Cloth Diapers??

Theres small portable washers! All over amazon

I cant seem to find them on amazon AUS, do they have a special name?

It should just be a portable washing machine! We have them all over amazon us but maybe just try google? Theyre used a lot for small apartments and campers, RVs, etc.

You wash them on hot and you spray poop off when they're solid. It's really not that much different than if you bled through on your period or when they pee through or have blowouts. I'd be weary of a portable as you won't know exactly how hot your water needs to be to kill the bacteria and sterilize them as your washer automatically is set up for different temps.

I agree

I’m just not on board with the concept of it mentally. Blood and pee/poop are two different things in my head so i would feel like i’d have to deep clean my washer every time i did a diaper load to make sure the bacteria is out of the pipes and basin etc! Tbh its bad enough i wash my kitchen towels in there even thats pushing it 😅

Then other than using a Laundromat, it's not worth cloth diapering. You really need to be on board as it is more time consuming and effort than disposables. They should be washed every 2-4 days to not have ammonia buildup.

You could wash them in napisan which is specifically for washing baby clothes, even on a 30 degree wash, it kills 99% of the bacteria so you wouldn’t need to worry about it contaminating other clothes and if you wash on hot it should be fine

Wash with oxygen bleach and a good organic laundry liquid that has Castille soap in it

If you have a good wash cycle your washing machine will not noticed the difference

I agree with Em - we do cloth diapers and use an antibacterial setting on our washing machine that washes them with very hot water. It weirded me out at first, but doesn’t bother me at all anymore.

If you’re really worried you could always run a short cycle in between loads, etc. but I think you’ll find that won’t be super necessary if you do a couple of things to prep the diaper first.

First of all, I was skeptical about cloth diapering too but have really come to love it. It saves so much money and the waste reduction is unreal. Also generally more comfy for our baby (she’s barely had any diaper rash all year).

I won’t lie, dealing with the poopy ones can be a total pain, but I let my partner do those 😂

There are also things you can buy called “tossers” which are a game-changer… they’re like a soft liner that goes above the cloth liner. If baby poops, it catches the solid poo and let’s the person sink in. This make it easier to clean (and they’re biodegradable too) I wish we would have found them so much sooner than we did! Otherwise, you/your hubby can just knock the solid poo into the toilet before putting the diapers in the washing machine

*let’s the pee sink in

It’s a bit more work (and upfront cost for the diapers) but it’s worth it. And if your partner has agreed to take it on, I say go for it.

Also, you don’t have to use them all.the.time… Because there are some times that they are just not convenient.

For example, we use disposables on long car rides and overnights so we don’t have stinky diapers in the car, and because we were finding they would sometimes leak now that she’s sleeping almost 11/12 hours overnight. Saves us having to get her changed from her sleep clothes, etc.

Hope this helps! Sorry for the novel 😅 You can also pre-wash the poopy ones by hand (whatever the tosser doesn’t catch) if you’re concerned about the washing machine.

can you save the dirty diapers for 2/3 days? Or you have to wash it daily?

We save them for a few days, yes! Sometimes longer when we wash/rinse them after a poo. Many come with wet bags that help contain odours (we use a brand called Nora’s Nursery, and they have small & large wet bags that we just put in our diaper genie.

when you save, don’t the poo become hard and later on difficult to rinse?
are the tossers only one time use?where do you get them from?

What makes you not want to wash them in the same washing machine? Either your washing machine washes clothes, or it doesn't. Baby poo before weaning is completely water soluble and doesn't leave any residue in the machine.
You could always run an empty cycle after if you really wanted to ensure the machine is clean, but honestly there is absolutely zero need. I washed all our normal clothes in with the nappy wash too.

I agree that I used a spray and hosed off in toilet before putting it in wash. We loved cloth diapering.

not true. A LOT of water is used to make disposables. Cloth can be used over and over, on multiple children too. Besides, being green isn't the only positive about cloth nappies. They are more comfortable for baby, less chance of rashes, financially better (especially if bought second hand and then sold on again), less plastic and other chemicals too.