Essential Accessories for Cloth Diapering #clothdiapers

You got fluff, now what? Well, there are a few accessories I consider to be essential and others that are not crucial but are nice to have too! This is one of those areas I found to be intimidating when looking to make the switch.

• What do I really need?
• What is worth the price?
• Do I need to buy it now?

There are quite a few accessories out there. Here’s my take on what is essential and what isn’t.

Wet/Dry Bag or pail liner/pail

This is a must! You need someplace to store the dirty laundry, especially when you aren’t at home. I suggest at least two large bags and two little ones. That way you always have one available for use during laundry day! For the pail, you don’t need to buy anything fancy. I just use a cheap garbage bin from Walmart. It has a foot pedal to pop the top. You don’t want a tight seal on the top because – even though we want the stinkies to be trapped – we don’t want the smells and heat to hurt our diapers. There needs to be some air circulation. {Pssst, Monday will have a giveaway~}

Cloth Wipes

Not necessarily to replace disposable wipes. Although I am trying my damnedest to exclusively use cloth wipes, sometimes you gotta bust out the disposables. Especially with little girls. So many.. crevices. But! They are the best for ensuring baby’s bum is dry between changes. Too much moisture can lead to rashes and, let’s face it, baby’s skin can be wet at change time. It takes too long to air dry (unless you are purposefully giving your babe nekkid time), so it’s good to have cloth wipes or washcloths available to pat them cheeks dry!

Diaper Rash Treatment that is Safe for Cloth Diapers

Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who’s baby never gets a rash. We’ve been pretty lucky that Rissa’s rashes have been mild and cleared up within a day or so. More than likely, baby will have a rash at some point and you want to be careful as to what you put on their bum! Or, you work to prevent it, including slabbin’ on the cream at bedtime.

There are some cloth diaper safe creams, which were specifically made with cloth use in mind. These include (but aren’t limited to): CJ’s BUTTer and Motherlove’s diaper rash & thrush ointment (review coming up in a few weeks!). You’re looking for something that works, has natural ingredients, cleans up easily, and doesn’t build up on your diapers like zinc oxide can. Be careful with that stuff!

There are a couple other options to consider for treating rashes: breastmilk (it works wonders on everything it seems!) and vegetable based oils. Think Olive Oil or Coconut Oil. We’ve been using coconut and we’re happy with it!

A Place to Hang

Not you! You’re diapers! Give them longer life by hang drying at least the shells. This can be outside or inside. I have a line in the basement. Some people use hangers or over the shower curtain rod. Be creative, this one doesn’t have to cost you anything.

Non-Essential, but Oh-So-Nice to Have Accessories

Diaper sprayer

I’m waiting for mine to be installed (hint, hint). I lucked out and got mine for free from Freecycle. They average about $40. I hear they are nice to have and I can guess why. Rissa has started eating solids and her dirty diapers are…. interesting, to say the least. You don’t need a sprayer for exclusively breastfed babies because that poo rinses out easily. As it gets tougher to rinse out and depending on your comfort level (some people are grossed out by the idea of washing items with poo on them in their washer), you’ll want to seek other ways to dispose of it. Some scrape, some dunk & swish… I want to spray!

Special Cloth Diaper Detergent

Many will disagree here, but it is entirely possible to wash your cloth diapers with “regular” detergent. Just use caution and be aware of their condition. If your wash routine is working for you, don’t change it just because you aren’t using such and such detergent. Sure it’s nice, but if you mind your ingredients and amounts, you can be just fine. Personally, I use Rockin Green, but I know people who use Tide Free and they do just fine. {Pssst, Monday will have a giveaway~}

Cloth Wipe Solution

If you are using cloth wipes to clean up doodie, then you need to wet them and wash baby’s bottom. While a concentrated diaper solution is an option, you can also make your own solution with a bit of soap. It doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to provide a mini sponge bath! I’ve been using Kissaluvs Diaper Potion, which I won, but I also have Dr. Bronner’s castile soap that I can dilute to make solution, hand soap, etc.

Camera

You know how addicting fluff is, so you need to take pictures of it! Lots of pictures! Also falling in this category is the Fluff Stash App. Overall I say this is nonessential, unless you have an iPhone or iPod Touch – then it’s a must!

Don’t forget to see what is accessories are discussed at Mama on a Green Mission and Formula Mom.

What accessories do you find to be essential? Anything you can or cannot live without?

Darcy Zalewski

Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.