Traveling with Cloth Diapers….it CAN be done!
Cloth diapering while traveling can give pause to even the most passionate cloth diapering families. Well, we have done it and are here to tell you it really isn’t that bad. Like many things in life, it is 80% attitude and 20% implementation. If you are committed to cloth diapering and making it work, it will. You just need to do a little bit of preparation.
The Weekend Getaway
The easiest scenerio is the weekend getaway by car. If you are going for just a weekend or other short trip, just bring along a stash of cloth diapers that will last you for your trip and a couple wet bags or your pail liner from home. We love the Bummis tote bags for short trips. Might want to throw in a diaper buddy in the wet bags or pail liners to address any odor issues and off you go. We know that some people bring along their diaper sprayer and hook it up to the hotel bathroom toilet or the one at Grandma’s house. Just pack everything home and do laundry as usual when you return. Simple.
Longer Trips
If your trip is longer than just a couple days, you most likely will need to do laundry. Once again, it is all easy to do. As with the shorter trips, bring along a couple wet bags or pail liners (with deodorizing disks or diaper buddies) and the sprayer if that is what you use at home. Also, bring your laundry detergent from home or plan on purchasing more at your destination. When you are making your trip plans, just confirm that there is time every third day or so, depending on the number of diapers that you take, set aside for laundry. There are many on-line directories of laundromats if your hotel or rental condo does not supply a washer and/or dryer.
One issue to be mindful of when using a different washing machine is that the diapers might not smell and feel the same way they do at home. Water quality differs across the country. If you have soft water in your neighborhood but travel somewhere with hard water, there may be detergent build up. Perhaps you generally use the sanitize cycle on your washing machine but the one at your destination is more basic and does not have such a feature. Recognize that you may need to do an extra rinse or two and that is simply part of the adventure of travel.
Staying at Grandma’s House?
Obviously, if you are staying with family or friends on your trip, it might seem that cloth diapering would be easy. That can be true. However, please be mindful of the fact that not everyone, particularly those who do not cloth diaper or who do not have young children, might be comfortable with poopy diapers in their washing machine. Totally cool. No need to add to any family drama. Simply run an extra cycle with only bleach or a little vinegar or tea tree oil in the wash (and no diapers) and all should be well. Bleach is an obvious germ killer but vinegar and tea tree oil are also disinfectants and can remove any lingering germs left behind.
The beauty of prefolds
Many people who might use AIOs or Pocket diapers at home, switch to prefolds and covers while traveling. Prefolds are great travel diapers as they are easy to pack and take up little room (especially helpful with baggage restrictions on many airlines). In addition, they dry very quickly. PUL covers in particular are very easy to wash and dry and can be done in a bathroom sink if a washing machine is not available.
The beauty of flushable liners
Many people who do not use liners at home, do so while traveling in order to ease the washing process. With a flushable liner, no solids get onto the diaper and so washing becomes much simpler. There is no need for a sprayer or to swish the diaper in the toilet. Imse Vimse makes great flushable liners that are easy to pack.
What not to bring?
Wool covers, while great and when properly lanolized, extremely waterproof, are hard to dry. They must be dried flat and can take a long time, particularly in humid weather. They do not tend to be a great traveling option. In addition, we have found that if being line dried, bamboo diapers can take a bit of time to dry in humid weather.
Whatever you do, have a safe and fun trip. Remember, the most important thing to bring is your senses of humor and adventure.
Happy travels!