Do you have to wash diaper covers at every diaper change?

[kristine_elen]

Do you have to wash a diaper cover at every diaper change? I am due in early December and we would like to try cloth diapers. We would use a service, since we live in apartment and the coin-operated machines in our building would make it cost prohibitive to clean them ourselves. My question is this: How does the Velcro diaper cover work and how often does it have to be washed? My service will not wash the covers, so that would be left to me. Do I need a new cover at every changing? And do they need to be machine washed or just wiped down or rinsed? Is it different if the cover is all nylon/vinyl or partly cotton? I really would like to try cloth, and that's what my husband is pushing for, but it is starting to seem like a lot of work. Any advice/thoughts?
Thanks!

[egoldber]

I haven't actually USED cloth diapers yet, but I've been reading a lot about them, lol! I have read that you can re-use the covers as long as they haven't been pooped on. Many people use 2-3 covers a day, letting one air out and then re-using it at the next diaper change, sort of rotating them. But a poo-poo cover can't be re-used.

HTH,

[nohomama]

Don't give up on cloth diapers before you try. They're not as much work as you think. You'll find you need more covers when your babe is newborn because they need changing a lot (anticipate 10-12 cloth dipes a day). I found 6 Pro Wrap covers (probably the kind your service sells) adequate to start. As Beth said you can rotate covers that are just wet. I often find that I can reuse a cover without letting it air out. If you have an absolute blowout it generally necessitates the cover being laundered, but if it isn't too bad you can hand wash the cover with bar soap and let it hang to dry.

We've really enjoyed using cloth diapers. Hope you do as well.

Sarah
Mama to Lola (9/4/01)

[KathyO]

My diaper covers are fabric with a polyurethane laminate lining the inside (Mother-ease Rikki's and Air-flows). I only have four in each size. They rarely get poopy, so generally I just rinse them once a day or so and let them air-dry. Occasionally they go through the wash with the diapers, but not that regularly. It's worked fine so far.

Good luck!

Cheers,

KathyO

[kristine_elen]

Thanks so much for the help!
-Kris

[egoldber]

Now that I've actually used the diapers for 2 days :), I will that the covers can indeed be used all day. I used 2 covers yesterday, but only because I wanted to try out different ones.

HTH,

[kristine_elen]

Thanks, Beth. So, they don't get too dirty from the urine? You just throw in a new diaper?

[egoldber]

I felt them to see if they were wet. Most of the time, they weren't even wet. If they were, I let them air and used a new cover until it aired. Sarah's poops are pretty solid at this point, so even when she pooped, it wasn't a problem.

HTH,