Okay, let me first get one thing off my chest. I decided to finally take the plunge? Have I gone off the deep end finally? Well, just maybe. See, I have been cloth diapering for over 2 years. I bought a Bummis starter box and a set of Kushies AIOs before my son was born. Boy have I learned a lot since then! With the addition of a few more diapers in varying styles and sizes, a mess of cloth wipes and a recipe for wipe solution I am going to finally make the 100% switch to cloth. With Earth Day around the corner I think it is fitting. Please give me moral support if I start to bend under the pressure! Disposables have really been my crutch.
Okay, onto Fluff Talk Thursday. This fabulous Meme was started by Happily Domestic and you can link back to her by clicking on the button at the top of this post. The topic for this week is all about drying your diapers. I use cloth diaper for many fabulous reasons including the environment and energy/money savings. Obviously I enjoy line drying because it fits in well with those goals. Unfortunately I live in Oregon where we call a light shower "Oregon sunshine". This makes it tough. I do my best, but know that I can't always wait for a break in the clouds.
Here are my pros for line drying:
1. Helps to whiten my whites
2. Saves time drying (my diapers usually dry in one hour outside vs. multiple drying cycles)
3. They smell very nice
4. Cost effective
5. It frees up my dryer to do other things (like the mountain of laundry always haunting me!)
6. Less noisy than the dryer
And the cons:
1. Crunch, hard diapers
2. A big mess in the yard if the wind gets ahold of them
3. CCNRs.... not an issue for me, but is an issue for others I know. Clotheslines are often forbidden
4. Requires a sunny, or at least dry, day
Now I have dealt with the crunchy diapers by line drying and then tossing them into the dryer for a fluff cycle. This is still better than the 2-3 drying cycles needed to dry them without line-drying.
I would love to know what has worked for you and what your preference is. If you want to join in on Fluff Talk Thursday, write on this week's topic and join the Linky on Happily Domestic. Super duper easy!
...oh, and stay tuned for my trials and tribulations as I try to break the disposable habbit.
I do mine in the dryer. I have an HE washer, so they're not terribly wet anyway. I dry the inserts, then throw the diapers in on low or medium for maybe 20ish minutes.
ReplyDeleteI've only been doing this for a month or so, before that, I would hang the diapers to dry in my laundry room! Wish I had a clothesline!
Thanks for joining in! :-) It was beginning to feel rather lonely.
ReplyDeleteI love your fluff picture. Very sweet...esp. with the little white flowers.
Have you tried drying your diapers earlier in the morning or later in the day? It is the quick drying that makes them crunchy.
Hi there, love ur post and pic like HD said. I to line dry and don't fuss much about the crunchy, I add inserts so it doesn't irritate DD. Thanks for adding ur link.
ReplyDeleteToss a large dry towel into the dryer with the diapers. It will significantly shorten your drying time! I was doing 2-3 40 min cycles on hot to dry my diapers, then tossed in a large dry towel and can be done in 50 min on hot one cycle!
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