Cloth Diapering During Travel – The Basics

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Did you know we are a cloth diapering family? Yup. At home, in the grocery store, on vacation – we rock that fluff butt everywhere we go. You may have even heard me mention it in some of our YOUTUBE videos. Through all our experiences, we’ve learned some pretty important lessons for cloth diapering during travel. From alternative options to quick tips and reminders, I hope I can save some mamas stress by sharing the basics of what we know!

Go Disposable

Say what?! I feel like this is a given, but just in case someone needs to hear this, It’s okay not to cloth diaper during travel!!! For us, it’d be more of a hassle than just bringing our cloth but we do bring disposable wipes, which we use sometimes at home, too. Make sure you buy the right size (look for the sizing chart on the package) and enough for your whole trip (or have a plan to pick up more when you get there) and you’re good to go!

Diaper Service

You may use a diaper service at home and already be familiar with the concept, but if you’re not… There are services available in many locations (especially bigger cities) that will deliver, pick up, and wash diapers for you. If you don’t feel like lugging the diapers back and forth, but want to stick with cloth, a simple Google search should help you find a local company if one is available.

Know Before You Go

If you are bringing your own cloth, do your research. Know what the laundry situation is at your hotel. What’s the cost? Location? Will you need to find a laundromat? Can you leave things in the washer or will you need to wait with them? Do you need quarters for the machines or a special card from the front desk? Additionally, if you are staying with family or a friend, now is a good time to double check that they’re okay with you tossing your child’s pee in their washer. WE know it’s not a big deal, but… If they’re NOT okay with it, consider whether it’s easier to do disposables or find a local laundromat. You may also get away with cloth diapering and washing when you get home if it’s a short road trip, like a weekend away.

Wet Bags

Pack all the wet bags! Consider bringing not only small daily wet bags but also a large laundry bag to toss them in. Our family prefers to have the daily wet bags to toss in the corner until “laundry day” and then load all those bags up into a large laundry bag to get to the washer and dryer. Forgot your big bag? Most places will at least give you a trash bag to get those clean diapers back to the room.

Prepare For Leaks

I get it. Nobody wants to talk about leaks and, realistically, they’re pretty rare for cloth diapers once you’ve got it all figured out. (The only actual diaper blowout we’ve ever experienced so far was when our babies were newborn in disposables.) They do happen, though, especially during travel when you may go a bit longer between changes and hurried changes could result in an improper fit. It’s best to be prepared. Pack extra covers. Bring extra clothes. Better safe than soggy.

Bring More Than You Need

Rolling with that same “better safe than sorry” attitude, bring more EVERYTHING than you think you’ll need. It’s better to have a few extra clean diapers than praying you make it through the wash and dry cycle with your little one in their last diaper. Think diapers, wipes, covers, and wet bags. Bring it all. And while you’re at it- bring along the extra diaper cream and lotions, too.

Plan A Laundry Day

If you prefer to be a minimalist packer and ignore my last tip, heed this one in particular. Plan time in your travel schedule to do laundry. If it’s a short weekend trip and you’re comfortable with it, this may just be laundry right before you leave your home and the day you get home. Otherwise, look at your plans and decide when you’ll have some time to get those stinky diapers fresh again. Think of your wash schedule at home and don’t push your diapers too far. You probably don’t want to go a whole week without washing. Trust me on this one. It won’t be pretty.

Wet Diapers

Urgent notice: Dirty diapers are heavier than clean diapers!!!! Learn from the lazy mistake that almost cost us $75 on our DISNEY TRIP. If you are flying and are near the weight limit for your luggage, wash your diapers before you pack up. Wet cloth is heavier than dry cloth. Everyone knows that. What we didn’t realize is just HOW MUCH heavier it is. Our dirty diapers from the last 3 days of our trip put us over the weight limit by 13 POUNDS! In our case, we were able to buy another $15 bag from the gift shop at our hotel to put them in instead, but that wouldn’t normally be the case at the airport. Clean and dry your diapers, friends.

Read through and still have questions or worries about cloth diapering during travel? Join us over on our FACEBOOK PAGE and ask away (or share your latest fluff haul- we love a good haul.)