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This is my latest venture in trying to lessen my footprint. I know it's a little over the top for some people but I think it's a great idea. It works for babies, why not adults?? I figure it's no more yucky than cloth diapers or mamma cloth (and I do both already) so why not? Many say that it works better than toilet paper too (more comfy, cleaner and no bits of paper stuck where they shouldn't be!!).
Toilet paper isn't a huge thing in terms of the environment since it is biodegradable but it does require trees to be cut (if you don't use the recycled kind) and then processed, packaged and shipped. Even though we used recycled toilet paper most of the time, the whole manufacturing and distribution process still uses a lot of ressources and energy.
I'll be using a cut-up old flannel crib sheet (that wasn't really in good enough shape to pass on because of some small holes) and washing with my girls nighttime bedwetter pants so it's totally free too! Once I'm no longer washing the bedwetter pants I figure I'll wash with whites or towels...
Anyone else doing this already or ready to jump in with me? So far dh isn't on board but then being a boy he doesn't use as much as I do anyway. Kids seem to be ok with it, we'll see how that goes.
Karen. |
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| That's interesting... I never heard of such an idea so I never considered it, but I'm always curious about new ways to lessen my footprint. I assume that you would need some sort of containers in the bathroom to store the clean and dirty cloths, which I guess given the micro-size of my bathroom wouldn't be easy. What are you planning on doing? Are you going to have a "dry pail" in the bathroom - I assume you would need something with a lid given the high grossness factor, especially when there are guests around... Would you rinse the poopies out, or just figure that it will be little enough that it can go in the laundry as is? Have you figured out a number of cloths you would need? Are you planning on washing every day? What size are you cutting your cloths? Sorry if it's TMI for some people, but I'm curious about how you would go about that... |
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| here is a tip if you do not want poopy cloths. squirt yourself down with a peri bottle so that all the poop comes off, then wipe with the cloth. voila! no poopy rags and a clean bottom! i am thinking about using cloth myself because i can just drop them in with my sons diapers. my dh is kind of on board with washing with water instead of cleaning with TP, but is a bit leary of poopy rags. |
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| We use our old "baby bum cloths" whenever we can. I use them quite often, though not always. I still have to "supervise" my 3 year old during toilet time and I use them on her frequently. My 5 year old uses TP as does my DH. Even using the cloths once in a while has help us cut down on our TP consumption. I like how they clean and feel! |
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Fanfreluche, so far these are my plans. I don't have much experience yet so we'll see how this works out but I've done some reading on other boards and it seems in line with what others are doing...
For containers in the main bathroom I got myself a double sided wet bag that has a small loop to hang from the toilet paper holder. One side for clean, one for dirty... For the two upstairs bathrooms I only got a small wetbag for the dirties (again with a loop to hang from the toilet paper holder). I'll just leave the clean wipes on the back of the toilet I think, maybe in a small basket or something. I don't think a pail is necessary unless you already have a small container that would work (most would be much bigger than what you'd need). For discretion you could just tuck somewhere on the side/back of the toilet...
I'm not sure about the poop part yet. Many people use the cloths for pee and still use toilet paper for umm, bigger jobs. Although I think if you could wet your cloth (say if there's a sink right next to the toilet) that a wet cloth would surely clean better than toilet paper. If I do use it for #2 I'm assuming that a closed wet bag will be good enough for odors.
I doubt I'll be rinsing the poopy wipes if I chose to use them for #2 (they'll surely be less messy than diaper wipes and I never rinsed those).
I'm not sure how often I'll wash. Most people seem to just do it whenever they're washing other stuff to throw it all in together (I don't think many bother to wash the cloths by themselves). Probably depends on your comfort level with possible stains, how many in the house are using them etc... For now I plan to wash with the girls bedwetter pants and I only wash those every 3-4 days.
For size I have a few that I cut up a few weeks ago when I did a trial run (before ordering the wet bags). I didn't bother really sewing them nicely or anything, just wanted to see how it would really work before I invested any real time or money for the bags. I did mine about 4"x8" single layer. I found I always doubled up on them and even then sometimes I'd fold them in half. I figure when I make the nice ones that I'll sew two layers together and maybe make it a bit longer (around 9"). That way it'll still be a good lenght even if I decide to fold it in half and yet it'll still only be two layers thick so they'll wash easily and dry quickly.
But I think this is the kind of thing that everyone has their own preference... You can even buy 'family cloths' from work-at-home moms in varying sizes & shapes. Or some people just buy cheap washcloths like you would for a baby.
I was tempted to buy some really nice bamboo fleece ones but I figured it was much more economical and eco-friendly to reuse fabric I already had...
Karen. |
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I've switched just this last year or so. Originally i just did cloth for pee. But faced with a very low income due to being laid off i made the switch completely.
My cloths are made from left over flannel i had or remnants I picked up very inexpensively. I keep the cloths on the back of the toilet and have a lingerie washing bag that hangs on the toilet paper holder for the soiled cloths. I wash when ever the bag fills up. I do a separate wash for them (no diapers here just yet) hot with Nellies and OxyClean. Then a hot dry in the drier(usually i use medium for everything else.) Originally I washed them with my reuse able kitchen stuff... but I decided if bacteria did survive the hot wash etc... I didn't want on something I was cleaning my kitchen with and could there by transfer the bacteria to food. |
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I kind of tried this to a limited degree a while back, since I would often use our boys' bathroom and had a diaper pail sitting in the tub next to me and a pile of wipes on the counter, all within reach. And I was using them on DS#1 to help him on the toilet. I only ever did pee for me, although I think you're right, Karen, that a moistened cloth would work really well for #2. Think of all those flushable wipes that are marketed for just that extra bit of clean. Dry probably just as well as TP, though?
Anyway, the reason I stopped is that several times I dropped the cloth into the toilet instead of chucking it into the pail. Just on autopilot, and I'd assume you could train yourself, but although I never flushed it, several times of having to fish out a cloth kind of put an end to that experiment. Not consciously, but I just kind of stopped doing it. This thread does make me think about trying it again, although the bathrooms I use primarly in this different house would be a little bit of a challenge for wipes logistics. Esp. for pee I think cloth would be nice, and that's where DHs just aren't going to understand. |
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| I have not taken that leap, but I have thought about it. I think a handheld bidet (a.k.a. diaper sprayer) would make clean ups for #2 a lot easier. Suppose that is much like the peri bottle suggestion made earlier. My diaper sprayer/bidet hooks to the faucet of my bathroom sink, so I can control the water temp (I luxuriated in the warm spray after DS was born). An icy blast from the toilet-attached variety would be shocking to the system, though. |
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