We’re using Flip Hybrid diaper covers. They’re adjustable for all age ranges, (though they’re pretty bulky on a brand new newborn), and they’ve got some really fun patterns. We bought some of these new and some used, but found that replacing the leg elastic on the used ones wasn’t really worth it, and the used ones are less waterproof than the new ones. It took more time to refurbish the old ones than the money we saved would justify, and the waist is still pretty stretched out and snaps are wearing through the fabric.

If you’re buying used diaper covers, look for some in “like new” or “gently used” condition, or just spring for a new set.

Diaper Inserts

There’s a few different diaper insert choices, and we tried most of them.

Pre-sewn inserts are very convenient, highly absorbent, and usually our first choice when we pick a diaper to pull out of the drawer. The downside is that they take forever to dry, even in a machine. When we are doing laundry off-grid, we’re probably going to opt for diapers that dry faster.

Diaper Flats

A flat is just a large square of cloth that you fold into the shape you need. While these require a little extra work to fold, they dry quickly, and they’re versatile. We’ve used our OsoCozy Bamboo Flats as a newborn swaddle, an impromptu blanket, a changing table cover, and a burp rag.

You can fold together multiple flats for extra absorbency, or you can mix materials. For a very cost-effective and absorbent overnight diaper, we’re using 100% cotton flour sack towels folded around a microfiber cloth to hold extra liquid.

Prefold Diapers

Prefolds diapers are halfway between inserts and flats. They’re a few layers of absorbent material sewn together, which you fold a couple of times to make your diaper insert. They’re generally cheaper than inserts, but not as versatile as flats. We didn’t try pre-folds.

Diaper Laundry

We are doing diaper laundry daily, but we have access to a washer dryer for these first few months before we start traveling again. We'll see how it goes on the road, but we expect the frequency of changing should drop a bit by then.

A couple of general rules for diaper laundry.

NO FABRIC SOFTENER EVER. Fabric softener will build up on diapers and cause them to be less absorbent.

Soften your water either physically with a water softener, or chemically by adding borax. Hardness in your water combines with soap to form soap scum which makes the soap less effective, and will build up on diapers and cause them to be less absorbent. Using a mechanical water softener is preferable to using Borax, since it will also treat the rinse water, and you wouldn’t normally add Borax to the rinse cycle.

No bleach for most washes. It won’t get stains out as well as a good enzyme diaper detergent, and if you combine them together, the bleach will attack the enzymes in the detergent. If you need to sanitize your diapers for any reason, soak clean diapers in warm (not hot) water with a little bleach, or hydrogen peroxide plus borax, and then rinse.

Enzyme detergent takes time to work. Pre-soak soiled diapers if possible. Soak tough stains overnight.

Machine Washing Diapers

While we have access to a machine, we’re using a scoop of Rockin’ Green dirty diaper detergent, a generous scoop of Borax (a chemical water softener, because the water at Leanne’s parents’ house is hard), and a little bit of laundry soap. We found the deep water wash / warm / presoak / single rinse cycle seems to work best.

I check every diaper for stains when I pull it out of the wash, and there are usually a couple that didn’t get spotless white. I set those to soak overnight in a small bucket of 1 scoop of Rockin’ Green and just enough water to cover, which gets rid of any residual stains by the next day. Then I just dump the bucket, water and all, on top of the next load of diaper laundry.

Diapers go into the dryer on medium. Diaper covers get hung up to air dry unless we need a few right away, and then I throw however many I need in the dryer and air dry the rest.

Bucket Washing Diapers

I’ve completed a trial of hand-washing our diapers in a bucket, and it’s working well so far. It’s a little work, but it’s actually faster than a machine wash cycle.

I’m using a plunger washer in a standard 5-gallon bucket. I found that plunging against the bottom of the bucket wasn’t very productive, so I added a false bottom to allow the water to squish through the diapers, not just against it. That seems to have significantly improved our wash bucket system.

We’re primarily using Rockin’ Green for handwashing, plus a little bit of lavender Castile soap because we like to keep our RV things biodegradable. Because we soften our water in our Airstream, we don’t need borax (a chemical water softener), or fancy detergent.

You need two buckets to do this. One wash bucket, and one rinse bucket, with a false bottom in each bucket. A two-bucket system will significantly reduce your water use, since you’ll use most of the water twice.

First, soak the dirtiest diapers in warm water with Rockin’ Green and a little bit of soap. Don’t fill the bucket past halfway with diapers—you need room for things to squish around. Gently scrub off any loose solids, plunge a few times, and walk away for an hour or so to let the enzymes in the Rockin’ Green do the work. Then plunge again, dump out the water and refill with fresh water, Rockin’ Green, and soap.

Add more diapers to the wash bucket and plunge for about a minute. Wait a few minutes, then plunge again. Pull out any diapers that look clean and put them in your rinse bucket (half full of clean water), and add more dirty diapers to the wash bucket in their place. Repeat plunging, waiting, plunging, and pulling out clean diapers.

When your wash water is dirty, dump it out. Plunge your rinse bucket for a minute, and dump the water from your rinse bucket into your wash bucket. Add new soap to your wash bucket and new water to your rinse bucket.

When diapers are sufficiently rinsed, squeeze the water out, but DO NOT WRING THEM. Wringing out any kind of fabric puts a ton of stress on the fibers and will drastically increase wear. Just squeeze out the water you can, and hang to dry. We’re using this portable clothesline (two of them, actually), which doesn’t require clothespins. Diapers dry best in the sun and breeze, but diaper covers shouldn’t be hung in direct sunlight or the sun will bleach the colors.

Gray Water or Black Water

It’s worth noting that your diaper wash water is sort of dilute sewage, so it probably shouldn’t go in the gray tank. But then, if you had a mechanical washer on board, where would the wash water go? Gray tank, right? And by code, the kitchen sink is technically black water, too, since it’s used to wash off raw food that could contain potentially harmful bacteria. Where does your RV kitchen sink water go? Gray tank, right?

My point here is really something you should be doing anyway—be responsible with your gray water disposal. If your diaper wash water is going in your gray tank, you’re theoretically adding potentially harmful bacteria to that water (or at least, food that harmful bacteria would like to eat). And if you’re also putting your kitchen wash water into your gray tank, that’s another source of potentially harmful bacteria.

In any case, you shouldn’t be discharging your gray water anywhere that people are going to come into contact with it, or anywhere near a body of fresh water. Ideally, gray water should be dumped at an RV dump site, or in a dry well or septic tank or somewhere else where it can safely percolate under the surface. Don’t use it to water food plants.

Feeding

Some babies have difficulty switching back and forth between bottle and breast this early. Ours is not one of those babies. Being able to feed pumped milk from a bottle means we can sleep in shifts and Leanne can get reasonable blocks of sleep.