Frequently Asked Questions

We have let our opinions come through on this page. Know yourself. Diapering is a very personal experience with as many opinions as there are babies!

How do I wash the diapers?

It's easy! Wash on cold, then wash on hot, then extra rinse or run a short cycle with just water. Check out our Washing Suggestions page.

Do I really need cloth wipes?

Yes. Disposable wipes can cause just as many problems and irritations as disposable diapers. Not only that, cloth wipes are easier to use than disposable wipes when you use cloth diapers. Who wants to sort through the soiled items to throw away the disposable wipes? Just one pile put right into the diaper pail is really much easier. I've never toilet dunked a wipe! It's not necessary. The washing machine can clean them just fine. Cloth wipes that are the right size really are important!

How many wipes do I need?

Our standard recommendation is 50 wipes, needs vary. Newborns use a lot of wipes, older babies need fewer. If you are converting to cloth when the baby is age 1 or older, 40 is plenty and you might even get by with only 24 if your baby only poops once a day. Know yourself, your baby, and your style. If your baby isn't born yet and you are planning, and you tend to be a minimalist (for example, you diligently use every part of a tissue before taking another one) then 50 wipes might be enough for you. If you are on the other end of the spectrum, you may even want 90! Dads tend to use more wipes per change than moms, so if Dad will do a lot of the changing, get a few extra packs of wipes. They are not a big investment for 2.5 years of use. Do you keep extra wipes in other places? The car? The sitters house? The diaper bag? Add those in to your figures, too.

How many diapers do I need?

Tough question. Needs vary a lot. We think 2 dozen is just not enough, 3 dozen is right for most people, and 4 dozen will give you lots of extras. You don't need more than you can fit in your washing machine.

How many covers do I need?

Again, needs vary a lot. Most people start with 6 covers and come back and buy a few more. I think 8-10 covers per size is more common (from what I see people buying) than the traditionally recommended 6 covers per size. Yes, covers can be re-used several times without washing.

Why do you sell only cotton diapers?

Cotton has been proven to be a safe diapering fabric for many generations. It's easy to wash and doesn't hold stink like synthetics and stay-dry pocket diapers do. No repelling issues, either. It works. It's easy. More info and our opinions on cotton and other diapering fabrics.

Yikes! I'm so confused!!

The New to Cloth Info summary page is a good place to start.

What should I use for a diaper pail?

Sample pails shown. The Small pail on the left is 18 inches tall, and the Small Pail Liner fits it. The center pail is 25 inches tall, and the XLarge Pail Liner fits it. We don't sell diaper pails. Actual dimensions of the Pail Liners: The XL Pail Liner's top opening is 56 inches in circumference, and it is 29 inches tall. This is both wider and taller than other brands of XL pail liners we've tried. The Small Pail Liner's top opening is 49 inches in circumference, and it is 25 inches tall. But the height measurement is deceiving because pails are 3 dimensional and the height measurements are 2 dimensional. So pay attention to the sample pail heights! The small works if your pail comes up to about knee-height. Anything thigh-height needs either large or XLarge.

XL pail liner in a 44 quart Sterlite tall kitchen garbage can. The garbage can is 24 inches tall.

Large pail liner in same can. Works great on this narrow opening can. If you have wide opening at the top, choose the XL liner.

Small pail liner in same can. It's too short for this can, and will fall in if not snugged up around the rim to hold it up. This can is 24 inches tall. This small liner fits better in cans 20 inches tall or less.

We use the center pail which is a Rubbermaid 13 gallon tall kitchen garbage can with a foot pedal with a XLarge Diaper Pail Liner in it. Any garbage can will do, and they usually cost only about $10 dollars in a store. We prefer the tall garbage cans so curious little fingers can't reach the top of them. We tried the "true" diaper pails, but didn't find them any better (just more expensive and didn't have a foot pedal) than a garbage can from a regular store. Since we have a two story house, and mom was not excited about stairs following birth, we also also had a pail made for disposables diapers downstairs (the one pictured on the left). When baby got older, and needed less frequent changes and climbing stairs was easy again, we only used the tall pail upstairs. The small disposable diaper pail worked fine was not my favorite because it sealed too tightly. It tended to be quite damp inside with condensation. Our old Rubbermaid has some gaps at the lid. Even so, it didn't smell when closed. Actually, leaving the pail lid open is ok! If the diapers get air, they surprisingly are not very smelly at all. The small sealed pail had far stronger odor than the Rubbermaid one with gaps. True! Give your diaper pail some air for fewer odors!

It is nice to have pail liner so that you don't have to scrub out the inside of the diaper pail. But if you use a small pail and have a diaper sprayer attached to your toilet, spraying out your pail using your diaper sprayer works fine.

I have a lot of diaper pail liners in my house. They are the best for car-trips for packing stuff and tossing them up in the Thule car-top storage. Unlike other things you can pack stuff in, these are easily machine washable. Perhaps that is my favorite part about them for travel, plus when empty they don't take up space like luggage does. They are the best thing ever for boating and camping. Pail liners keep moisture out and clothes dry when camping, and for boating - well, if you boat you know about all the wet stuff, and diaper pail liners are the best. I have some horse-people friends who love them for whatever horse people do, but I don't know exactly what that is. Even the changing pads remain useful after diapering. Wet bathing suit and getting in the car? Sit on the changing pad and the seat will stay dry. Who knew this stuff was so practical beyond diapering?

I tried using cloth before and couldn't make it work, but I know cloth diapers are better for my baby.

Some common barriers to success with cloth are:

Social pressure to use disposables. This is sad but true. Be strong! Did you know that the average family income of cloth diaper users is over $95,000 per year? Most people who use cloth are highly educated, and are choosing cloth for environmental or health safety reasons. Cloth should actually be seen as a status symbol even though it's true that cloth diapers are far less expensive than disposables. Even the most expensive cloth diapers will save a whole lot over the cost of disposables!

Resistance from spouse or caregiver. This one is usually cured by having some all-in-one diapers on hand which are just as easy to use as disposable diapers.

Buying worn out covers or all-in-ones second hand. The life of a diaper cover or all-in-one is typically 6 to 9 months of hard use, or perhaps up to 1 year. Old covers need to be replaced since elastics get old and waterproofing wears out. If you use only old covers, you might be led to think that cloth diapers are leaky, when actually it's the old covers that are leaky and need to be thrown away. Good covers do make a difference. Even the best diaper won't be good enough if you have lousy covers.

Not owning enough cloth diapers to make a load of laundry. Often people will buy a dozen diapers to give cloth a try. Some will give up because it's a pain to wash them. Well, doing a whole wash load for just one dozen diapers is definitely not efficient, and washing with your regular laundry isn't appealing, either. You need to own enough cloth diapering supplies, including cloth wipes, to make a load of laundry or it may very well feel like it is not working efficiently. It takes commitment to make the initial investment in diapering supplies, but just like anything worthwhile, it won't take long to realize that it is definitely worth it.

Buying lousy store-bought diapers. Most actually have polyester padding in them and since polyester doesn't absorb, they are totally lousy as a diaper! It's such a shame that stores carry so-called "cotton diapers" that are not really cotton. They give cloth diapers an undeserved bad reputation. Don't use them as diapers! Real prefolds are so worth it!

So what do you recommend?

This is a very hard question, but I am asked it daily so I guess I need to post my answer. Diapering is SOOOO personal. What's right for me at this time in my life is certainly not right for everyone. That's why there are so many choices! The hardest part about cloth diapering is picking out what to buy!

But Karen, what would YOU choose?

At this point in my life, if God were to bless our family with a newborn baby, and I've thought about this a lot, I would get 5 packs of Wipes, 2 XL Pail Liners, 1 Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Concentrate and 3 spray bottles, 10 Infant Fitted Diapers and 1 small doublers, 24 Newborn orange edge organic prefolds and 24 yellow edge organic prefolds. 2 Mommys Touch adjustable newborn covers because those really work to stay below the cord stump during that first week, 1 Imse Vimse newborn in white, 1 Lana wool pull-on small, 1 Disana Wool Pull-on newborn, 1 Babee Greens wool cover. I love wool. The Imse cover feels so nice for a synthetic cover, and the Mommy's Touch is nice and trim, perfect for the cord-healing days but still not outgrown in 2 seconds, and I like covered PUL when I do use PUL. (remember everyone likes different things, these are just my favorites). That's 6 covers. And I'd have a sleepsack, but I can count that as clothing, not part of the "diaper budget". For accessories: 2 snappis and 2 packs of pins, 1 Lansinoh Lanolin and 1 Eucalan Woolwash, 1 Disana Woolcure and 1 wet bag tote. I don't expect to need any rash cream at all until teething time. Frequent changing along with complete cleaning up after poops using the Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion, slow and playful time at diaper changes gives baby's bottom plenty of "air time" and helps baby enjoy changes, plus clean well-washed cotton diapers means no rashes (assuming no food allergies or other issues). If I do need a rash cream I use Lansinoh Lanolin.

Once my baby is not a newborn I'd use mostly prefolds. I love to pin! I'd also have some size Snug-to-Fit fitted diapers and some Growing Greens for the diaper bag, and a variety of wool covers and wool longies, plus some Litewrap or Imse Vimse covers when I prefer something trim or as a backup to my beautiful, breathable wools. I'm very happy snappi fastening or pinning prefolds, so I'd always have 2 or 3 dozen prefolds on hand. Prefolds and wool would be the backbone of my stash, with fitteds for sometimes and the diaper bag. I'd have a few aios on hand for my husband or teenage daughter to use on the baby, but deep down I am a wool lover. The softness and breathability can't be matched by the synthetics. I'd have no polyester content diapers, no stay-dry and no pocket diapers. I think stay-dry fabrics are unnecessary. If you change in a reasonable time (2 hours or so usually) and the diapers properly washed, then wetness next to baby is not a problem at all and cotton is safer in my opinion. Only cotton goes next to my baby's bottom. I'm a bit of a purist. And I'd wash the diapers and all my laundry in Charlies Soap laundry detergent, adding an oxygen cleaner to the hot wash and vinegar in the first rinse. I just love Charlies in my water, but it's not for everyone and you must follow the directions to use it properly, as explained in the GMD How-To Booklet that you get with your order when you check the box at the checkout. Also I can't live without my Potty Pail. I need that good sprayer with the bucket for my rather nutty and obsessive desire to have zero stains on my beautiful diapers. To each his own! There is no best or right way to diaper a baby, just a whole lot of personal preferences.

Ok, so diapering is personal. How do I figure out what is right for me and my baby?

Figuring out what to buy is the hardest part about cloth diapering. But don't fret too much. Whatever you choose will work just fine (we only carry the good stuff!!). First, think about your budget. What can you afford, and of that what do you choose to spend? Then decide on snaps or hook and loop closures, (Velcro™ and Aplix™ are brand names of hook and loop closures) or some of both. Chubby babies do better in snap closures, while trim do better in hook and loop closures. Average babies can use either very well. Snaps are more fidgety to use, but hook and loop makes that "hrrrinchk" sound and can stick together in the wash, if you forget to close the fold-back tabs. Unbleached, organic or white? Totally your personal preference. Sigh.... This common question is really too hard for me to answer fully... Only you can figure out your own answer. Remember that figuring out what to buy is the hardest part about cloth diapering! Using cloth is actually very easy.

After a whole page of reading, perhaps your eyes hurt and you are even more confused about what to buy, or perhaps you are narrowing it down by now. Just make a decision, and go for it. Trust your instinct and it will be wonderful. The diapers you choose will work very well and then you won't really think about it anymore. Your focus is (or will be if you are still pregnant) on the baby, not the diaper, so it's really no big deal after all. As long as the diapers work, and everything here does, then you are all set.

Don't miss the New Moms Page for newborn cloth diapering ideas.

To add to the information overload, consider fabric choices for more information on the wording used in diapering and all the different fabrics and our opinions about all that.

An 18 page Green Mountain How-To Booklet comes with your order. All of your questions about using the diapers and covers and washing and such are answered there. Tip - Customers often say "I'm glad I ordered from Green Mountain Diapers. The How-To Booklet is fantastic and my order really did arrive quickly!" We've been in business for 14 years, established and reliable, yet still a caring small business. See our ratings at the Diaper Pin.