps with eczema as well. And, of course, it can always be used in your cooking, although it's high in saturated fat. Here is a list of other uses.


4. Microfiber Inserts

Soon after I began to treat the problem of my daughter's diaper rash, I discovered the cause of it. Microfiber inserts are incredibly absorbent. So absorbent that when placed against baby's skin, it sucks up all moisture from baby's rear and causes a diaper rash. You need to have a layer between the insert and baby's skin. Who knew?

I was putting the microfiber inserts in her gDiaper, and directly next to her poor little bottom. When I discovered the problem, I began using prefolds in the gDiaper instead of the inserts. Now I know: inserts go with pocket diapers, and never against baby's skin.

Has anything surprised you about cloth diapering?