If you've ever hunted for information about cloth diapering, you've likely run across the instruction to "strip your diapers." Some sources make this sound like a dire emergency, while other sources ignore it completely. So we thought we'd take a quick look at what stripping is and when it's useful.

What is Stripping?

"Stripping" merely refers to an easy process that strips any lingering residues from the surface of your diapers.  Residues can build up if you use a detergent that has additives or fabric softeners, if diapers aren't fully rinsed after each wash, or if you have hard water in your area.

Why Should I Strip? (And How Often?)

Stripping isn't a routine maintenance sort of thing - it's only something you need to do if your normally soft and absorbent diapers are suddenly leaking or if there's an undesirable odor that lingers in your diapers even after they've been washed and dried.

So, HOW Do I Strip?

There are various methods for stripping your diapers depending on your type of machine. And obviously, regardless of method, start with non-dirty diapers or you'll have a whole new set of problems to deal with! HOT water with no detergent (top-loader): Wash your diapers in the longest cycle your machine will allow using the HOT wash cycle and either HOT or WARM rinse. Lift the lid every once in a while to check for soap bubbles -  you need to rinse until you no longer see soap bubbles or a film on top of the water during the rinse, which may take as many as 3-4 rinses. But once the soap bubbles no longer appear, your diapers are fresh and fully stripped! Rock-a-Soak (top-loader & HE): This is a super-super-effective way to get rid of lingering funk and residues. In a top-loader, fill the tub with hot water, add 3-4 tablespoons of Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer, toss in your diapers, and let them sit for an hour or so. After the soak, run them through a hot wash and rinse cycle 2-3 times. In a front-loader, add your diapers to the basket and put 3-4 tablespoons of Funk Rock in the detergent area of the detergent drawer. Start a quick wash cycle and hit "stop" or "pause" as soon as you notice that the Funk Rock has been washed into the basket and the water has been added in the cycle. Let this sit for an hour or so, then start a long, hot wash and rinse without adding anything else. You will likely need to wash and rinse 2-3 times. Vinegar (top-loader & HE): You can also add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of vinegar to one of the rinse cycles. This is a gentle way to neutralize the acids and odors lingering on your diapers and it will help lift away the residues. You can add this via the detergent drawer or if you have a Downy ball, just place the vinegar inside and toss it in on top of the diapers. Dawn dishwashing liquid (top-loader only): In a top-loader, you may also add one squirt of Original Dawn dishwashing liquid to the wash cycle. Dawn has been formulated as a degreaser, so it does very well in lifting off oily residues. (If your child has recently discovered Vaseline or petroleum-based diaper creams and smeared them all over his or her diapers, Dawn is also a very effective way to deal with that laundry issue!) Dawn creates lots of suds, however, so if you want to use this method with a front-loader, you'll need to scrub the diapers with Dawn by hand and rinse them out before putting them into the washer. As with all the other methods, once the diapers are in the machine, wash on hot and - you guessed it - rinse, rinse, rinse. So, as you can see, stripping your diapers doesn't take much more effort than a regular load of laundry and doesn't need to happen often. The best way to prevent needing to strip in the first place is just to make sure you're using a long rinse in your normal wash routine or by occasionally adding a second rinse to your routine. Happy diapering!

Photo Credit - iandeth

A diaper pail is an essential part of cloth diapering, although unlike its counterpart for disposable diapers, a diaper pail in a cloth system doesn't need to be anything more than a pail with a lid. (Simple is good!) Today we'll walk through a few considerations to keep in mind as you set up your diaper pail system.

why dry pail

In bygone days, it was standard procedure to toss dirty diapers in a pail of water to allow the diapers to presoak. However, with modern washing machines that do a bang-up job of pre-rinsing diapers, it is no longer necessary to lug that heavy pail to the wash or have "poop soup" sitting around. Also, many modern cloth diapers have synthetic parts (elastics, velcro, PUL, etc), which break down by sitting in water. Thus, we merely recommend "dry pailing" your diapers. Just place a waterproof bag in your pail, toss in the dirties as you go (dumping solids in the toilet first, of course), and then let the washing machine do the work of rinsing and prepping your diapers at the beginning of the wash cycle.

choosing a pail

You don't need anything fancy for a pail - any container with a lid large enough to hold 2-3 days of diapers will do. Tall garbage can-size totes and round plastic storage bins with a lid and locking handles are especially popular among parents. These can be found inexpensively at any local general store or mass merchandiser.

where to put your pail

Put your pail where it's convenient and a bit out of the way. Some people put it next to the change area, some put in the washroom next to the toilet or under the sink, and some have a small pail in each location. You just want to choose a place where it's convenient for you and where pets and toddlers can't get into it.

use a bag

If you're in a small space or don't have room for a pail, consider using a hanging bag instead. A "hanging pail" can be hung on a doorknob or wall hook and frees up floor space. A zipper replaces the need for a lid and keeps everything tidy. Large hanging wet bags can be part of your decor, too, as they come in various fun colors! Setting up an organized system to deal with the dirties is easy and inexpensive. What tips do you have for keeping it simple?

Photo Credit - Vancouver photographer Amber Strocel who crafts a beautiful parenting blog, too.

We've talked lots here on the New & Green blog about organizing your diaper bag and how to cloth diaper when you're away from home, but what about those times (that we all dread) when you're caught unexpectedly and you aren't prepared to change a dirty diaper when your baby really needs it? An emergency diaper change kit to keep in your car is an excellent solution. Here's a list of items to keep in your emergency diaper kit and a few tips for keeping it ready.

What to Stock in Your Emergency Change Kit

First, get a waterproof storage container. You'll need somewhere to store all the items that will stay clean and dry no matter what the conditions in your vehicle. Containers such as a gallon-size Ziploc or a plastic storage container with a tight-fitting lid are excellent choices. Inside your storage container make sure you pack:

• a travel-size wetbag
• a bottle of water (for wetting wipes and for an emergency drinking supply!)
• a few wipes
• 1 diaper per child
• a change pad

 

Tips

Choose an older diaper to keep in your kit. Remember this is just for the times when you are left unprepared, so this doesn't need to be fancy (just practical) and can be an excellent use for a diaper that's seen better days but isn't ready to face retirement yet. Keep the kit "up to date" with the right size diaper. If you put a small diaper in the kit when your child is 3-months-old, but don't end up using the kit for nearly a year, the diaper in the kit will be too small for your baby. Make sure you check it every month or so to keep the right size in stock. This can also be a great place to use a one-size diaper - that way you can be assured you'll always have a diaper that will fit adequately without having to double check regularly. Make sure to replace anything that gets used. If you use the wipes to clean sticky, melted ice cream off your child's hands, make sure the kit is re-stocked with new dry wipes. If the diaper is used, put a new diaper in its place. This may seem obvious, but sometimes in the shuffle of a busy life, it's easy to forget these little details, but that's not so helpful the next time you're in need of a clean diaper and there is none to be found. If you've got more than one child in diapers, make sure your emergency kit has one diaper per child. Whether you use sized diapers (small, medium, large) or one-size diapers, make sure there's one diaper per child. You may be caught in a situation where both children need to be changed, and you'll want to be prepared. Consider keeping a large prefold as a change pad in the kit, as it can double as a diaper if you're really stuck for a long period of time! Have you ever been caught unawares while away from home and had to do some "creative diapering"? We'd love to hear your story!

Keeping your diaper bag stocked and ready to go makes outings easy, yet we all have those days when we find ourselves madly sorting through the laundry basket looking for a clean cover as we're trying to get out the door. In an effort to make life simpler and more organized, here's a list of items we recommend you make sure you toss in your diaper bag (or preferably, pack ahead of time) - just to make life easy. Diapers: You should always have 1-2 diapers in your diaper bag ready to grab, but if you're going to be away from home for more than an hour or two, we suggest tossing in a few more to cover you (or better said, your babe!) for as long as you'll be out. Also, make sure these are your easiest-to-use diapers! (All-in-ones and pre-loaded pockets are especially popular.) You never know where you're going to end up changing your baby when you're out and about - be in a public washroom, the back of your car, or a living room floor - and you need to be able to change quickly. If your baby is old enough to be rolling or finds the change area to be fascinating, you may also need to be able to change the diaper one-handed. A change pad: Since you don't know where you'll be changing your baby during each outing, it's a great idea to keep a change pad in your diaper bag to use under your baby. This can be as simple as  a prefold diaper or it can be pad specifically designed for that purpose - some diaper bags come with a change pad included. Wipes: Wipes are an absolute necessity! Not only are they handy for diaper change time - sticky hands and runny noses benefit from having a stash of wipes on hand, too!  Pack as many as will fit in your wipes container - a repurposed travel-size disposable wipes container or an extra travel-size wetbag both work well. You can choose to wet them ahead of time or use them dry. A note however - if you tend to keep the wipes ready-to-go in your diaper bag and you also like to keep them wet, make sure you change them out every 2-3 days, as otherwise they may mold. If you want to wet your diapers as you go, this is a great time to stock up on Taslie Cheeky Bum Wash - you just spray the mild wash solution directly on your baby's bum and wipe it off. No worry about keeping wet wipes on hand and you've always got a spray for making sure all the uric acid and other rash-inducing substances actually get cleaned off the skin! A travel-size wetbag: Travel-size wetbags make bringing home the dirties a cinch. If you keep two on hand, it ensures that you've always got a clean one ready to go in the diaper bag. Toss the dirty one into your diaper pail along with the dirty diapers when you get home and replace it with clean wetbag and you'll never be hunting for a plastic bag to use when you're out and about. Extra accessories: It's not necessary, but it's definitely handy to keep extra accessories on hand specifically for keeping your diaper bag stocked. If you keep an extra Snappi and an extra tin of diaper balm in your bag, you'll never be left wanting when you're away from home and neither will you ever have to rummage around once you're back home and half-way through a diaper change before you remember you left the Snappi or Bum Bum Balm in the diaper bag. A toy or other diversion: Once again, since sometimes you end up changing your babe in an unexpected location, have a little toy or other distraction item in your bag ready in case your baby isn't that excited about being changed in a new place. A familiar or at least distracting toy can give you the minute or two you need to complete the change without having to wrestle a fussy babe.

Here's hoping your diaper bag gets to go with you on some amazing life adventures! Do you have any tips to share with the larger New & Green community for keeping your diaper bag organized? Please leave a comment!

Photo Credit - jencu

We recently did a Parent Review Panel on our Facebook Wall with a group of parents who tested out adding Taslie Cheeky Bum Wash + AMP Hemp Wipes to their clean up collection on their change table.  We had a range of age of babies (ahem: poop scenarios) and a range of parents who were using various wipes systems including disposable wipes.  Our Parent review panel provided some valuable feedback about the cleaning power and convenience of using this system.  We also got a sneak peek at their diaper change stations to see how they setup and organize their space with cloth wipes. Some feedback that stood out for us here at New & Green:

• parents found that they could spray the Taslie Bum Wash directly on their babies bum and then use a wet or a dry cloth
• parents reported that the Taslie Bum wash really "cut" through the mess well
• parents liked the light grapefruit scent of the Taslie Bum Wash
• one mom reported forgetting to take it one day on a trip out, using "natural" disposable wipes and being quite overwhelmed with the chemical smell of the disposable wipes after having used cloth wipes and Taslie for a few days in a row
• all the parents loved the softness of the AMP wipes and found them to be effective at cleaning up
• most parents found that they needed to use 2 wipes at a change as the AMP Hemp Wipes were a little smaller than what they typically used (good thing we're just re-washing them and not tossing!)
• some parents reported that the wipes rolled up out of the wash; one parent found that after a week or so of use this didn't happen as much and folding was easier

Overall, our parent review panel gave both the AMP Hemp Wipes and the Taslie Bum Wash a high recommendation to add to your cloth diapering system as an easy and effective, waste-free way to clean up. Read parent reviews for Taslie Bum Wash. Read parent reviews for AMP Hemp Wipes. As a thank you to our parent review panel and to you for reading, we'd like to offer you 10% off Taslie Cheeky Bum Wash and AMP Hemp Wipes.  Use the code AMPWipesTasliePRP during checkout for your discount.  Offer valid on in stock items only and until November 25th, 2011. We'll be doing another Parent Review Panel soon; stay tuned for your opportunity to help other parents learn about the products offered here at New & Green.