I tried cloth diapers when Maira was a baby and Connor was still a toddler and I liked them at first but after some wear and tear, they got smelly and I just couldn't get them clean no matter what I did. Also, Maira got diaper rash even worse with cloth diapers than she did with disposables.
But...now, I have found out why I was having those problems: bad diapers and hard water. Now, I have found a great cloth diaper (that's not ridiculously expensive like a lot of them are), the AMP all-in-two diaper. At the risk of sounding like a commercial, they are easy to get clean, quick to dry and so soft of Hudson's skin, and they're made in Canada. The only time he gets rashes now is when I put him in a disposable (which I still use when we're on a trip). I order them from a local business run by two stay-at-home moms, Natural Urban Mamas.
And as for hard water, I'm learning that Edmonton has crazy hard water and that there's a reason the people we bought the house from had installed a water softener (which is now broken). The minerals in the water build up on fabric and stop it from absorbing as well. So, now that I know that, I've started using washing soda and vinegar in my washing machine when I wash my diapers (they both help to soften the water). I've also found a wonderful laundry detergent that is phosphate, dye, fragrance, whitener, etc, etc, - free AND is for use in front load washers. Yay!
The Top Five Reasons I Use Cloth:
1 - Less diaper rash
2 - Better for the environment
3 - Cheaper
4 - Keeps the poop in much better than disposables
5 - They're so cute
