What To Do With Dirty Diapers Between Washings

Alright, you successfully changed a cloth diaper. Nice work. Maybe it was even a poopy one. Great job. But now what? You're holding a soiled cloth diaper... what do you do?

Step #1: Don't panic. Just kidding, it's really simple actually. Here's what you do.

FIRST
Is the diaper dirty or just wet? If it's just wet, then it's really easy. Simply store the wet diaper in an open-air pail lined with a washable pail liner or in a hanging diaper pail (called a hanging wet bag). That's it. Collect the soiled diapers in your wet bag for 2-3 days and then wash, dry and re-use. You even throw the wet bag right into the wash along with the diapers. Super easy. If you really want to know our personal favorite, we love the hanging style wet bags because they take up less floor space in small nurseries since they can hang from a doorknob, closet, bathroom towel bar or even from a wreath hanger up over a door (great if you need to keep it away from curious toddlers or pets). But if you prefer to go the diaper pail route, you can use a washable pail liner in any kind of receptacle, think a traditional diaper pail, an Ubbi pail, or even a plastic garbage bin, laundry basket or tupperware type container. What you use the hold the pail doesn't really matter, whatever works for you. However you store your diapers until wash day, keep it away from heat vents and direct sunlight and leaving it open to the air rather than sealing it off helps keep smells down.

SECOND
If that diaper you changed was dirty, there's just one extra step. Knock any solids into the toilet first and then transfer the diaper to your wet bag. If baby is breastfed there won't be much volume to knock off and it's all water soluble anyway so those newborn breastfed baby diapers can go straight into the wet bag. Once baby is bigger you may want to consider a diaper sprayer or disposable diaper liners for easier cleanup, but those are optional. Remember you just need to get the majority of the solids off. The rest is handled by your washing machine.

PRO TIPS
*Make sure you have 2 large pail liners or hanging wet bags. You'll need one for collecting diapers while the other is in the wash. And if you're going to cloth diaper outside the house too, grab a couple of the travel size wet bags for changing diapers on the go. Double pocket travel bags are especially convenient because there are two separate zippered pockets and you can keep clean diapers or wipes in one and the dirty stuff in the other.

*Let air circulate! A closed diaper pail or wet bag will concentrate odours making them worse and may cause mould if you let the diapers sit too long between washings. Keep your diaper pail or wet bag in a cool, well ventilated area like the nursery, or the bathroom out of direct sunlight. An open diaper bag smells less, trust me on that one.

*You do not need to use a wet pail to soak your diapers in water or any other solution between washings. This is no longer necessary with the great washing machines we have today and it is a drowning hazard for curious toddlers, not to mention yucky to have to drain and clean. Soaking is also hard on the elastics in your diapers and will shorten the lifespan of your diaper fabrics in the long run if done on a regular basis.

*If you have pets or curious kids, opt for a hanging style wet bag and use a wreath hanger to hang it up over top of a door.

*When you're done with diapers, your pail liners or large wet bags double as great laundry bags, water-resistant storage for camping gear, toy storage, or any number of other uses and travel size wet bags are perfect for wet swim suits, a change of clothing at daycare/preschool or for protecting your phone and other valuables from sand and splashes at the beach.

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