Going green
People say that when you make a resolution, you should tell people. Peer pressure is one factor in keeping your resolutions “on track”.
So, that said — Blondie and I have started using cloth diapers for the kid. Not all the time — we’ve so far tried to make it as simple and hassle free as possible, so we’re using them at home and not overnight. But still, its been really good for my soul. And much easier then I thought it would be.
Thanks to the Flying Finn and his wife for hassling us in the right direction.
Monday 05 May 2008 | 24601 | SlantyNet - General
We were thinking of going that way too, let us know how it goes (tips & tricks!)
I use the Bummi’s brand and so far it’s good. We use disposable when we have to go out quickly. They are a little bulkier than disposable but they are a huge money saver.
You have to use cold water wash first to rinse and spin then you do a hot water wash with detergent (special kind needed)
I feel better using them for the enviro sake.
Hotchick
Hotchick’s procedure is different from what we’re using, as she’s probably still fully breastfeeding, and using a wet-pail system. When the kiddo is on solids, the poops are much different (thank goodness!!!), and you can use a dry-pail system
We’ve been pouring a vinegar/borax/H2O mixture to keep odor and staining down, then a regular warm (we do cold for everything else) wash (reg. laundry soap with borax and/or oxyclean). Obviously, solid matter goes in the toilet, first. Seems to be ok so far. Everything has come out really clean.
We were explaining to the Flying Finn that we’re happy to be using cloth now, but couldn’t imagine having cloth on the receiving end of some of those earlier messes. I think that might have turned us off the whole thing! (Gawd, some of those were awful!) It’s much better now, though.
SlantyK, not sure if/how anything is different if you’re on a septic field. I can’t imagine it would be……I just think the detergent you use would be critical. We got all our info at HipBaby on 4th ave…..check it out there.
Hotchick, we’re using the Bummi’s dry pants, and just a prefold for the diaper (they’re just a rectangle piece of cloth). We went that route cuz we thought the initial outlay ($80, and we think we’ve got everything we need for quite a while) was pretty inexpensive. Are you using the Bummi’s fitted diapers? If so, how much do each of those run, and how many did you get? Did you need the exterior liner, too?
You need different pails? I’m not ready for this…
It’s easy. I’ll even give you a practice run when you’re over on Wednesday!
We went to a cloth diaper workshop that was really helpful. It was 10.00 and then you get a 10.00 credit to use in the store. http://www.newandgreen.com
I was excited to learn about using cloth but worried about dealing with all those pins. Luckily the pins are a thing of the past. Cloth diapers have come a long way baby!
Only 10.5 weeks till baby finn’s d-day. We will let you know how things go…
is cloth definitely better than disposable in terms of total life cycle? i thought that the issue was still up for debate. or maybe that’s just propaganda from the disposable diaper-industrial complex.
Yep those companies with the bucks are really good at the propaganda machine. Cloth is WAY better for the environment.
Think about it;
A child will go through approximately 6300 disposable diapers from birth to potty training. We plan on washing diapers at home using our energy efficient washing machine. This is equivalent to 4-5 extra toilet flushes per day. A far cry from the 1 ton of garbage per child that will go in the landfill if disposables are used.
If that wasn’t incentive enough, cloth diapers will set you back anywhere between $360.00-$980.00 compared to $2600.00 for disposables. If you have more than one child the cost would be less.
That, and the diapers that my parents used on us were the BEST rags for washing the cars when I was a teenager….. It’s all about recycling, baby!
I agree that cloth is better. The disposable diapers used now (mostly paper) are much better than the plastic used in the 80’s, but still, cloth is much better overall. I know that 3D is asking about the phosphates in laundry soap….. The energy efficient washers use so very little soap anyway, and the one that I have (Sunlight HE) is 100% phosphate free. So there ya go!
I’m gonna to agree with WOTFF, cloth is better for the environment. Of course, this sort of thing is always really hard to quantify — its difficult to understand all the downstream effects.
I mean, if you were in a town that primarily uses coal-fired power, does the equation change?
What if you’re in an area where water is quite scarce?
What about how the cotton was produced, should we be using bamboo or hemp fiber instead?
etc etc.
Still saying that you’re right. Just pointing out that there are lots of decisions that people make where it is really really hard to know the facts and all the variables.
There are hemp and bamboo diapers too
There is also a movement for toilet training your child as soon as possible by reading their body and facial signals and using a bucket or the toilet itself…one of my colleagues was successful by about 2 months of age.
True, but that’s training the parent as much as the kid (although, the kid won’t be “scared” of going poop on the toilet at 2 years old when he’s been doing it since a few months), and requires a heck of a lot of vigilance. (Not sure I personally have the patience for that).
If you can do it, and the kid is obvious enough for you to figure it out, all the power to you. Wait a minute, I think my kid is pretty obvious sometimes - I can often hear him from the other room!!! Hmmm….something to think about!
speaking as a non-parent: couldn’t you just duct-tape a plastic bag to bottom of the kid?
Oy, let’s see here.
Yes, we’re boob feeding, and yes, the messes are pretty sloppy. But the diapers also come with little disposable liners that we throw in the trash that takes most of it. Disposal yes, but only a fraction of what a disposable diaper has, and they’re fully biodegradable. Since that keeps the worst of the mess off, we’re using a dry-pail method for dealing with the dirties.
No, not using fitted diapers, they just have a waterproof cover that goes over the square cloth part. As well, we’ve found they work better and have a greater capacity than disposables, so it’s good for the longer stretches at night.
As for potty training, there’s occasionally a warning from Benjamin about what’s on its way out, but on the whole, it still surprises (and impresses) everyone when the rumble comes. Kid’s got skills!
Oh, and ya, we tried the duct tape thing. Pulls off the skin a bit too much, and it’s hard to apply it such that you don’t get any leakage at all. On top of that, damn hard to get the whole mess off smoothly and cleanly. Tend to make more of a mess than you ever have to deal with from diapers.
Poop poop poop la la la bamboo poo pooo la la hemp poop poop pail poop la la poop water poop poop tonne poop poop
Evolution of a web site I guess
Not saying anything bad… just saying.
POOP!
The trick is, dont visit a site for a month at a time, then it will take 2 hours to read and enjoy…
Screw this whole 4 minutes a day crap.
Oh 24601… your so dreamy.