3 Common Cloth Diapering Problems...and How to Fix Them

Here are some cloth diapering problems I've had over my many years of cloth diapering, and what I did to fix them:

1. Stinky diapers, even after washing.

I dealt with this for a long time when I was using gentle laundry detergent that was supposedly "cloth diaper friendly" according to lots of cloth diapering websites.  However, my diapers stunk after washing them.  Yuk!  Then I tried Tide powder (I use the HE kind for a front washer).  This made a huge difference in how clean my diapers got.  But even with Tide,  a really stinky load of diapers that had been sitting for a few days would come out smelling not quite clean enough.  Until I tried a little bleach with every load.  Gasp!

Most cloth diapering advice says not to use bleach at all.  But with only 100% cotton diapers and my 100% cotton t-shirt liners, I have had no ill effects at all using just a couple tablespoons of bleach in my loads.  I have used this method for years, and my prefolds still look and work great!  I do not bleach my covers because poop hardly ever gets on my covers with my simple cloth diapering method.  Check out my simple cloth diapering washing instructions.

2.Wet clothes/Leaking diapers

This can be due to several reasons:

One would be cheap prefolds.  Never use the Gerber prefolds from the store.  They are just not absorbent.  You have to use good-quality prefolds.  My favorite, after trying about 5 different brands, is the Diaper Rite prefolds (available at

Another reason for leaky diapers is not moving up to the next size diaper quickly enough.  There are 4 sizes of prefolds available from Diaper Junction.  I find that if my baby's diaper starts getting soaked more quickly than it used to, moving up to the next size prefold (which means getting more absorbency) solves this problem.  Also, cloth-diapered babies do need changed slightly more often than they do in disposables, because we are relying on cotton to absorb the wetness instead of the super-absorbent chemicals in disposables.  I don't consider needing to change my baby when she's wet necessarily a bad thing though.

Some may think their cloth diapers are leaking simply because they do not have the diaper cover covering the entire diaper.  Here are some examples where the diaper is sticking out:

To fix this, simply tuck in the diaper where it is sticking out.

 

I have noticed that covers without tummy elastic sometimes allow the diaper to stick out the top. 

Just tuck it in and pull up on the cover to fix this.  Simple!

 Old, worn out diaper covers can also cause leaks.  Diaper covers, like any other piece of clothing, don't last forever.  Eventually, they will wear out and start leaking.  However, with my simple method of cloth diapering, they will last as long as possible because you will not need to wash them as often.

3. The poop problem.  I will admit it.  I don't like to deal with poop. I don't like it in my washing machine, yet I don't want to spray it with a diaper sprayer (think the ricochet effect), nor do I want to swish and dunk diapers in a toilet.  Who does?  I really did not enjoy cloth-diapering until I came up with my current system of diapering using my t-shirt diaper liners.  Now cloth diapering has become easy!  The poop problem is solved!