My little guy has been using a Vantage Lite (LAMP system) loaner unit in speech therapy and is doing fantastic! He picked it up quicker than anyone thought he would (except me, LOL!! I KNOW he's a smart little stinker!!). But, since it's a loaner unit, it's time for it to be used with another child. These speech devices, while fantastic . . . are not cheap. We're talking a range of $6000 and up, up, up. So . . . here we are . . . fundraising time!
Here is our GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/HelpKaidenTalk Please go check it out - donations of any size are immensely appreciated, as well as sharing his page via social media. We're off to a great start, and are so blessed to have so many wonderfully caring people in our lives!
Affordable fitted cloth diapers, cloth diaper inserts, cloth diaper covers, natural skin care, and crafty things ~ all made with quality and love ~ we do custom orders, too!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Blog Reviews!
I love working with bloggers! It is truly one of the best forms of advertising! I have provided A LOT of diapers (and other product) over the last 3 years in exchange for blog reviews (most with giveaways), and have had many wonderful reviews written about them.
Normally I do many blog reviews with giveaways each year. I did the same last year; well I should clarify - I did send out a lot of requested product for blog reviews with giveaways. This last year was a big learning experience for me. This last year, I learned that while most of my bloggers have been fantastic, some are, unfortunately, not. :( My first two years, I think I only had one or two transactions that were less than stellar. But this last year . . . sadly, I had very few that went well, and most that went . . . not well. Product that got sent out at my expense with no review written in exchange, nor me receiving the product back; basically a lot of people got some very nice free items. At my expense! I am not a big company; I am one person. Sometimes I need to use Etsy funds to put food on the table when things are tight, and that makes me even more thankful for all my wonderful customers!!
I've had to revise my blog policy because of this year's experiences. I am still very happy to provide FREE diapers for blog reviews, but now there is a catch: depending on the size and activity level of the blog (some will be exempt), all diapers must be paid for in advance. I will provide FULL reimbursement (including shipping) as long all conditions are met, which include the time frame the review is posted, the blogger providing me with the review link, and giveaway winner information. See, easy, right? Provided the criteria is met, the diapers end up being 100% FREE. While it was easier to just send free product, I lost a lot of money (and product!) this last year, and I really don't want to do that again, I just cannot afford it. I hope all my bloggers understand!!
Click here to read my Etsy Shop Policies. The Blog Policy is further down near the bottom of the page. :)
Normally I do many blog reviews with giveaways each year. I did the same last year; well I should clarify - I did send out a lot of requested product for blog reviews with giveaways. This last year was a big learning experience for me. This last year, I learned that while most of my bloggers have been fantastic, some are, unfortunately, not. :( My first two years, I think I only had one or two transactions that were less than stellar. But this last year . . . sadly, I had very few that went well, and most that went . . . not well. Product that got sent out at my expense with no review written in exchange, nor me receiving the product back; basically a lot of people got some very nice free items. At my expense! I am not a big company; I am one person. Sometimes I need to use Etsy funds to put food on the table when things are tight, and that makes me even more thankful for all my wonderful customers!!
I've had to revise my blog policy because of this year's experiences. I am still very happy to provide FREE diapers for blog reviews, but now there is a catch: depending on the size and activity level of the blog (some will be exempt), all diapers must be paid for in advance. I will provide FULL reimbursement (including shipping) as long all conditions are met, which include the time frame the review is posted, the blogger providing me with the review link, and giveaway winner information. See, easy, right? Provided the criteria is met, the diapers end up being 100% FREE. While it was easier to just send free product, I lost a lot of money (and product!) this last year, and I really don't want to do that again, I just cannot afford it. I hope all my bloggers understand!!
Click here to read my Etsy Shop Policies. The Blog Policy is further down near the bottom of the page. :)
Saturday, October 12, 2013
What? An all-natural, easy-to-make shower cleaner that actually works?
I've waited a really long time for this!
We've lived in our house for over 17 years. We also live in an area with super ridiculously hard water. Our shower (well, the whole bathroom) was newly remodeled, never been used when we moved in . . . and in all those passing years, the lime scale buildup + soap residue got pretty bad.
I tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING - from natural cleaners to harsh chemicals to the "leave it on and forget it" types, even tried using cleaners that weren't specific to showers. Or bathrooms. Some of the bathroom cleaners loosened the soap residue into a thick sticky mess that was virtually impossible to clean off not only the walls but whatever I was using to clean the walls - sponge, scrubbie, scrubbing brush, etc. Beyond that, all I've really been able to do is etch and discolor the walls with the harsh cleaners. The shower might have been "surface clean" but it certainly wasn't "down to the original surface" clean. I even scoured the Internet for ideas, and sadly found that everyone pretty much said lime scale with soap residue just could not be cleaned off effectively or safely.
I really hated my shower.
Now, when I wash my son's diapers, I use vinegar for the hard water and we also boil vinegar in our electric teapot to remove the lime scale. I know that citrus essential oils break down oil; I use citrus essential oils in my Citrus Scrub Soap. Not only does the Citrus Scrub Soap easily cut through the oily kitchen grease and grime, it will also take permanent marker off of plastic and remove adhesive.
So there I was thinking, there has to be a way to combine the vinegar with the citrus oils in such a way that it can stay on the walls to soak for an extended period of time. It's pretty difficult to soak vertical surfaces with runny liquids! Any thickener I added needed to be washed off easily and not interfere with the cleaning process. Eventually . . . eventually I got the bright idea to thicken the mixture with xanthan gum. Xanthan gum also acts as an emulsifier, keeping the essential oils dispersed within the vinegar. Xanthan gum clumps when added to liquid, but over several hours will thicken the mixture into something gooey and sticky, yet it can be washed off with just hot water. Xanthan gum can be found in grocery stores. It's expensive, but since such a tiny amount is needed, it will last a very long time!
I was so excited by the idea I made some right away. As I mentioned above, the xanthan gum clumps and doesn't mix well. No worries, stir it as best you can and let it sit for a few hours to thicken, stirring occasionally. How many hours? Overnight is good. I used my first batch within 3 - 4 hours, and 24 hours later, it was a little thicker. I applied it directly to the worst of the soap residue spots (make sure the shower walls are dry, so water doesn't dilute it), and left it on for at least 12 hours. And that spot came CLEAN. I mean, down to the original surface clean!! I was beyond excited about this . . . this meant that I *might actually* have a really clean shower again! I applied the rest of the mixture to the rest of the shower walls. It got thin in some spots since I had made a small batch. Then let it sit overnight and scrubbed it off in the morning. The applied mixture does dry on the shower walls, and you'll need warm, if not hot, water to loosen up the dried sticky mixture. But when you scrub it off, it takes the soap residue with it!
Some of my heavy lime scale spots were still there, and after repeated applications, were STILL there. Sigh . . . . okay, what now? Then I turned to citric acid - it's supposed to be better at breaking down lime scale. I experimented with the amount to add to my vinegar/essential oils/xanthan gum mix. I found that if I used a lot of it, it did a great job on the lime scale but it didn't rinse clean and left LOTS of white streaks on my shower walls, which is one of the issues I'd had with commercial cleaners that promised to cut through lime scale.
I also wanted to be able to cut through the soap residue a little faster, so for the next round I used most of the same essential oils I use in my Citrus Scrub Soap. Ahhh, not only did that smell fantastic, it really worked!! Citric acid and essential oils can be purchased online. I get a lot of my supplies at Wholesale Supplies Plus - if you order over $40, your shipping is free! (They have such a great selection of items it's not hard to spend $40!!)
Now back to the white streak problem . . . baking soda! A nice, natural, gently-abrasive scrubber. I had tried making a simple cleaner of just vinegar and baking soda years ago, but it didn't do anything for the soap residue, and couldn't stay on the walls long enough to break down the heavy lime scale. I tried adding it to the gooey mixture, but of course, baking soda reacts with vinegar - which yes, that is what I want, but not while storing it! What to do? Aha! Just dump a good amount in the coated dried tub, dip a wet scrub brush in it, and get to scrubbing.
Then for the real test: I waited. I let the shower get really dirty. Soap residue, lime scale buildup . . . it wasn't pretty and I really didn't want to take a shower in it! When I couldn't stand it anymore, I made a fresh batch of shower cleaner, applied it, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, I dumped a good amount of baking soda in the tub, ran a little hot water to wet down the scrub brush, dipped the scrub brush in the baking soda, and scrubbed away. It did take some scrubbing effort since I purposely let it get that bad, but when I was done, I had a sparkling clean, down to the original surface, CLEAN shower.
And it's all natural. And my shower smells fantastic. *Blissful sigh*
1 c distilled white vinegar
1 tsp citric acid
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
No more than 10 ml (1/3 oz) combined essential oils:
sweet orange essential oil
tangerine essential oil
lemon essential oil
grapefruit essential oil
baking soda
Directions: Mix the citric acid with the xanthan gum. Add vinegar and essential oils. Cover tightly - make sure the lid seals tight! Shake well to mix. Let sit several hours to thicken.
Once mixture is thickened, apply to DRY shower walls with a sponge, maybe a paintbrush, or I've even used my hands. Wait several hours (overnight is easiest). Then the next time you take a shower, dump some baking soda in the tub and scrub away!
This does rinse away best if you have one of those handheld sprayer shower heads, so you can do a final rinse/scrub to make sure all the baking soda grit is rinsed away.
(Please note you should probably wear gloves to apply the mixture to shower walls if you have any broken skin or are sensitive to citrus essential oils or citric acid.)
UPDATE 11/20/16 - I have been using this recipe to clean my shower since writing the original post, but mostly just use sweet orange essential oil instead of the EO blend because it's simpler when I'm in a hurry. As I recently found out - this recipe is excellent at removing gum from clothing, and works well at cleaning the gum-coated dryer, too. For the clothes, I sprayed it on, let it soak in a few minutes, used a bristle brush to scrub, rinse, and right back in the wash it all went. The dryer: first I sprayed on the shower cleaner and let it soak awhile. Then a little sweet orange essential oil cleaned the mess right off. Lastly, I finished up with a 50/50 vinegar/water mix to wipe up the essential oil residue and leave the inside of the dryer sparkling clean.
We've lived in our house for over 17 years. We also live in an area with super ridiculously hard water. Our shower (well, the whole bathroom) was newly remodeled, never been used when we moved in . . . and in all those passing years, the lime scale buildup + soap residue got pretty bad.
I tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING - from natural cleaners to harsh chemicals to the "leave it on and forget it" types, even tried using cleaners that weren't specific to showers. Or bathrooms. Some of the bathroom cleaners loosened the soap residue into a thick sticky mess that was virtually impossible to clean off not only the walls but whatever I was using to clean the walls - sponge, scrubbie, scrubbing brush, etc. Beyond that, all I've really been able to do is etch and discolor the walls with the harsh cleaners. The shower might have been "surface clean" but it certainly wasn't "down to the original surface" clean. I even scoured the Internet for ideas, and sadly found that everyone pretty much said lime scale with soap residue just could not be cleaned off effectively or safely.
I really hated my shower.
Now, when I wash my son's diapers, I use vinegar for the hard water and we also boil vinegar in our electric teapot to remove the lime scale. I know that citrus essential oils break down oil; I use citrus essential oils in my Citrus Scrub Soap. Not only does the Citrus Scrub Soap easily cut through the oily kitchen grease and grime, it will also take permanent marker off of plastic and remove adhesive.
So there I was thinking, there has to be a way to combine the vinegar with the citrus oils in such a way that it can stay on the walls to soak for an extended period of time. It's pretty difficult to soak vertical surfaces with runny liquids! Any thickener I added needed to be washed off easily and not interfere with the cleaning process. Eventually . . . eventually I got the bright idea to thicken the mixture with xanthan gum. Xanthan gum also acts as an emulsifier, keeping the essential oils dispersed within the vinegar. Xanthan gum clumps when added to liquid, but over several hours will thicken the mixture into something gooey and sticky, yet it can be washed off with just hot water. Xanthan gum can be found in grocery stores. It's expensive, but since such a tiny amount is needed, it will last a very long time!
I was so excited by the idea I made some right away. As I mentioned above, the xanthan gum clumps and doesn't mix well. No worries, stir it as best you can and let it sit for a few hours to thicken, stirring occasionally. How many hours? Overnight is good. I used my first batch within 3 - 4 hours, and 24 hours later, it was a little thicker. I applied it directly to the worst of the soap residue spots (make sure the shower walls are dry, so water doesn't dilute it), and left it on for at least 12 hours. And that spot came CLEAN. I mean, down to the original surface clean!! I was beyond excited about this . . . this meant that I *might actually* have a really clean shower again! I applied the rest of the mixture to the rest of the shower walls. It got thin in some spots since I had made a small batch. Then let it sit overnight and scrubbed it off in the morning. The applied mixture does dry on the shower walls, and you'll need warm, if not hot, water to loosen up the dried sticky mixture. But when you scrub it off, it takes the soap residue with it!
Some of my heavy lime scale spots were still there, and after repeated applications, were STILL there. Sigh . . . . okay, what now? Then I turned to citric acid - it's supposed to be better at breaking down lime scale. I experimented with the amount to add to my vinegar/essential oils/xanthan gum mix. I found that if I used a lot of it, it did a great job on the lime scale but it didn't rinse clean and left LOTS of white streaks on my shower walls, which is one of the issues I'd had with commercial cleaners that promised to cut through lime scale.
I also wanted to be able to cut through the soap residue a little faster, so for the next round I used most of the same essential oils I use in my Citrus Scrub Soap. Ahhh, not only did that smell fantastic, it really worked!! Citric acid and essential oils can be purchased online. I get a lot of my supplies at Wholesale Supplies Plus - if you order over $40, your shipping is free! (They have such a great selection of items it's not hard to spend $40!!)
Now back to the white streak problem . . . baking soda! A nice, natural, gently-abrasive scrubber. I had tried making a simple cleaner of just vinegar and baking soda years ago, but it didn't do anything for the soap residue, and couldn't stay on the walls long enough to break down the heavy lime scale. I tried adding it to the gooey mixture, but of course, baking soda reacts with vinegar - which yes, that is what I want, but not while storing it! What to do? Aha! Just dump a good amount in the coated dried tub, dip a wet scrub brush in it, and get to scrubbing.
Then for the real test: I waited. I let the shower get really dirty. Soap residue, lime scale buildup . . . it wasn't pretty and I really didn't want to take a shower in it! When I couldn't stand it anymore, I made a fresh batch of shower cleaner, applied it, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, I dumped a good amount of baking soda in the tub, ran a little hot water to wet down the scrub brush, dipped the scrub brush in the baking soda, and scrubbed away. It did take some scrubbing effort since I purposely let it get that bad, but when I was done, I had a sparkling clean, down to the original surface, CLEAN shower.
And it's all natural. And my shower smells fantastic. *Blissful sigh*
ALL NATURAL SHOWER CLEANER RECIPE
Container with a tight-fitting lid
1 c distilled white vinegar
1 tsp citric acid
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
No more than 10 ml (1/3 oz) combined essential oils:
sweet orange essential oil
tangerine essential oil
lemon essential oil
grapefruit essential oil
baking soda
Directions: Mix the citric acid with the xanthan gum. Add vinegar and essential oils. Cover tightly - make sure the lid seals tight! Shake well to mix. Let sit several hours to thicken.
Once mixture is thickened, apply to DRY shower walls with a sponge, maybe a paintbrush, or I've even used my hands. Wait several hours (overnight is easiest). Then the next time you take a shower, dump some baking soda in the tub and scrub away!
This does rinse away best if you have one of those handheld sprayer shower heads, so you can do a final rinse/scrub to make sure all the baking soda grit is rinsed away.
(Please note you should probably wear gloves to apply the mixture to shower walls if you have any broken skin or are sensitive to citrus essential oils or citric acid.)
UPDATE 11/20/16 - I have been using this recipe to clean my shower since writing the original post, but mostly just use sweet orange essential oil instead of the EO blend because it's simpler when I'm in a hurry. As I recently found out - this recipe is excellent at removing gum from clothing, and works well at cleaning the gum-coated dryer, too. For the clothes, I sprayed it on, let it soak in a few minutes, used a bristle brush to scrub, rinse, and right back in the wash it all went. The dryer: first I sprayed on the shower cleaner and let it soak awhile. Then a little sweet orange essential oil cleaned the mess right off. Lastly, I finished up with a 50/50 vinegar/water mix to wipe up the essential oil residue and leave the inside of the dryer sparkling clean.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Thoughts on fabric . . .
I've learned the pros and cons of different fabric types in the 3 years I've been making cloth diapers; I'd like to share them with you!
NATURAL FABRICS
First, whatever I made, I put it through some harsh treatment because I wanted to see how well everything held up.
Pin closure vs. snaps/Velcro: Out of all the fabrics I use, only two did not hold up well: bamboo fleece and bamboo French terry with pin closure.
Now, there's bamboo French terry, which is 70% bamboo and 30% cotton, and then there's bamboo baby loop terry, which is 70% bamboo, 28% cotton, and 2% poly. The first time I purchased bamboo terry, it was bamboo baby loop terry and it held up really well - in fact, for being 3 years old and always using pins with it, it looks darn near perfect. The second time I purchased bamboo French terry, and it shredded almost immediately using pin closure; all my son's inserts with that batch has holes everywhere. The 3rd time I purchased, it was the bamboo baby loop terry, and I have not used pin closure on that yet - just waiting to see how well it holds up in the wash alone (so far, so good!).
Bamboo velour is 70% bamboo, 28% cotton, and 2% poly and that holds up very well with pin closure. Bamboo fleece is 70% bamboo and 30% cotton and it eventually shreds with pin closure, although it takes quite awhile for that to happen; in my experience, about a year with heavy use I finally saw some holes developing in the pinning area. For this reason, I recommend purchasing the snap or Velcro option when purchasing a custom bamboo velour/bamboo fleece fitted diaper.
Both cotton and bamboo flannel hold up very well with pin closure, as does cotton twill. The custom combination cotton twill/bamboo velour fitted diapers hold up very well to pin closure!
Line Drying: Line drying is the best option for extending the life of natural fabric diapers. To help avoid the crunchiness that can come with line drying cotton flannel, try shaking the diaper (or giving it a few quick snaps) before hanging. You may want to do that after they are dry, too. It's also nice to re-shape the diapers before hanging them, as it will lead to a better fit once the diaper is dry.
Cotton twill, bamboo flannel, and bamboo baby loop terry hang dry the best with very little or no crunchiness!
Other fabric notes:
While bamboo flannel stays soft (even when line dried!) and holds up to pin closure well, it does shrink. More than I expected it to! For this reason, I no longer make fitted diapers out of bamboo flannel. It does however make fantastic diaper inserts!
Hemp - I don't use hemp because my son is sensitive to it. We started out using hemp fleece, but quickly found out that it could not touch his skin or he'd get a rash. And it shredded with pin closure.
SYNTHETIC FABRICS
Polyester fleece - I use both blizzard fleece and anti-pill fleece in my fleece diaper covers. After testing out both ways, I now make sure the inner white layer is blizzard fleece; this ensures the cover is a wee bit more water resistant. I did recently test out putting in a small PUL panel in the wetness zone (not throughout the whole cover) and that worked extremely well, I was super impressed! I'll still offer fleece-only covers, as lots of Mama's with sensitive babies prefer them, but I'll be making some with the PUL panel as well. I may use Etsy's variation option, but that will mean the fleece covers are made to order rather than being in stock.
The great thing about fleece is that you can't really hurt it no matter how you wash/dry it. It's pretty hard to stain, too. The only thing I have found, is that to keep fleece looking its best, it needs to be placed inside a mesh laundry bag for washing. You can certainly wash fleece with the rest of your diapers, but I do not recommend washing them directly in with the rest of the diapers - they need to be placed inside the mesh bag or the fleece will pill up - especially if washed with prefolds!
PUL - I currently don't offer diaper covers made entirely of PUL - the reason being is that I don't care for fold-over-elastic. In my experience, wetness wicks through the FOE too quickly, even with polyester thread. I want to try tricot nylon (think Thirsties or Bummis covers), but have heard it is difficult to work with.
I have purchased different kinds of PUL, and found that Fabrite was definitely the best! Unfortunately, they closed shop a few years ago. I have purchased "end of roll remnants" from other companies and found that to be a bad idea, as the heating process may not have been complete before the roll started, leading to delaminating PUL.
My new favorite PUL is from Babyville. It's different from the typical PUL - it has a white inner rather than the clear. If it delaminates, it does not cause a problem like typical delaminated PUL does! That white layer, delaminated or not, is pretty bulletproof. I have a cover that fully delaminated almost immediately (it was defective, and a lot of people were having the same issue when Babyville PUL was first being sold in stores) but we're still using it!
I think that's all - I try to be pretty thorough when testing out fabric! :)
NATURAL FABRICS
First, whatever I made, I put it through some harsh treatment because I wanted to see how well everything held up.
- I tried leaving the cotton flannel fitted diapers sopping wet in the wetbag after rinsing. Bad idea. It rots the cotton flannel fairly quick.
- I put everything in the dryer and rarely, if ever hung the diapers out to dry. This puts much more wear and tear on the fabric - cotton flannel, bamboo fleece, and bamboo velour in particular.
- The outer, printed cotton flannel shows wear after about a month of heavy use.
- The bamboo velour becomes less soft, and more terry-like.
- Both the cotton flannel and the bamboo fleece eventually lose their soft fuzzy nap.
- It's harder to sun out stains.
Pin closure vs. snaps/Velcro: Out of all the fabrics I use, only two did not hold up well: bamboo fleece and bamboo French terry with pin closure.
Now, there's bamboo French terry, which is 70% bamboo and 30% cotton, and then there's bamboo baby loop terry, which is 70% bamboo, 28% cotton, and 2% poly. The first time I purchased bamboo terry, it was bamboo baby loop terry and it held up really well - in fact, for being 3 years old and always using pins with it, it looks darn near perfect. The second time I purchased bamboo French terry, and it shredded almost immediately using pin closure; all my son's inserts with that batch has holes everywhere. The 3rd time I purchased, it was the bamboo baby loop terry, and I have not used pin closure on that yet - just waiting to see how well it holds up in the wash alone (so far, so good!).
Bamboo velour is 70% bamboo, 28% cotton, and 2% poly and that holds up very well with pin closure. Bamboo fleece is 70% bamboo and 30% cotton and it eventually shreds with pin closure, although it takes quite awhile for that to happen; in my experience, about a year with heavy use I finally saw some holes developing in the pinning area. For this reason, I recommend purchasing the snap or Velcro option when purchasing a custom bamboo velour/bamboo fleece fitted diaper.
Both cotton and bamboo flannel hold up very well with pin closure, as does cotton twill. The custom combination cotton twill/bamboo velour fitted diapers hold up very well to pin closure!
Line Drying: Line drying is the best option for extending the life of natural fabric diapers. To help avoid the crunchiness that can come with line drying cotton flannel, try shaking the diaper (or giving it a few quick snaps) before hanging. You may want to do that after they are dry, too. It's also nice to re-shape the diapers before hanging them, as it will lead to a better fit once the diaper is dry.
Cotton twill, bamboo flannel, and bamboo baby loop terry hang dry the best with very little or no crunchiness!
Other fabric notes:
While bamboo flannel stays soft (even when line dried!) and holds up to pin closure well, it does shrink. More than I expected it to! For this reason, I no longer make fitted diapers out of bamboo flannel. It does however make fantastic diaper inserts!
Hemp - I don't use hemp because my son is sensitive to it. We started out using hemp fleece, but quickly found out that it could not touch his skin or he'd get a rash. And it shredded with pin closure.
SYNTHETIC FABRICS
Polyester fleece - I use both blizzard fleece and anti-pill fleece in my fleece diaper covers. After testing out both ways, I now make sure the inner white layer is blizzard fleece; this ensures the cover is a wee bit more water resistant. I did recently test out putting in a small PUL panel in the wetness zone (not throughout the whole cover) and that worked extremely well, I was super impressed! I'll still offer fleece-only covers, as lots of Mama's with sensitive babies prefer them, but I'll be making some with the PUL panel as well. I may use Etsy's variation option, but that will mean the fleece covers are made to order rather than being in stock.
The great thing about fleece is that you can't really hurt it no matter how you wash/dry it. It's pretty hard to stain, too. The only thing I have found, is that to keep fleece looking its best, it needs to be placed inside a mesh laundry bag for washing. You can certainly wash fleece with the rest of your diapers, but I do not recommend washing them directly in with the rest of the diapers - they need to be placed inside the mesh bag or the fleece will pill up - especially if washed with prefolds!
PUL - I currently don't offer diaper covers made entirely of PUL - the reason being is that I don't care for fold-over-elastic. In my experience, wetness wicks through the FOE too quickly, even with polyester thread. I want to try tricot nylon (think Thirsties or Bummis covers), but have heard it is difficult to work with.
I have purchased different kinds of PUL, and found that Fabrite was definitely the best! Unfortunately, they closed shop a few years ago. I have purchased "end of roll remnants" from other companies and found that to be a bad idea, as the heating process may not have been complete before the roll started, leading to delaminating PUL.
My new favorite PUL is from Babyville. It's different from the typical PUL - it has a white inner rather than the clear. If it delaminates, it does not cause a problem like typical delaminated PUL does! That white layer, delaminated or not, is pretty bulletproof. I have a cover that fully delaminated almost immediately (it was defective, and a lot of people were having the same issue when Babyville PUL was first being sold in stores) but we're still using it!
I think that's all - I try to be pretty thorough when testing out fabric! :)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The new "fitted" fleece cover!
I gave the one I made a good trial run up at the cabin. We were there 6 days, and I only wanted to wash diapers twice, which means I had to stretch my stash since we line dry up there. And it was super humid the first time I washed; the diapers took sooooo long to dry!
I have to say I am absolutely in LOVE with this new fitted fleece cover over any other style of cover I've tried - including my side snapping ones!! To stretch my stash, took the inserts out of my flats, used them by themselves, and padfolded the flats to make more inserts. I couldn't snap any of them in, since I only added snaps to the new insert I made to try this idea out - and they stayed in place great! I used our bamboo inserts and padfolded flats in my regular side snapping covers, but they didn't stay in place quite as well, and I think that's because with the fitted cover, I can set the rise wherever I want, so overall it fits better - then with a better fit, the fleece "grabs" the absorbent fabric, helping it stay in place better. With the regular side snapping fleece covers, I ended up pinning the insert in the front to keep it in place better.
The new fitted fleece cover is bulky if used over a fitted, especially a heavily padded fitted (like a nighttime diaper) . . . but it can be done! :)
I must say I love pins with these. I get such a great fit!! I will offer them with a snap option though - I just need to figure out the snap pattern placement, since fleece is so stretchy, it will be a little different than the snap pattern on my fitted diapers.
Here's a link to the photo album on my Facebook page, which shows how it works: The new fitted fleece cover.
I have to say I am absolutely in LOVE with this new fitted fleece cover over any other style of cover I've tried - including my side snapping ones!! To stretch my stash, took the inserts out of my flats, used them by themselves, and padfolded the flats to make more inserts. I couldn't snap any of them in, since I only added snaps to the new insert I made to try this idea out - and they stayed in place great! I used our bamboo inserts and padfolded flats in my regular side snapping covers, but they didn't stay in place quite as well, and I think that's because with the fitted cover, I can set the rise wherever I want, so overall it fits better - then with a better fit, the fleece "grabs" the absorbent fabric, helping it stay in place better. With the regular side snapping fleece covers, I ended up pinning the insert in the front to keep it in place better.
The new fitted fleece cover is bulky if used over a fitted, especially a heavily padded fitted (like a nighttime diaper) . . . but it can be done! :)
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| Front view |
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| Rear view |
I must say I love pins with these. I get such a great fit!! I will offer them with a snap option though - I just need to figure out the snap pattern placement, since fleece is so stretchy, it will be a little different than the snap pattern on my fitted diapers.
Here's a link to the photo album on my Facebook page, which shows how it works: The new fitted fleece cover.
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Cookbook and My Son's Story
I wrote a guest post for The Paleo Mama blog, with the short version of my son's story and a recipe included!
Cavemom's Cooking is not only a cookbook, but my son's story: how I stopped my son's benign myoclonic seizures and awoke his sensory processing abilities, our decision to go paleo, and the simple paleo recipes that followed. When we went paleo, I never thought about writing a cookbook. But as time went on and my son made so much progress, I knew his story needed to be told. And what better way than with what helped him the most? Food! Volume 2 is currently in the works!Paleo eating is grain and gluten free, dairy free, legume free, and nightshade free. Simply fresh, whole foods - fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, and seeds. Easy to make, tasty to eat! If you're looking to get away from today's processed foods filled with artificial ingredients, preservatives, colors, and flavors, give this a try.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Natural Laundry Soap DIY Kits are here!
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| Soap nuts, soapwort root, and papaya leaf |
This is something I've been formulating for a little while now. I've always wanted to try soapwort root for washing. And while researching that, I learned that papaya leaf not only posesses mild cleansing abilities, it is also antibacterial and has been used internally to rid of intestinal worms. (Saying that, PLEASE do not drink the laundry soap!!!) I decided to combine the three to see how well it would work on my son's stinky diapers. (If you have a toddler, you know just how stinky those diapers can get!)
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| 1 DIY kit yields 1 pint jar of Natural Laundry Soap |
I expected it to clean the diapers at least as well as the previously purchased liquid soap nuts. Not only did it, but it made them softer - at least in my hard water, I could definitely tell a difference. So then I tried it on my clothes - and they were softer too! However, my mom, who has soft water, didn't feel a difference. Now, I haven't used a fabric softener for years - didn't want to risk buildup on the diapers - so the next test - bath towels. Since we have ridiculously hard water, some of our cheaper bath towels feel rough, even after being dried in the dryer. Not only that, but we live in a 112 yr old home, which has no bathroom ventilation besides a window. Although we use a good fan for air circulation, we still can get that stinky wet towel smell. Suprisingly, the rough bath towels didn't feel softer like the rest of my clothes, but there was a benefit I didn't think of, which I believe to be due to the papaya leaf. Normally we use our bath towels for a few days before grabbing clean ones. As soon as they start to stink, they go in the basket. I took one of these newly-laundered ones and used it as a test. It took much, much longer to get that musty wet towel smell! I also have a waffle weave fabric shower curtain that I wash right with my towels. It gets lime and rust buildup on it, and while the new laundry soap didn't get it pristine white by any means, it did a heck of a better job than bleach ever did.
The downside: this liquid laundry soap does not take out oil-based stains. If you wish to use it on your regular laundry, you may still want to use a stain-remover.
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| Natural Ammonia Remover |
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