The Best Ways to Deal With Poop in Cloth Diapers

Can we take just a moment to reflect on the fact that if you’re reading this blog it is because you’re frantically Pinteresting information about POOP! Mom life has a way of normalizing concepts you’ve never thought twice about…like poop. Specifically, how to deal with poop in cloth diapers. Luckily, I’m here to help.

We all poop.

Whether your child is breastfed, formula-fed, vegetarian, flexitarian, meat-loving, disposable diaper-wearing, organic diaper-wearing, or cloth diaper-wearing there will be poop, blowouts, and disgusting situations. This is all part of our mom life.

Don’t let poop deter you from cloth diapering!

This post is all about how to deal with poop in cloth diapers.

Types of Poop

Breastfed poop

Breastfeed poop is usually a mustard yellow color. This poop has a much different smell than other kinds of poop. This poop is usually has a sweeter smell to it. I’ve heard moms say it smells like sugar or doesn’t smell at all! I wouldn’t go that far, but it is different.

With cloth diapering, you can toss the poop diaper straight into the washing machine! No pre-cleaning is necessary.

Formula Poop

I personally don’t have experience with formula poop however, I’ve read that formula poop is the same as breastfeeding poop when it comes to cloth diapers. As long as the poop is not solid, you can toss the whole thing in the washer. If the poop is solid, plop it in the toilet first!

Poop after solids

Up until this point, the cloth diaper poop really isn’t bad. However, after solids are introduced, your child’s poop will dramatically change. It will change in color, texture, and smell! When my son first started eating solids consistently, we started using diaper liners.

Here are the diaper liners we used when we first started dealing with poop in cloth diapers:

I wanted to use diaper liners because frankly, I didn’t know how I was going to clean the poop out of his diapers! I knew if he had liners I could just plop the whole thing into the trash can when he pooped. 

What I started to realize is that my son was peeing more than he was pooping (DUH!) which meant I was wasting diaper liners! I would put them on each time we changed his diaper because I never knew when he was going to poop.

One day, we ran out of diaper liners. Our Amazon purchase was set to arrive later that day and of course, my son pooped…without a liner. 

And you know what happened? 

IT WAS OKAY! I cleaned his poop and it was okay! If I can do it, you can do it! Regardless of the method you choose to handle your child’s poop…YOU CAN DO IT! 

How To Deal With Poop

Option 1: Diaper Liners

Diaper liners are perfect for cloth diapering parents who want an easier way to handle cloth diaper poop.

They’re durable, comfortable, and made from 100% bamboo. Remember to NEVER flush liners down the toilet. Also keep in mind, they are still single-use items so if you’re looking for zero waste cloth diapering, see some of the other options below.

Option 2: Toilet Drop

This is the method I use on solid poops. I take the entire diaper to the toilet and drop the poop in the toilet and flush. Super easy! If there is a large clump that is difficult to remove, I’ll grab a piece of toilet tissue and pluck it off.

Option 3: Swish

The swish method involves swishing the diaper in the toilet to get rid of softer poops and blowouts that may be stuck to the cloth diaper. Use gloves to keep your hands clean. This is the method I use on stickier poops. I know it is not for everyone, but it works for us! 

Option 4: Diaper Sprayer

I cannot personally recommend the diaper sprayer only because I’ve never used it. I have a close friend who uses it and says it does the job great! Poop doesn’t bother me much, so the other methods worked just fine for me! 

Do some research and rely on reviews to find the best sprayer for your needs.

How I deal with poop in cloth diapers: solid poop

1. First, I change his diaper and put the poopy diaper to the side.
2. Second, I pop the solid poop into the toilet.
3. Next, I remove the liner from his pocket diaper.
4. Then, I place the liner and the dirty cloth diaper (that is not free of poop) into his wet bag. 
5. Finally, I continue adding dirty diapers into the wet bag until it is time to wash.

How I deal with poop in cloth diapers: blowouts and soft poops

1. First I change his diaper and put the poopy diaper to the side.
2. Second, I remove the liner from his pocket diaper.
3. Next, I place the liner into the wet bag.
4. Then, I head to the bathroom to raise the toilet lid.
5. Next, I dunk and swish and the cloth diaper until the poop is in the toilet and off the diaper.
6. Finally, I place the diaper into the wet back. I make sure to wash diapers that night so that the diaper is not sitting for more than 24 hours.

Washing Cloth Diapers

I will be honest, you can probably find a bunch of blogs with numerous steps about washing cloth diapers. This isn’t the blog.

First, I don’t have time for a zillion steps.

Second, I don’t believe being a cloth diaper mom, and being more sustainable needs to be extra complicated. If you can accomplish the same task without the extra, why not do that?!

Cloth Diaper Washes Before Solids

1. After 1-2 days I toss all wet and poopy cloth diapers from the wet bag into the washer. I also, throw in my wet bags.
   1. Poop is okay to toss in the washer until your child starts soilds
2. Next, I add a cloth diaper friendly detergent such as Meliora Detergent, Molly Suds or 9 Elements. You can use any cloth diaper safe detergent.
3. I wash on regular with hot water.
4. After that cycle, I wash again with ‘quick wash’ on cold, if necessary.
5. Finally, I “quick dry” on delicate and air dry the rest. 

Cloth Diaper Washes After Solids

1. Handle poop accordingly
2. Toss all wet and dirty cloth diapers from the wet bag into the washer. Also, throw in your wet bags.
3. Next, I add a cloth diaper friendly detergent such as Meliora Detergent, Molly Suds or 9 Elements. You can use any cloth diaper safe detergent.
4. I wash on “regular” with hot water.
5. After that cycle, I wash again with ‘quick wash’ on cold, if necessary.
6. Finally, I “quick dry” on delicate and air dry the rest. 

Here are my favorite cloth diaper friendly, non-toxic laundry detergents:

Meliora Laundry Detergent

Molly Suds

What About Cloth Diaper Stripping?

Stripping is the process of removing built-up residue in the diapers. You usually know when it is time to strip because you’ve done your regular wash routine and the diapers still smell funky. When this happens, I throw the diapers back in for a quick wash with about ¼ a cup of vinegar. For me, this does the trick every single time. 

Again, don’t stress too much about cloth diaper poop. It’s not as bad as it seems. Once you get in the hang of it (and realize how much money you’re saving!) you’ll be so satisfied with your decision, not to mention the fact that you’ve kept over 1,000 diapers out of the landfill!

Don’t forget to save this blog post for later! You can do that by clicking on the Pinterest button on the image below.

If you’re a living human (or animal for that matter) you’ve dealt with poop. Babies are cute and cuddly and swishy, but they still poop! Whether you’re using disposable diapers or cloth diapers, you will have to deal with poop at some point. 

I hope this was a helpful blog post to understand how to deal with poop in cloth diapers.

In order to successfully deal with poop in cloth diapers, you’ll need to adjust your mindset. Know that the decision you’ve made to cloth diapers has far more benefits than the occasional poop explosion!

Related Posts:

• A Step By Step Pocket Cloth Diaper Tutorial For New Cloth Diapering Parents
• Overcoming the Stigma of Cloth Diapering
• Tips for Cloth Diapering Beginners
• Cloth Diapering Success: how to become a cloth diaper pro
• Cloth Diapering Questions Asked and Answered