The most important things to consider are:
1) What kinds of cloth diapers are there?
2) How do you wash them?
3) What are you saving by doing cloth diapers?
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DIAPERS
*Pocket Diapers - these are outer covers that you insert a liner into.
*All-in-Ones (AIO) - which means there is no insert...it's all one piece, just like a disposable diaper, but cloth.
*Old School Pre-folds - ah yes, you remember these. They pin on the sides and you cover them with plastic underwear otherwise known as "plastic pants".
(Some diapers come in One Size Fits All, and others you buy in XS, S, M, L sizes. That's what I have. I prefer the different sizes even though I spent more money because the others are very bulky when your baby is smaller. They use snaps to pleat the material, thus making the diaper smaller. But all the material is still there that's needed to diaper a 2 year old. Also, you end up buying inserts of all different sizes anyway.)
WASHING INSTRUCTIONS
I keep a dry diaper pale (cleverly hidden in a basket that I got at TJMax) in our bathroom. I say dry, because some people do wet pales. Diapers with newborn poop (you know, the runny stuff) get rinsed in the sink before I throw them into the pale. You can omit this step by putting a piece of rice paper on the diaper which you can then flush. They are inexpensive. I got mine in a roll of 100 for $10 at Bambini. Anywho, non-infant poop (the solid stuff) just gets plopped in the toilet and the diaper goes in the pale. No rinsing. YAY! Pee diapers can stink after awhile, so I spray them with BumGenius all natural odor remover that I get at Fletchers. This is only really necessary if you're letting your diapers sit longer than a day. As for washing, I do a wash on cold to get all the pee out, and I use half the amount of soap (very little). Then I wash them on hot with the other half of the soap. Then I do an extra rinse. Then I dry them. I have to dry them twice because my washer doesn't spin them very well. The reason for the cold wash first is that diapers soaked in pee smell terrible when mixed with hot water. It's a good way to stink up your whole house. Oh and they don't stain at all. I use Arm-n-Hammer with OxyClean. You can't use detergent with any additives or it will ruin the diapers.SAVINGS
You'll need about 12 diapers if you're going to do laundry every day at the same time. If you're like me, you'll need 20 so you can forget about them. My diapers were about $15 per diaper. And I have 12-20 diapers in each size; S, M, and L. So all in all, they cost about $750. I have spent $20 on rice paper, and $30 on spray. So, the grand total is about: $800. I have used these for 2 kids, and plan to use them on any future kids. Disposable diapers cost about $60-80 a month. It would take you roughly a year to spend $800 on disposable diapers...for one kid. So, unless you're planning on potty training your only child at 12months of age, even the fanciest of cloth diapers will be cheaper. Our water and electric bills cost us around $10 more a month (but that's including just having another member of the family's clothing, burp cloths, sheets, towels..etc to wash). Even with that cost, now it would take you 16 months of disposables to equal your cost of cloth ones. Not to mention you'll probably have to pay for a bigger trash can (added expense) and they stink worse. Oh, and yeah, yeah...the environment stuff too.
So, happy cloth diapering. I promise I'm a normal person...not a hippie...I shave my armpits. :) You will love it, and your baby's bum will too.
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