Cloth Diapers and Soap Nuts

I honestly would  say that I am a new user to these wonderful nuts!  Soapnuts Why? It is because I started to cloth diaper my kiddo at about 8 months when  the storm  settled down. Yes I know a lot of people settled down within 4 months but with my strong willed baby it took us longer. Since I am a full time working mother, my plan of cloth diapering  is only materialised on weekends, but I have a great nanny who uses napkin folds as well as disposable diapers so my girl is not exclusively on disposable diapers. Hopefully toilet training will be easy on us so we can kiss the whole diapering business good bye..soon.

Why cloth diapers? To some people it is a hassle because you have more in your laundry basket. Some of my friends think I am crazy to go through such trouble so that my kiddo's bum bum is healthy. Well it is not just about butt health but general wellness as well. Our clean sterile looking diapers and pads are all bleached  and the by-product is Dioxin which is the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals.  Certain dioxins have been shown to be a carcinogen and to affect the reproductive and immune systems, cause skin disease, birth defects and liver damage. In response to scares over dioxin exposure, several disposable diaper manufacturers have started to product diapers that are unbleached or bleached without chlorine. Have you tried smelling a fresh disposable diaper? The better the claims of absorbency  the stronger the chemical smell. If you have not, just pick up one today and take a deep breath I sure you will be surprised.

Let's start with soap nuts, these are nature's cleaning gift to us sans nasty chemical and residues. I started using soap nuts because my cloth diapers needed a gentle cleaning agent that won't leave any traces on my precious soakers and inserts. Residues will affect absorbency and in the long run lower the performance of cloth diapers. I got my first package of soap nuts from another mom that I befriended online. She has been my helpline for my list of questions. So far I have been using the nuts to not just wash my cloth diapers but for all my kiddo's clothes. 

Just drop 5 to 8 nuts in a muslin,cotton or organza bag if you run out of bags an old cotton sock will do the trick as well. Some people drop few drops of essential oil on the bag before starting the wash cycle. Soap nuts are washing machine friendly as long they don't run astray in the load. It won't do any harm to the machine, just that you will need to comb through your wet laundry to pick them up. We mothers have no time so let's get it right from the beginning.


Once you are done with the wash cycle, dry the nuts and reuse them for your next washing load. From my experience, the nuts can be stretched up to 3 washes before they come to pieces but don't throw them away, boil these bits and you will have liquid soap  for your dishes and other utilities. Isn't this just cool. Savings for our pockets and the environment too. Soap nuts can be used for cleaning for the whole family from clothes, furniture and jewellery. For stubborn stains you might have to use oxygen bleach which is a stronger version of hydrogen peroxide  or just look up these kitchen remedies of vinegar and sodium bicarbonate. Just be careful with sodium bicarbonate as it can strip of colours from clothing. 

Once i left my nutties in the socks and forgot to dry them out, resulting in my whole load smelling funny, the type that you get when your laundry did not get enough sunlight so lesson learnt, please hang your soap nuts to air dry before using them again. Soap nuts react to moisture quickly if you run water through it fine bubbles form easily, so do keep them in an air tight container so that they don't turn mouldy from air moist.

Cloth diapers are lovely,  the yummy colours make you want to add more to your collection. I love my stash and all mummies who cloth diaper their little munckin will know how addictive it can be. Of course being new to cloth diapering can be confusing, I too walked down that road of blurriness reading post and forums on the types of diapers out there. From AIO, AI2, AI3, Pocket Diapers and the myriad of brands out there. Really there is no one ultimate brand that is the best so mummies will need to experiment and discover which is the best for your little angels. My simple definition of the types of cloth diapers

AIO
All in One cloth diapers have  inserts  sewn onto the diaper cover/shell. You will have to change everything when it is wet or soiled

AI2 
For this type, there is a cover/shell and the soakers. You can change up to 2 soakers using the same shell but of course it is a personal choice if shells are changed too.

Pocket Diapers
The diaper comes with a small opening where you can insert the soakers/micro fibre, hence the name pocket diaper.  You will have to change everything when it is wet or soiled.

There are also sizes from newborn to one size fits all. I personally prefer the One Size Fits all because it grows with the baby. Do use a suitable diaper/barrier cream to avoid residue accumulation  on your cloth diaper. I love Grovia Magic Stick, the scent is lovely as you can smell the soft notes of essential oil, grape seed  and jojoba oil.  By now I am sure you can pick up that I am a fan of Grovia cloth diapers and anything that says GROVIA. The price range is between RM60 to RM65 for shells and sets will be going for about RM90 to RM95. The soakers are organic cotton and it feels smooth and lovely, just right for my baby's delicate bum bum.

Cloth Diapering is therapeutic and I know my baby is getting the best out of her diapering experience.  Happy diapering and nut washing mama!

P/S: Next I will be adding more info about managing your diaper pail..so watch this space.