looking for help with flats (diapers)

[esperanza]

I am thinking of buying some flats for an upcoming two week trip with not great washing machine access (planning on hand washing). This seems like the best option given the washing situation, but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I can get used prefolds, but everything I am reading says flats are easiest to handwash.

Is one flat going to be absorbent enough for a toddler? I think he's getting to the age that he is peeing more when he does pee. Or will I need to double it up with something else?

Has anyone used flour sack towels as flats? Are they soft? They don't seem like they would be very comfortable. Anything else I need to know?

[Earthmummy07]

Flats are my favourite the ones I had were bomb proof when ds1 was a toddler

I used terry squares, but have heard good things about flour sack towels on YouTube. Heidi Kim did a flats and hand washing challenge (as did other people). There's some really helpful videos on there

---------- Post added at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:37 PM ----------

ETA I didn't need to boost my flats at all in the day. I did boost at night when he was a toddler though.

[JoannaV]

Personally I think prefolds wouldn't be bad to handwash, but they take a long time to dry. Do you know where you will be hanging the flats?

I'm not sure about the absorbency for the average two year old. New flats are going to be more absorbent than super old ones that have had half of their material washed away. . It's easy enough to double flats. I always use the origami fold, and then I would just put another rectangle-folded flat inside that.
Make sure that you do all the pre-washing so that your new flats are absorbent!!

Flats stay softer better than prefolds when air-drying. You can scrunch them up and throw them around and sit on them if they don't feel soft enough.
I'm not quite sure what flour sack towels feel like.

---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 PM ----------

The Gerber ones are pretty insubstantial, and seem to have a lot of extra fluff that gets lost. I haven't actually used them though. (Someone gave me a pack they happened to have.)

[Quiteria]

Prefolds can get stinky in the middle if they don't dry fast enough. Maybe out in the sun in dry weather with a breeze, but I've had pretty bad luck trying to dry them indoors. That's a good question about where you'll be drying yours.

You can pre-fold your flats as you are putting them away after drying. I used to do that to store them until the next change, to make things a little faster.

(I edited my post above a little to include more info...always think of stuff after I hit post. )

[esperanza]

They will be drying in the blazing hot sun, but it is very humid. We used our microfiber inserts before but used a washer and dryer. For various reasons that didn't work super well, and I don't think we will go that route this time. I have line dried my prefolds at home (just a couple at a time, use as extras when I run out of our usual diapers), and they didn't seem to take that long to dry. Less time than our MF inserts. Hmmm....

I would rather do prefolds if you all think I can handwash them well enough. I know that they absorb well enough for day time use and can get them used (and cheaper). They are bulkier though. I could get a pack of flats to try and return if they don't work.

[Quiteria]

One possibility is using prefolds with a flat inside as a liner if you don't like flats alone. That might help keep the poop from getting ground into the prefold. Poop isn't hard to wash out of flats, but the thought of handwashing it out of a prefold makes me shudder. There are also disposable liners people use for poop...I wouldn't flush them in most home toilets, especially if you're going where I think you're going, but you could potentially use them as a barrier, flush the poop off them as best you can, and then throw away the remainder without it being as much bulk as disposable diapers.

The main difference between handwashing flats and prefolds is getting the dirty soapy water OUT of the item you're washing. Flats are thin enough to rinse easily. With prefolds, you're going to be wringing your heart out with multiple rinses, and there are just so many layers to trap soap and germs deep within. With flats, you can spray water right through them and know that you're done. To me, that's worth having to take a moment to fold them up to put on a baby.

I mostly just tri-folded mine (fold in half to match the length of the prefold, then fold the sides in to match the width of a prefold) and called that good enough.

[Quiteria]

Flour sack towels are a pretty tight weave...I don't think they'd absorb fast enough to catch the pee before it leaks. Maybe try one if you have any, but I wouldn't go buying a couple dozen without being sure.

I actually have an entire case of giant unbleached birdseye flats that I bought when I was thinking of starting a business. They're about 36x36 unwashed. I think I used two of them at a time when my kids were toddlers, like under a cover. Sometimes I used them to fill a pocket diaper...that you might be able to get away with just one, but they do slide down sometimes when loose like that. If you buy the white Gerber flats, if they even still sell them, they are about half that size. Needing three at a time would not be out of the realm of possibility.

I'd recommend giving them a try as soon as possible so that you can get used to what works before you're on the road. (You can machine wash while you're home...it will help break them in anyway.) A lot depends on how much your child pees at once, how you feel comfortable folding them, how tightly you can get them on or get them covered. Better to figure out what leaks and what doesn't while you're still at home with a fresh supply of clothing.

[Quiteria]

I really think you will need to double them. Use two per diaper change.

[Lady Grey]

I know that flour sack towels are popular for use as flats but I didn't find them nearly absorbent enough. What I do love for flats are the flannel receiving blankets. They have worked great for my toddlers during the day - I pad fold them and put them in Flip and Diaper Safari covers.

I haven't tried actual flats because the flannel receiving blankets were cheaper and worked quite well. I bought packages of them on clearance at Target, but you can also find them at thrift stores etc...

[zeo2ski]

If you do go with flats, I wouldn't even think twice about cold water washing, it'll be fine. Definitely consider double flats or GMD now sells a half flat for a doubler but if you will be using a PUL cover one flat should be fine for daytime.

[knitlove]

I thought I replied. I have always only used flats. I have no doubt that one new flat (especially unbleached) would hold all of my 2 year olds pee. I have 3 dozen flats that are looking verry warn and even with that I only double up at night.

What I thought I said before was that I use two flour sack towels to replace one birds eye flat when I am behind on laundry.

---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------

Oh and there are more folds than the origami one. I don like that one at all. I use the kite fold. On my computer I (think I still ) have a PDF that had lost of different folds.

[JoannaV]

I just found it called the happy anteater fold. I love it but it might be more of a learning curve than some others.

[esperanza]

But I could do just a pad fold, right? I think one of the reasons flats scare me because there are so many folds. I'm used to being able to change ds standing up, and getting him to lay down for every diaper change is going to be enough of a challenge! I don't need to have to start wrapping all this fabric around his bum!
Still waiting to hear on the washing situation...

[JoannaV]

Yes yes yes.

[OnAMission]

Originally Posted by esperanza

But I could do just a pad fold, right? I think one of the reasons flats scare me because there are so many folds. I'm used to being able to change ds standing up, and getting him to lay down for every diaper change is going to be enough of a challenge! I don't need to have to start wrapping all this fabric around his bum!
Still waiting to hear on the washing situation...

Oh yes! I did fancier folds when they were very little and would stay still. Later on, we went for top speed! I just folded into quarters (ie into a smaller square) when they were dry. Then at the actual diaper change it was just fold the smaller square into thirds, lay it in the cover, snap and go!