Well, I've washed some diapers with the new soap nuts and I have to say. They are fresh, clean, and soft. YES! Tide is about .20 per load, soap nuts are about .07 per load. This sounds little until you are doing 4 loads per day. Now, we are talking .80 cents versus .28 cents per day. The instructions say to let the bag dry out between washes, but I'm washing so often that I don't think I fall into that "group". I did buy extra muslin bags in case I need them or something. If you did not read the last article, my midwife recommended soap nuts for washing your clothes as opposed to detergent. I ordered a bag from naturoli and they really work! I know they really work, because my diaper load smells like a funky skunk on a bad day, and even on the 2 hour front loader wash, I often have to wash them twice to get them clean. Today, with a single wash and some soap nuts, they smelled fresh.
On another note, I have to revisit cloth diapering. For those of you who may not know, I used to have a cloth diapering company. Therefore, I am very fond of cloth diapering and actually prefer it over disposables. I have fallen to the wayside a couple of times and used disposables, but, I always come back. When Miley was first born, we moved to Branson, and I was so overwhelmed with everything, that I immediately cut the cloth out and started both Michael and Miley in disposables. (actually, Michael was already in them), to help with laundry. This was nice for about 6 weeks, and then I had some real leakage issues at night with Miley. Disposables seem easier until you are washing sheets daily...hence, the time savings reverses.
In the meantime, I got a new assistant who has been really diligent with the laundry and helping me get it put away every day. I realized that I was o.k. plopping down tens and twenties for diapers....for about 6 weeks, and then it started eating on me. I just don't like spending money on trash. The main issue was not Miley, the main issue was Michael. When babies get to be toddlers, their poops get HORRIBLE and sometimes they will poop five times a day. When they hit that point, I switch to disposables, and I think it's worth every penny. But all of my babies potty trained between 1.5 years and 2 years old.
Michael (now 2 and 1/2 years old) proudly airs his bum full of poop and acts as if this is a lifetime habit. He (of all my children) never really liked the idea of "Infant potty training" AT ALL, so it looks as if it might be a few more months of laying down the tens and twenties. Alas, I had to come up with a backup plan....I'm not cheap, but I'm not dumb, either. I'd rather have dark chocolate goji berries in my grocery cart than huggies....so with determination in my soul, and my face set like flint, I have darkened the shadowy, grim corridor of cloth diapering a toddler once again. And, actually, it hasn't been too bad. Aside from secretly wanting a fireman's garb and mask as I rinse out the poopy cloth diaper, I have actually enjoyed cloth diapering him. I don't know what it is about cloth diapers...for me, the whole thing is sort of baby therapy. The clean cotton, the tight wrap that I do, and the pretty perfect capability of my diapers to hold everything just makes me feel good. Like, I'm doing the right thing.
Anyway, the way I deal with Michael is as follows. I have a great big countertop in the laundry room with a sprayer. I keep a changing pad in there and when it's poopy, I march him straight to the laundry room, lay him down on the counter, and start taking off the layers. His poops are so nasty that even top layers of clothing will retain the smell for days...so all of it goes in the washer. I toss the pajama bottoms and tops in the washer and carefully pull down his pull-up pants (these are on sale by the way at www.Bumkins.com...look in the clearance section...normally they are $14.99 and they are on sale for $9.50 or so....my favorite covers by far). THEN, I examine the situation. If his bottom needs no less than 50 wipes, he needs to be hosed off before I take care of the diaper. I turn the water faucet on the very coldest it can possibly be (which, in Branson in the wintertime is FRIGID). I then put him in the laundry sink and use a rag to help me while I hose him down. If the diaper has raised my blood pressure, I just hose extra body parts to get even. I hose him in the front, in the back, in the front, in the back, in the front, in the back, with sufficient LOUD screaming all in between, as the water is VERY frigid. Then, I use the rag to make sure he's all clean. Finally, he gets to lay back down on the changing pad and I don the extra thick blue gloves from Lowe's. I now turn my attention to the diaper that one would be tempted to burn in the fireplace, and I rinse it as well as I can. I use my gloved fingers to sort of push everything down the drain, and then take the wet soppy diaper ball and throw it in the washer. I let it hang out in there for hours sometimes as I gather more whites from around the house.
It's very therapeutic. You save money. You help the environment. You make your child pay for every slimy outgassing poop that you've had to change. And best of all, you secretly know that if your child has the smarts of a donkey, he will one day very soon wake up and realize that the potty is the most attractive appliance in the home, and he will want to make friends and share moments of intimacy with the porcelain throne.
Bathroomsprayers.com has the best selection of Diaper/Bidet Sprayers which are actually hand bidet sprayers meant to be used to clean yourself, not a diaper originally. Great way to save allot of money on toilet paper and help the environment. They even have some stainless steel models that come with a 5 year warranty = the best in the industry!
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