The Diaper Pail
How do you store dirty cloth diapers? Please don't put them in an open pail of water. This practice presents a drowning hazard, not to mention an odor problem! Here are two good options:
Dry Pail
Most modern cloth diapering moms use a dry pail method. This means that they put diapers into a normal diaper pail, which could be as simple as a trash can with a lid and a liner. It's not even necessary to have a tight-fitting lid. Some moms report that cloth diapers stink even less if they have some air flow, such as from a rotating lid. When it's time to wash, just remove the pail liner and dump everything into your machine.
With a dry pail some poops may settle into the diaper, causing stains. Breastfed poops are completely water-soluable and will wash out over time. Older baby's poops should easily tip off into the toilet. If your baby is at the inbetween stage, with peanut butter consistency poops, staining can be a problem. Try these ideas: choose a diaper with a microsuede lining (like BumGenius), don't go more than 2 days between washings, use a stain treatment in your wash or on any diapers that arrive stained on the other side, and/or line-dry your diapers to take advantage of natural sun bleaching.
What about using bleach? Some moms use the occasional 1/4 cup of bleach in the cold rinse, while others insist that any use of bleach will cause your diapers to break down quickly. BumGenius recommends a maximum of 1/4 cup of bleach per month on an as-needed basis. Personally, I say learn to accept stains. They're diapers.
Wet Pail
Another alternative is the wet pail method. Some people say that keeping a soiled diaper wet will prevent stains from settling. I started with the wet pail method because I really wanted to prevent stains. But BumGenius does not recommend using a wet pail, so I switched to dry pail. I haven't seen any difference in diaper staining! I suggest you use a dry pail and save yourself the trouble.
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