This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made at those links support this blog.
I’m participating in the 2017 Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Cloth Diaper Revival. This event focuses on the very real and viable answer to cloth diaper your children. This post is in response to todays posed question: What’s working for me? What isn’t?
DISCLAIMER: Writing this post doesn’t hurt small business and is a reflection of my true and honest experience. This post is directly in relation with Flour Sack Towels I purchased at Walmart Canada. You may have purchased other Four Sack Towels elsewhere that represent a better quality product. Feel free to share with me YOUR experience in the comments. I understand cloth diapering is a subjective experience that varies drastically between families and children.
During the past week of using my flat diaper stash and hand washing, I’ve learned the incredible value of a quality absorbent flat diaper. Not all flats are created equal, and not all flat diaper materials are worthwhile. And for us, the Flour Sack Towel was a giant waste of my time.
I don’t consider Little Miss to be a heavy wetter, but rather a moderate wetter based on her liquid diet of breast milk. An average one-size AIO is sufficient (unlike newborn) for a 2-hour period. The flour sack towels I’m using in her diapers were like mere tissues. She quickly soaked them in an hour, and two were drenched before we hit hour two.
I feel like for the past week, I am in a constant never ending state of diaper changes with her. And like any small child, she doesn’t like sitting in a wet diaper. So, when one or two gets quickly drenched, I have a small angry child on my hands. And that is far from a pleasant experience. The more diapers I change, the more diapers I have to wash. The more diapers I have to wash, the more tired my body gets.
Say No to Flour Sack Towel for Diapers
1. Not Enough Absorbency: Unless I used two flour sack towels for diapers, she had to be changed within an hour. The FST was max saturated and at risk of leakage.
It’s just not worth it, and while they may be thin, two together is fiddle some and fluffy. And just a pain in my time.
2. Overall Cost Comparison: $6.94 gets you 5 Flour Sack Towels for diapers at Walmart Canada. This works out to $1.38 per FST; but I needed two to last two hours and thus costing me $2.76 per diaper change. For $2.69, I could buy an Osocozy Unbleached Cotton Flat from LagoonBaby (Canada) . Just slightly cheaper, but one flat diaper is less of a nuisance to fold, and slightly less bulky overall. AND IS ONE FEWER DIAPER… actually thats like 7 fewer diapers at the end of the day. Thats almost an ENTIRE load of laundry.
3. Forget about birth-toddlerhood: I really think any diapering product you choose should be an investment that CAN last from birth to potty training. Flour Sack Towels for diapers fit little newborns GREAT, but they just aren’t long lasting to meet the needs of growing baby, and forget about trying them on a full bladdered toddler.
Unless you have a magical fairy light wetting toddler, FST just will not grow with your child and you’ll need to replace them. So why not buy something else first?
4. Better Options: There are better options for diapering a child than using Flour Sack Towels. These options are more absorbent and absorbency is key. Check out my list below.
5. Warped Shape: After a week of washing and drying, my FST are a funny shape. This is minuscule, but it drives me batty. I also hate how my edges all curl after line drying.
Enough of the negative Nancy — 3 Reasons FST are awesome… 1) They dry super quick; 2) They rinse clear really easily; 3) Snappi/Boingo Friendly.
Better Relatively Affordable Flat Cloth Diaper Options
1. Receiving Blankets: Receiving blankets as diapers any day over Flour Sack Towels as diapers. Receiving blankets are easily double the absorbency and can meet a growing child’s needs.
Dislike: They hold onto the soap/detergent better, and take longer to dry.
Like: If bought off parents used, receiving blankets are an affordable price point. Plus, they often come in fun prints and colours that give your stash a little boost of creativity.
Guess who bought a stash of receiving blankets off a local mama? This girl. Those are going straight into my camping stash/emergency bag/next year challenge bag.
2. T-Shirt Diapers: Do I need to explain how awesome t-shirt diapers are? Go check out my blog post and report back.
Dislike: I find my t-shirt diapers do not wash up in my hand wash routine as nicely as the other flat diapers. This is especially true for uncut t-shirts. They also take forever to dry. Furthermore, the T-shirt diaper requires creative folding to shrink down for Little Miss. (But you can do it, and perhaps you have 100% cotton kids t-shirts ready for recycling, those would be great for a newborn.
Like: T-shirt diapers are dirt cheap, and T-shirt diapers are a great overnight cloth diaper for my toddler.
3. Flat Diapers: There are commercially available brands of flat diapers on the market. I love that when you purchase these products you are supporting a small or locally owned business. I love that there is a standard size and expectation that comes from flat diapers. Here’s some brands to check out -Have a favourite flat diaper? Let me know in the comments.
1. Osocozy Flats (LagoonBaby – Canada; KellysCloset – USA)
2. Imagine Flats (CozyBums – Canada ; LagoonBaby – Canada ; KellysCloset – USA )
3. Geffenbaby Flats (CozyBums – Canada; LagoonBaby – Canada; KellysCloset – USA )
4. Flip Daytime Flats (CozyBums – Canada ; Kellys Closet – USA)
5. Blueberry Organic Gauze Flat Diapers (KellysCloset – USA)
Final Thoughts on Flour Sack Towels
When you say no to flour sack towels for diapers, you are saying yes I want a better cloth diaper experience.
Opt to reuse receiving blankets or t-shirts for diapers and you are finding another way to reduce, reuse and recycle. This keeps things from our landfills, and gives products a second life.
Opt to purchase new flats, and you are saying yes to small business. Cloth diaper retailers provide boosts to our local economy. They purchase products from other small brands and manufacturers, and they just make good shopping sense.
Just say no to flour sack towels for diapers, and say yes to something better.
For the latest and greatest follow our Flats & Hand washing Challenge on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For sure follow us on Instagram, then you can catch flats in action with #flatschallenge.
If you used flour sack towels, what was your experience? When and how would you recommend them.
If you haven’t used them, how do you support small business? Or reduce your ecological footprint?
Have you tried the IKEA HIMMELSK burp cloths? I have not personally tried them but have heard from a few people that they work way better than FST!
I’ve been using Room Essentials brand flour sack towels from Target with my 4 month old for the last 2 months. I pad fold them and lay them in a cover. So far we’ve found them to be quite absorbent, lasting at least 2 hours and we’ve only had 1 leak from over-saturation when I first started.
Pros of these particular FSTs:
-They come in patterns and colours, so they’re cuter than plain white. Also the dark grey ones hide stains and show wetness very obviously when you check the diaper which was super helpful when I made the switch from disposables!
-They were cheaper than at Walmart or Superstore, I bought them on sale when in the USA for a family trip. Total cost per FST with exchange worked out to $1.07 CAD
-I bought a few Imagine flats on sale to compare Birdseye cotton and don’t find them to be significantly more absorbent than the FSTs
Cons:
– Definitely would be worried to try them overnight
-Bulky
I tried this first because of low upfront cost and the fact I could just use them as dishtowels if I chose not to cloth diaper. I loved the simplicity to start out, so I think these are a great “gateway” to cloth diapering. Granted I started with a newborn, if I tried this first with a toddler it could very easily have been discouraging and leaky compared to more absorbent cloth diapering options.
I only use wm fst for newborn stage. After that I use American Dawn brand from Sams club. They’re HUGE and one works for hours with my heavy wetter 18 month old 🙂
I don’t have any “real” flats, but I’ve been using fst (along with receiving blankets and IKEA burp cloths) for 7 years now – the RE fst from target are wearing down now- they use to be great but they’ve got holes now and much thinner fabric – they are on their 3rd kid and aren’t really enough for my 18 mo old , but they make a great doubler or do ok pad folded
My other fst are the large ones from sams and I Love them for my toddler(s)! They are also thinner than they use to be but still very functional
I’ve been using Walmart FSTs and although they work great for my 8-week-old, I don’t expect them to be usable for much longer. I like them a lot right now because they don’t add nearly as much bulk as the flannel receiving blankets I’m also using. With a blanket, Poni’s diaper goes down as far (and with some blankets, farther) than her knees and she looks ridiculous. Not to mention she just can’t wear one of those in her carseat because she doesn’t fit . .
I have not tried FST or flats because I don’t think I want to spend time doing all that folding. The wrinkling of a FST alone would drive me nuts. I do pad fold smart fit prefolds however, and love the softness of my bamboo cotton ones, the absorbency of my hemp cotton ones, & even the plain cotton ones work well. I bought them preloved so the expense was not great. I just don’t understand the appeal of FSTs when there are other affordable options.
My wm fst worked so well for me until about 8 months old and no I just use a bamboo insert from a too small kawaii pocket wrapped up in the fst stuffed in a pocket diaper and it holds so much more than my double stuffed microfiber inserts. I love them a lot actually. I wanna buy more. Maybe try different ones as well. It’s funny how different things are for people.
I have a metric ton of Walmart fst. We don’t use them regularly as just diapers. But they make amazing inserts when they are pad folded.
Maybe I’m spoiled with all the modern diapering options we have these days, but 2 hours of absorbency just isn’t very satisfying in my book, and my feeling is why double up on FST to get 2 hours when I can use just 1 bamboo flat, which also has the bonus of being softer and trimmer?
I also like how you mention small businesses and giving them needed support.
I’m confused by your 2 hr time frame and why you wouldn’t change your baby every time she/he soiled themselves. I would never want to sit in urine or poop for one minute why do that to a sensitive baby? I have three little ones and have changed up to 30 diapers in a day when they were newborns. My youngest is 3 months and we still use around 15-20 a day.
Because an unrealistic expectation of myself, and I’d like to give grace in the chaos of my life. I change as soon as I get a poop, but to constantly be checked for pee would consume everything of me, and that’s not something I have to give.
2 hrs is a standard time frame for changing a cloth diaper anyway. I think the alliance with both vs disposals is more to do with disposable having a bunch of criminals in them but I’m sure you can check Google or even at Fluff Love CD for the correct reasoning.
FSTs actually sound useful for elimination communication, since you want something light that will detect wetness, but I am intrigued by the receiving blanket and t-shirt you present.
I disagree!! I have been using fst since my daughter was a newborn. Absolutely loved them!! My daughter recently potty trained at 2 yrs 4 mos and never used anything different. Sure as newborns need to be changed more often, but the same with any newborn. Cloth diapering do wet more often, but so worth it. As my daughter got older I could even go longer in between changes.
Everyone totally has a different experience. My first is such a heavy wetter it was a joke to him.