I have never used cloth diapers. Bought the gerber diapers and some plastic covers to use with my first(that was 9.5 yrs ago and i was 19yrs old) but never used them much(only if we ran out of disposable).
I know there are all kinds of cloth diapers out there and am really
confused as to what the different types are and what they do vs the others. AIO (i have learned means all in ones), and there are so many others i have seen discussed,chinese prefolds, doublers,wovens,soakers and many more.
Can you please educate me on the most cost effective and the ones that absorb the best,how to take care of them and cleaning and any other info you think i may be interested in knowing.
THANK YOU!!!

If you are looking at cost, cpf (chinese prefolds) are the least expensive and last forever! And, when they wear out, they make great dusting or carwashing cloths! They are a little tricky at first, until you get the hang of folding them, but they are very absorbant and oh so soft! A great prefold site, with TONS of info is http://diaperpages.com/ . She has info on folds, washing, etc.

Pocket diapers such as Happy Heiny's, Fuzzi Bunz and Wonderoos, are easy to use. You can prestuff them so even dh can do it! Hemp is a great fabric for inserts because it is ultra absorbant. You can also get microfiber towels from the automotive section of WalMart - I'm using those right now and they work great!

I have a plain old kitchen trash can with a flip top lid as my diaper pail, I just toss wet dipes in the pail. Poopy dipes either get a rinse in the toilet or I put them into another smaller pail I have filled with water. On wash day they all go in the washer and do a quick cold wash with detergent, hot wash without adding any more detergent, and warm rinse. I normally hang mine outside to dry, but I always put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes before hanging them because it keeps them from getting crunchy on the line.

I used sposies on my older 2 girls, the baby has been in cloth since birth and I don't think it is any more difficult or any more work than using sposies. If you have any more questions, or I missed anything, you can email me - sherri@tinyheiny.com

hth!

Also, you can buy fitted diapers and use them under covers. Fitted dipes are great because they fasten with either aplix (hook and loop like velcro, only better) or snaps. They have elastic at the legs and the waist to keep in the mess. You need to use a cover with a fitted because they are not waterproof.

Some accessories that you might want are:

doublers- usually 2-3 layers of some absorbant material (flannel, hemp, sherpa, etc) that you use in addition to your diapers. Doublers add absorbancy to your diapers, hence the name "doublers"

Snappi- This is a small rubbery thing with hooks on the ends that you can use to fasten a prefold instead of using pins- I loved mine but never really got the hang of it

Cloth washcloths- These can be purchased anywhere and are really great when using cloth dipes. You just toss them in with the diapers. Disposable wipes are a pain.

As far as soakers go, the word soaker can mean one of two things. Some AIOs have a soaker that snaps into the diaper. This means that the soaker is the absorbant part of the diaper and that it comes out and separates from the cover to make washing and drying easier. When you hear the term soaker used when talking about AIOs-this is what the person means.

Another use for the word soaker is when someone is talking about a wool soaker. A wool soaker is a diaper cover knitted or crocheted using wool yarn. It goes over your fitted diapers or prefolds and is great for overnight. So when you hear the term wool soaker, the person is talking about a diaper cover and not something that absorbs.

You will see people mentioning hemp, sherpa, flannel, and terry. These are all absorbant materials used in diaper making.

Microfleece, suedecloth and velour are used as the layer that is against baby's skin. These materials wick the moisture away from baby. Not everyone likes these because they are synthetic materials.

PUL is polyurethane laminate and is a type of material used as the outer waterproof layer of AIOs and diaper covers.

Windpro is a type of fleece manufactured by Malden Mills that is water resistant and can be used as the outer layer of AIOs and diaper covers.

As far as cost goes, the cheapest is prefolds, but don't buy the ones you see in Babies R Us- they do not work. Look around for some others that people have liked. I bought a bunch from granitesmith on ebay that I love.

For washing- here is what I do: cold rinse, then hot wash/cold rinse with just 1/8 cup detergent and 1 cup vinegar and 2 drops of tea tree oil in the rinse. To remove stains, you can let the dipes dry in the sun, even if they have been washed and dried over and over again and the stain is old, this will still work. In fact you can get lots of stains out that way- it works wonders on baby food stains.

I think I've covered everything that I remember being confused about when I first started but if I forgot something, hopefully someone else will jump on here and add to it.