But I can't stand the thought of thousands of her diapers rotting forever in a trash dump.
However, washing them here is sometimes a pain. See, we don't have a hot water option on our washing machine, and apparently you're supposed to use one to sterilize them every wash. So I heat water on our gas stove to make the wash water hot.
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| From 2010November |
Three of my largest pots, then carry them one by one 32 steps through the kitchen, across the dining area, over the living area, and into the drying room (where our washer is located). This involves skirting around Lizbeth's play area, going through two doorways, and up one step, then down another, all the while carrying a pot full of boiling water.
(view from the kitchen entry way to the patio where the washer is)
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| From Apartment JinHai |
In other ways though, doing cloth diapers is a little easier here. The covers of all the diapers have to be line dried, and any time she poops, the poop stain has to be bleached out by the sun (sounds weird but amazingly it works!) Since dryers are kind of a new concept in China, line drying is down to an art. Nearly all apartments have a special sun room for drying, complete with a double hanger rod pulley system and large windows facing the east. They sell all sorts of hanger contraptions, such as the one pictured below, which makes hanging up individual diapers so much easier.
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| From January 2010 |
Another amazing thing, is that one of our friends found GroBaby diapers at a local export market. Apparently GroBaby has been discontinued for GroVia, and so this place is selling the discontinued diapers for an incredibly affordable rate of five dollars a piece! (They normally sell for $25 a piece) I have also found $52 dollar baking dishes for seven dollars, and many great clothes as well! I am in love with this market...
So, I guess while not having hot water in my washing machine is a pain, not everything has to be hard.
2 comments:
that is an awesome commitment to cloth diapers! to haul your own wash water! oh, the things we do for our babes... ;)
we also love our cloth diapers, esp those b.g. one-size pockets i see drying on your line... ;) we also used the grobaby dipes at one point, and i just wanted to throw out a small caution about them... they almost always leaked on us, and often smelled yucky upon repeat use of the cover. so sad, as i had fallen in love with them before using them. =P granted, it seems like sometimes diapers fit babies differently, so you might not have the same experience? i just know that if you have a b.g. standard, it's hard to beat it!
sooooo, i think i'd recommend trying one out first before you invest too many resources into them. maybe you could borrow one from a friend? or just grab one from the market & go back for more the next week if the fit is great & you love it on lizbeth... not sure if either of those options are feasible. and, that is an INCREDIBLE price, so you aren't out all that much if they aren't perfect in the end anyway. ;)
ok, just my 2cents here, take it for what it is worth. and let me know how it turns out for you!
Thanks Rebekah! I do really love the b.g. too, now that they fit her a little better. Back when she was smaller I loved the GroBaby, but you're right, now that she's bigger they do leak if I don't change them frequently.
Haven't had problems with the smells yet...what i do like about them is that you can use the outside as a simple diaper cover (instead of plastic pants) and with extra pre-folds or whatever you can use one cover for multiple changes...makes stuffing my diaper bag a little smaller. :-)
As things keep changing we'll see what we like best in another month or two!
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