Wednesday, June 01, 2005

this is not helping

So as I've mentioned before, I plan on using cloth diapers. Don't flip out, this is why:
-It Takes 20 Trees to Diaper One Baby in Disposables for 2 Years
25,000,000 trees are cut annually for this one product in the United States.
-Single-use diapers represent the 3rd largest consumer item (after newspapers and beverage and food containers) in the municipal solid waste stream. These diapers will require over 500 years to decompose.
-Not since the Middle Ages has there been so much human waste in our garbage. There is NO safe way to dispose of single-use diapers. Flushing them down the toilet causes 95% of clogged sewer lines in the US, and creates 43,000 tons of extra sludge per year. Most people simply toss these soiled single-use diaper into household, hospital, or roadside garbage. This adds 84 million pounds of raw fecal matter to our environment per year.

Knowing this, and also knowing that "Mom" will be my full time job, I knew that I should "go cloth." I'm not doing it to be earthy or make my life harder. I'm doing it out of sheer guilt. Incidentally, that's the same reason I recycle.

And so, I've been researching how this whole business works, cloth diapering that is. Depending on who you talk to, and what you read on the web, difficulty levels vary.
It's all very confusing at this point, and it's not from a lack of information. The world is super saturated with cloth diapering products and advice.
Here's a maddening example:
"How To Wash Diapers

Unstuff any Fuzzibunz and unfold diapers as you put them in. Close any velcro tabs. Spray any poop with Zout. DO NOT put any wool covers in the washer, ever.

First Step: SOAK
put in detergent halfway up to the first line on the cup. (NEVER use fabric softener)
put in the diapers (including fuzzibunz), but not the covers or pail liner.
set the washer to:
- cold wash
- cold rinse
- second rinse
- high water level
- regular agitation
- SOAK on the dial

The washer will agitate and then stop.

LET IT SOAK for at least one hour. Longer if there is a lot of poopy diapers. As long as you want to if you are going out or busy.

SECOND STEP: PREWASH
Turn the dial to prewash and let it run through. (this agitates for 4 minutes and spins out the water but does not rinse)

THIRD STEP: HOT WASH
Turn the dial to regular wash. Add just a touch more detergent, just enough to cover the bottom of the cup. Put in the covers and the pail liner turned inside out. Let it run all the way through spinning.

Take out the pail liner and hang it up to dry.

FOURTH STEP: extra rinses
Turn the dial back to rinse so that it goes through two more rinses. Every other wash time, or if the Joeybunz are feeling crispy, run through two more rinses. You can also check the water of the last rinse and if there are still suds in it, run more rinses.

FIFTH STEP: extra spin
turn the dial back to spin and spin it again. This helps them to dry faster

SIXTH STEP: drying
Hang up the Fuzzibunz and the covers (including the fleece covers), put the rest in the dryer on medium heat. Once in awhile, put the plain white (Green Earth and ProRaps) covers in the dryer, especially if they have been leaking. After the dryer stops, take out what is dry and start it up again."


Um, that can't all be necessary. Anyone getting visions of the "Anal Retentive Chef" from SNL?
None of this is shaking my confidence that I'll follow through, I just want to get my game plan down. But I am sure that I'm not going to follow that woman's wash routine, she's crazy.
We might even use the local diaper service. Still tryin to figure out what's cheaper.

Ok enough information. Entertainment time!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Not that I have any experience in this whatsoever, but GO FOR THE SERVICE.

Imagine the sanity you will save. That in and of itself would be worth whatever they charge to me.

Incidentally, my mum used cloth diapers for both myself and my sister, and I ended up adopting one of them (clean of course) as my security blanket. Much love for the cloth diapers.

(And more information than you EVER wanted to know, I'm sure.)

=D

A. Diabetic Person said...

I was also cloth diapered.
I second the reccomendation to use the diaper service.
I think once you master the snappy clip you'll be fine.

And aim for the potty-training-before-she-can-walk plan. I like that one.

laura said...

as i was reading i kept thinking "she should get a diaper service". LOL! guess i'm the 3rd commenter that was also cloth diapered! seems like it was a really common practice pre-mid 80s or so. GO CLOTH & GO SERVICE!

Sam said...

yeah dude...seriously...look at how much water and electricity that one load of diapers would be...I'll bet between the cost of water and electricity and your sanity...the service is cheaper!

Charlie said...

In case anyone looks back this: We have made an executive decision to have the diaper service at least for the first 2 months! Snappy clips here I come.