One of our most favorite things about cloth diapers is that when cared for per our instructions, you can use them to diaper multiple babies! So both the savings for your household and the benefits for our earth keep on givin’ 😊🌎🫶 That said, a great way to help your diapers live their longest and “healthiest” lives is by ensuring that they are properly stored between uses. And this means everything from how you are storing your soiled diapers from wash day to wash day, to how to pack away your diapers to save them for future babies.
In this blog post, we’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about how to store your cloth diapers. Let’s dive in!
Daily Storage for Cloth Diapers
For your Clean Diapers
Once your diapers are freshly cleaned, dry, and ready to use (check out this blog post for The Complete Guide to Washing Your Cloth Diapers at Home), how you store them is really up to you! We believe in flexibility, so choose what works best for your lifestyle (as long as the diapers have room to breathe). Here are a couple of ideas we’ve seen families enjoy:
Neatly Folded: Some families find comfort in folding their Inners (our absorbent cotton fitted diapers) and organizing them neatly in a drawer or on a shelf in the nursery. It can become a peaceful ritual — setting up each diaper, knowing they’re ready to go for the next diaper change.
Grab-and-Go: On the other hand, plenty of families prefer to keep things super simple. They grab their clean diapers straight out of the dryer and toss them into a basket or bin without any folding required. This quick, easy method ensures your diapers are always within reach and ready for use!
Whether you prefer neatly folded or more of a grab-and-go system, the key is to store your clean diapers in a place where they’ll be dry, have some room to breathe, and won’t be compressed for long periods. Air circulation is helpful for maintaining the freshness and integrity of the fibers.
For your Dirty Diapers
Once the diaper is used and soiled, we highly recommend storing dirty diapers in our Pail Pouch until laundry day. It can be used on its own hanging on a hook or doorknob, or, if you prefer a diaper pail, the Diaper Dekor Plus paired with our Pail Pouch as a liner is a great combo.
Whatever you choose, it’s important to remember:
No Plastic! Do not ever store your dirty diapers in plastic bags (ziplocks, grocery bags, garbage bags, etc.) Plastic does not allow for any air circulation and is a surefire way to grow mold.
Do not overstuff the bag or pail with diapers. Cramming too many diapers into a pail or bag is another common reason we see mold growth and one that can be easily avoided! Even the perfect bag or pail can be problematic when overstuffed.
Pro Tip : Want to make sure things stay fresh until laundry day? Try our Pail Deodorant!
What to do with Diapers Soiled with Poop
But what about the poop?! Don’t worry – we got you. 😉 While your baby is still on a milk-only diet (breast milk or formula), there is no need to pre-rinse the poopy diapers. You can simply toss them into your Pail Pouch along with the pee diapers.
Once your baby starts solid foods and you notice a change in the consistency of the poop, you'll want to start shaking it off the diaper before laundering. Our Tossers or Stay-Dry Liners make this step super-easy.
Curious if Diaper Spraying is really Necessary? Check out our blog on this topic:
The Truth About Removing Poop from Cloth Diapers. Is Diaper Spraying Really Necessary?
Long Term Storage for Cloth Diapers
As mentioned, one of our most favorite things about cloth diapers is that they can be stored and reused for multiple babies! There are just a few things to consider to make sure they are properly prepped and kept for storage.
To start, we recommend giving your diapers a power wash using the “Optional Refresh” step outlined in the link below before packing them away for storage.
https://esemblybaby.com/laundry
Then you’ll also need to make sure they are thoroughly dried before storing.
As for what kind of container to store them in, iIdeally, you'll want to pack them in some sort of waterproof container (like a Rubbermaid container) to keep them protected from the elements. It should have a lid and close, but it should not be airtight as textiles require some circulation.
Cloth Diapering 101
Our co-founders host a free, virtual, Cloth Diapering 101 class every month to help cloth-curious parents get all the tools and information they need!
You'll leave with the confidence to Live Less Disposably and a 20% discount code to use on your first order. 🥳 We hope to see you there!
