the "ick" factor

[schmamy]

OK...when I first started to think about cloth diapering, the biggest turn-off for me was the idea of swishing in the toilet. Ick. I just don't want to be touching the toilet water, kwim? So then I started hearing from just about everyone how "that's not necessary, no one does that anymore." Everyone said BF poops are so runny that there's no need to rinse, at least. I still was (am) having a hard time wrapping my brain around the logistics of older kids' messy diapers...especially that in-between stage where you can't "shake" it off but it's no longer strictly BFing...but kept hearing things like flushable liners, etc.

Well...the more I think about it, the more the idea of NOT swishing seems kind of gross too. When I asked a friend of mine about it (she had mentioned the toilet swishing as a reason why her DH was NOT on board with CDing and I asked about it since I was surprised to hear--I had heard everyone else say, no swishing for the BF diapers), she said:
"I would definitely still want to rinse the diapers. There’s not much solid stuff there, but there is a lot of cottage-cheese type stuff that will be quite disgusting in your washing machine."
Makes sense to me. I mean, I'm going to just put all that poo through the washing machine?? Ick. At least the toilet is designed for that. The washer is where I wash dishcloths that clean my dishes, and washcloths I wipe my face on, and clothes I wear. I wouldn't want those things anywhere NEAR the toilet! Yeah, I know someone said "if you have a baby there WILL be poo in the washing machine from clothes, sheets etc"...but it seems like there's a big difference between the occasional onesie or crib sheet that's gotten messy from a blowout, vs. dozens of poopy diapers going through the machine every couple of days.

So... :shrug any thoughts? Am I the only one squeamish about this?

[mamaKristin]

you get used to poop really quick as a mom. ;)

I will swish in the toilet when needed. It's not 'fun', but it's all part of the job. It's not all that bad. Technically, sposies are supposed to have the poop dumped out of them before throwing away, and many cloth diapers are better equipped to 'release' than sposies are. :shifty

[Six Little Feet]

You can get a sprayer for the toliet...I want one of those. But it is not as icky as you think it will be.

[Dana Joy]

big kid poos are easy- i grab a piece of tp and it comes right off
bf poo easy too- tossed right into the wash
but you are right there are a good 4-5 months between the yellow mustard and the solid glob
maybe i am gross- but that in between poo just gets tossed in the wash too- i have never found anything in my washer afterward- believe me i have looked, but to be sure i do my whites with bleach (i know a crunchy no-no) afterward.

[something glorious]

dana, i do the same thing- a bleach load following a poopy load :shrug

[mle]

yeah, I'm :sick when I think about cloth, too. I hate to admit it, but I think I may just use the Seventh Generation chlorine-free sposies when our babe shows up. :duck

I'm using them so far with my niece who is alllllmost PT, and they've been just fine.

Glad to hear I'm not the only squeamish one. I think the only way I would (could :sick) do cloth is if we use prefolds and a service.

:shrug

[2sunshines]

Well, you have a good several months when you don't have to think about the poop. Exclusively bf'd poop is the easiest thing ever. You do nothing.

When you start solids, it's still a while before the poop gets yucky. My 9 month old still has easy poop, I just dump the whole diaper in the wash and have never had any remnants. Mind you, she's only on minimal solids.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry that far ahead. In the immediate future, you just have to worry about ebf poop, and those are easy. When your baby grows, you'll start thinking about the next stage. And at that point, I imagine that your pov will change. It's really not as "ewww" as it sounds. :shrug

[Mother of Sons]

:shrug I never swish. I do shake things off. Almost everything always comes off. I know some people use an old spatula to scrape things off. Washing machines are designed to get clothes clean. I have never had poop hanging out in my washing machine after the diapers are done. I am kind of a germaphobe so every so often I do a bleach load but overall I don't worry about it. I've cloth diapered 2 kids now. Never seen poop come out of the washer and no one has gotten sick so :shrug

[something glorious]

i just wanted to come back here and add that i am a HUGE germophobe too. like big time. i'm rather notorious in my family for it, actually :O i agree that EBF poop is like no big thing :shrug and for some reason, this is never something i got hung up on. honestly, so much of the 'yuck' poo ends up in the toilet, that very little is actually going through the wash. and between a pre-rinse, HOT wash, additional rinse cycle and the occasional bleach load, my mind has always been at rest on this issue. :yes

and like MOS said, we've never gotten sick or had any issue whatsoever :shrug

DD has been pottytrained for about 6 months now, so we are past this, but i just want to encourage new mommys that it's not as ick as you imagine :hug i can't wait to CD the next one :tu

[schmamy]

Well, you have a good several months when you don't have to think about the poop. Exclusively bf'd poop is the easiest thing ever. You do nothing.


bf poo easy too- tossed right into the wash


but that's what I'm saying...I had heard this from everyone, but a friend of mine (the one I quoted in my OP) is saying otherwise. she is talking about the EBF diapers. still a lot of poo going through the washer!

I was talking about CDing with my mom (who didn't use them) and when I said something about, "you don't have to rinse them in the toilet, people don't do that anymore" you could tell by the look on her face, she was appalled.

[something glorious]

but, i mean, it's not like rinsing them in the toilet keeps poop germs off of them....:scratch you're basically swirling them around in the bowl that catches ALL of the poop in the house, not just babies' :shrug

[schmamy]

maybe it's not the germs that seem so gross, as the actual volume of poop itself. germs are everywhere...I wouldn't classify myself as a "germophobe" at all...I'm just thinking about the volume of poop going through a washing machine. :shrug

[MarynMunchkins]

Cloth diapers actually *absorb* most of EBF poop. There's really nothing to get off if you try. :shrug

But you could always get a diaper sprayer and rinse them. :)

[something glorious]

well, volume wise, it's just not much :no like mary pointed out, EBF poop is largely if not entirely "liquified" and absorbed into the fibers of the dipe :shrug and when the poops get larger and have more, *ahem*, "texture" :giggle, it is easy to dump most (if not all) of it into the pot. so if volume is all that you're concerned about ick-wise....um, don't be...??? :shrug :shifty

[zak]

You could always try to EC and "catch the poo" in a toilet, rather than using a diaper. :shifty I rarely had to wash a poo diaper after we introduced solids at 10 months. :smile I have poo issues too. :O

[2sunshines]

Oh ,that "cottage cheese" comment referred to ebf poop??? I have never personally seen ebf poop that has that cottage cheese texture. :scratch It's runny and like Mary said, the cd absorbs most, if not all of it. So there's really nothing left to scrape off. And the "volume" of poop is low.

If the whole idea really bothers you, I'd invest in a diaper sprayer that you attach to your toilet so that you can spray the poop off of your diapers before washing them.

[zak]

I have never personally seen ebf poop that has that cottage cheese texture. :scratch It's runny and like Mary said, the cd absorbs most, if not all of it. So there's really nothing left to scrape off.


This has been my experience too. When Reid was newborn I'd attempted to "wash off the poo" in the tub (ok, gross, I know) but there wasn't anything to wash "off".

[schmamy]

Oh ,that "cottage cheese" comment referred to ebf poop???


Yes! I don't think anyone was getting that :) I don't think she was saying that it's all the consistency of cottage cheese, but that there are definite "curds" quite often. :shrug I don't know, it was in an email--I wasn't talking with her in person about it. (As a side note...why must we compare poo to food? Also, this is why I am disgusted by cottage cheese. Blech. :) )


You could always try to EC and "catch the poo" in a toilet, rather than using a diaper. :shifty I rarely had to wash a poo diaper after we introduced solids at 10 months. :smile I have poo issues too. :O


Thanks...I'm glad I'm not the only one with "poo issues" :O :giggle

I am definitely intrigued by EC...I don't know much of anything about it but will definitely be looking into it more at some point.