My children were happily rash free while using cloth during the day, but we struggled with regular nocturnal yeast infections. I felt copious amounts of guilt, poured boiling water into a bathtub of clean prefolds, experimented with different detergents, and felt more guilt when we couldn’t seem to resolve the issue. But now I finally know what I could have done to prevent the infections altogether! (At the time I switched to disposables at night and felt much sadness about it.)

To attack this hearty fungi in the laundry, wash diapers in 122+ degree water or with a few drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to eliminate yeast spores. Just what is GSE extract? It’s a natural product that that combats fungus, viruses and bacteria. A four ounce bottle will run you nearly fifteen dollars, but you only need to include a few drops with each load so it may be worth it in the long run.

Although some people recommend using chlorine bleach, others insist that it will not actually kill yeast spores. (And other additives such as borax, peroxide, or baking soda probably won’t do the trick.) Sunlight, while a wonderful natural bleaching and antibacterial agent, will not wipe out yeast spores either.

There are host of other things our readers have recommended including Neem Cream, or Neem Oil, hemp diaper inserts, and using a probiotic such as Florajen 3. For more info check out our post on Solutions for Nighttime Yeast Infections with Cloth Diapers.

If you start with laundering, remember that all diapers (even the clean ones) have to be treated along with washable wipes, diapering pads, and any other piece of cloth that touches baby’s skin.

Have you struggled with your baby’s yeast infections when using cloth? What long term solutions have you found? Do you find that yeast infections have something to do with the hardness or softness of the water? (Rebecca, who lives two hours north of me, never had a single problem with yeast infections during night diapering even though we did our cloth diapering laundry exactly the same. How is this possible?)

Two lucky readers are going to have a very, very good week! One of them will receive three One Size Fuzzibunz cloth diapers and the other will score a Fuzzibunz In and out Mess Free Hanging Diaper Pail and a bag of Rockin’ Green Laundry Soap. What great supplies for all your cloth diapering adventures!

Prize #1
Three One Size FuzziBunz Pocket Diapers
If you aren’t yet a FuzziBunz fanatic, you may soon be converted. They are soft, absorbent, easy care pocket diapers that work wonderfully. The FuzziBunz One Size cloth diapers are built to take babies from birth to potty training, with sturdy adjustable snaps that older tots can’t open. So even though there is an initial investment, once you get a set of these diapers you will never have to buy a different size again!

The soft layer of polyester in Fuzzibunz wicks moisture from baby’s skin while the inner pad absorbs the bulk of the wetness. Because the pad is removable, it dries far more quickly than an All-in-One Diaper or a Prefold Diaper. (In my opinion, FuzziBunz are the best cloth diapers for line drying.) You can also double up the inner pads for naptime or heavy wetters. Check out this FuzziBunz One Size Diaper Tutorial Video to see how to adjust the FuzziBunz One Size Diaper and get a better idea of how a pocket diaper works.

I’ve had a set of FuzziBunz diapers for the last three years and can attest to their durability and effectiveness. Our Velcro diapers have all aged horribly after hundreds of washings with two children, but the vivid colors and quality fabrics of our FuzziBunz are holding up beautifully.
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Prize #2
FuzziBunz In and out Mess Free Hanging Diaper Pail and 1 Bag Rockin’ Green Laundry Soap
FuzziBunz In and out Mess Free Hanging Diaper Pail is an ingenious fabric contraption that you can perch on a doorknob or hook for a portable diaper pail. Dirty cloth diapers are deposited in the top opening and when the pail is full, you simply unzip the bottom to drop the diapers into the washing machine. (Which means less hands-on dirty diaper contact!) Toss the diaper pail in along with the load and you’re all set. When your babies are potty trained, use it as a handy little laundry bag.

My favorite part of Rockin’ Green Laundry Soap is that it  makes doing the wash seem rebellious and exciting. It’s also the first detergent I’ve discovered that is customized for different water types. Hard Rock Rockin’ Green is the toughest detergent formula for hard water; Soft Rock Rockin’ Green is for soft water and sensitive skin; and Classic Rock Rockin’ Green is for those in the middle. It’s eco-friendly, but works hard to get out stains, spills and stink and has recently been “remixed” to work even better. Its ingredients are safe and free from phosphate, fillers, enzymes or optical brighteners. Rockin’ Green comes in seven natural scents, all made with 1000% essential oils, including, Mighty, Mighty Marshmallow, Smashing Watermelons, Rage Against the Raspberry, Motley Clean, and Lavender Mint Revival.

Enter the Fuzzibunz Cloth Diapers, Fuzzibunz Cloth Diaper Pail, and Rockin’ Green Laundry Soap Giveaway!

Each comment counts as an entry. You can enter up to four times. Here’s how:

1. Simply post a comment

2. Like Greenbabyguide.com on Facebook (then tell us you did it in a separate comment)

3. Visit the Fuzzibunz website or the Rockin’ Green Laundry Soap website and comment on what you learned.

4. Spread the news about the giveaway! Email someone, post it on Facebook, tweet it, blog it, or send someone a message about it via carrier pigeon. (And again, don’t forget to tell us all about it in the comments!)

This contest ends on Thursday July 21th and is only open to U.S. Residents.

Great luck!

Do you have a complex system of soaking and pre-washing, or are you cloth diaper slackers like Rebecca and me?  How do you handle smells and stains?  Do you use hot or cold water?  What’s your favorite detergent?

Cloth diapers were a total mystery to me in those early days of parenting–as was cloth diaper laundering.  I didn’t have a copy of our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, to help me with selecting and caring for cloth diapers, so I was lost!  I have to confess that I even bleached our pre-folds a few times at first before a friend taught me that it’s unnecessary and also very tough on the fabric.

These days we are incredibly lax about our diaper washing system and are quite happy with the results. We use a dry pail and when it fills up, we simply toss them in the washer.  We use cold water most of the time and throw in a little Bac Out to help freshen them up.  We don’t hang up our diapers at this point, although summer is a different story.  Our diapers are no more complex than any other load of laundry and come out smelling great!

Please feel free to share your cloth diaper laundry struggles and victories!

Is it deciphering cloth diaper vocabulary?  (Like hybrid, chinese prefold, pocket diaper, all-in-one?)  Is it being able to afford the organic produce you’d like to buy?  Is it the physical challenge of early breastfeeding?  Do you need some homemade babyfood recipes? Or are you still trying to prepare for baby’s arrival with the planet in mind?

My children are now leaving the realm of babyhood and hearing your questions and challenges keeps us connected with what our readers need in those early days of parenting.  If you have a problem, chances are there are dozens of other women face the same dilemma.  Thanks for sharing ideas that we can present to our readers for future Friday questions!

As frugal souls, we love that you can get our book for free at your local library. It’s even more exciting when the price of The Eco-nomical Baby Guide randomly falls to below eight bucks on Amazon! You can now score a copy for just $7.98, which is sixty percent off the original price of $19.99.  Considering that our little gem can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars, it’s worth the meager investment in a green baby guide that’s infused with humor and humility.  These price dips usually last just a few days so you might want to pick up a few for gifts while the sale lasts. Good luck!

Time-consuming and endless.  That’s how I’d describe my domestic duties.  But perhaps you’re more enlightened and would pick adjectives like “Rewarding and fulfilling.”  If so, please inspire me!

Do you incrementally work on general household cleaning duties, or do you prefer for things to build up to near disaster before you attack?  Who is in charge of washing cloth diapers or buying groceries?  Do your children do small tasks for you as well?  Is your partner involved in domestic upkeep or do you shoulder the responsibility yourself?

Any tricks you’ve implemented might be a help to the rest of us!  (My resolution for order and focus this year has me using the quicken calendar to remind me of three chores each day.  It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly an improvement from what I was doing before!)

Exactly one year ago yesterday, our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide: Down-to-Earth Ways for Parents to Save Money and the Planet, hit store shelves.  It took us three years of hands-on research and thousands of drafts before we were satisfied with our practical green guide for new parents.  We flavored the manuscript with humor, anecdotes, and lots of humility as we tried to convey what we wished we would have known before our babies arrived.  The cloth diaper information we provide is highly user friendly, but there ‘s also information on buying less, buying used and buying green that helped each of us save over five thousand dollars on our babies’ first year alone.

If you wish you had a copy in your hands right now, you’re in luck!  We’re giving away one copy on the anniversary of it’s publication.

Three Ways to Enter The Eco-nomical Baby Guide Book Giveaway:

1. Simply post a comment

2. Like us on Facebook (then tell us you did it in the comments)

3. Spread the news about the giveaway! Email someone, post it on Facebook, tweet it, blog it, or send someone a message about it via carrier pigeon. (And again, don’t forget to tell us all about it in the comments!)

This contest ends on March 10th and is only open to U.S. Residents.

Good luck!

Also, we have some gorgeous Eco-nomical Baby Guide bookmarks that we’d love to distribute in OB/GYN offices, midwifery clinics and other spots where green moms can find them.  If you have a location where you know they’d be snatched up, please email us your name and address and tell us where you’d like to distribute them.  Thanks in advance for all your help!

The funky odor.  The leaks.  Oh how I loathe detergent build up on cloth diapers!

With my first baby, I had no idea why his cloth diapers suddenly smelled like dirty sweat socks after being washed or why they refused to soak up even small amounts of liquid.

Then I learned how to use less detergent, I switched to greener detergents,(like Biokleen and, later, Country Save) and I found out how to strip diapers.

For us, one hot load with an extra rinse every few months totally does the trick.

Some people apparently have to strip diapers much more frequently and run them through several loads of hot water before the diapers work again.  But others don’t ever seem to need to strip diapers. (I’ve especially heard this from users of Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder.)

I’ve even heard stories about mothers putting their cloth diapers into the dishwasher to be able to get the water hot enough to truly strip away the build-up. We’d have a small kitchen flood if I tried something so risky!

Do you strip your diapers?  If so, how often?  If not, what’s your secret?

I have gone on record with my love for Biokleen Laundry Detergent. (I swear I do not work for Biokleen! I just have had good luck with both the laundry detergent and dish washing powder.) What do you find works best for diaper laundry? Do you use the same detergent for the rest of your laundry, too?

After the holidays, we’re generally stocked on fulfilling memories and stale sugar cookies–but not so much on cash. If you’re looking to slim down your January budget, we have several vintage posts with earth friendly, budget friendly tips.

You have to eat, right? If you’d love to spend just $175 per month on your groceries, while buying mostly organic food, you have to check out Rebecca’s post on Saving Money on Organic Groceries.

If your baby is on solids, you can save hundreds of dollars with DIY organic baby purees–and you won’t need fancy equipment or loads of extra time.

Laundry is another unavoidable budget item, but we do have a recommendation for the least expensive green laundry detergent.  (It happens to be quite effective too!)

Slim down your baby-related costs by using our money-saving cloth diapering tips and looking at our top lactation posts for breastfeeding support.

If your body is transitioning into or out of pregnancy, buy secondhand maternity clothes or opt for a secondhand  postpartum transition wardrobe.  Why spend hundreds of dollars on clothes you’ll only be wearing for a matter of months?

Speaking of transitional wardrobes, really all of baby’s clothes during her first year will be worn for a very short period of time.  We’ll give you the insider scoop on going green by buying used baby clothes.

And while you’re happily saving hundreds, you may not realize that all this frugality has secondary benefits for your family and your overall quality of life.  We’re big believers in the long term rewards of under indulgence.

Just how much money did we save going green on a budget?  Each of our families saved nearly six thousand dollars in our babies’ first year alone.   Our new book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide shares a detailed account of our frugal, green adventures.  Read it for free at your local library or see if your doctor’s office would be willing to pick up a copy for their lending library.  Even if you do shell out a whopping $13.50 for your own copy on Amazon, you’ll see your family’s personal savings far exceed the cost.

Are you cutting back this January?  I have to confess that we’ve been gifted with a frequent flyer mile ticket to Hawaii for a family reunion for late this month.  So while we’re looking forward to the fun, we’re also using our frugal skills to their fullest this month in preparation for some upcoming splurges.  (Shave ice, snorkeling, and sushi!) That’s what frugality is all about to me——being purposeful with saving so that when it comes time to spend, we’re ready!