If you’ve ever wondered if you can truly use cloth diapers when traveling, let me assure you – YOU CAN! Traveling with cloth diapers isn’t any more difficult than traveling with disposable diapers. Whether it is for a day out, shopping, visiting friends/family or running errands, or maybe for a weekend vacation…a bit of planning goes a long way. My tip? Just be prepared.
A Day Out
If you’re just going to be out for a day, the planning is simple. Will you be gone for 2 hours? Three hours? All day? Pack one (1) cloth diaper for every 2-3 hours you expect to be away – more for younger babies, and of course, fewer for older babies. Then, just for grins, pack one more. I call this the “peace” cloth diaper. There is nothing better than knowing that you can take an extra hour to get home because you have that ONE EXTRA DIAPER to cover the ride. Am I right?!
Also, make sure to take a waterproof bag – we used a Bummis tote to carry our wet and soiled diapers, but there are several more that have hit the cloth diaper scene since we cloth diapered. I’m rather partial to the practical, draw-string style cloth diaper wet bag, but there are also new-fangled zipper wet bags like the Planet Wise Wet Bag. No matter which you select – just bring one. And no, Wal*mart bags do not do the trick (except in a pinch) – they don’t secure close well enough and you’ll carry that stench with you all day. Seriously, just invest in a wet bag – or sew one – just get one!
One wise reader suggested a big zip-lock bag is a perfect substitute; I’m going to disagree. While it will isolate smelly diapers, it cannot be reused. I mean, it can…but not indefinitely, and you certainly can’t pop it in the washer and dryer. Let’s not add waste to the landfills – wet bags are where its at!
Finally, be sure to pack whatever cloth baby wipes and diaper solutions you prefer. I like the spray-on wipe solutions for their ease of use. If your baby is prone to diaper rash, you might want to include sample sizes of diaper cream or lotion.
Taking Cloth Diapers on Vacation
You’re shaking your head – I can see you. Stop it. No, really…this isn’t as difficult as you might think. Now, before I go any further I will say that you need to be respectful – don’t extend your convictions to cloth diaper to your friends and family. If they are truly opposed to you washing your cloth diapers in their washer/dryer, consider whether you want to visit a laundry-mat. If not, choose a non-reusable option like the GroVia One Size Cloth Diaper System with their GroVia Disposable Diaper Soaker Pads. Another option is the Flip One Size Diaper Cover with the Flip Disposable Diaper Inserts. Sure you have to throw the inserts away, but really…it is still environmentally more sound than a disposable diaper. In a pinch, and when it can serve a relationship well, it is a wise choice.
There is no need to be extreme.
If you’re in a place where you can use cloth diapers without issue, the only thing you need to do is plan ahead carefully. Ask yourself a few questions: “Where will you be staying?”, “When will you be able to wash diapers?”, “How will you store them between washings?” (we used a laundry basket with a beach towel laid atop the diapers and covers to keep them free of dirt, dust, pet hair, etc…).
You need the exact same supplies you need for a day trip, just more of it. Oh, and toss in some detergent if your baby is sensitive and you aren’t sure you’ll have access to a dye free, fragrance free, phosphate free, and fabric softener free detergent where you’ll stay. Of course, you’ve got to consider there are more hours/days to cover, but even if you’ll be gone a week, you only need enough diapers to cover a typical 3 day wash cycle. Beyond that your diapers are going to get terribly grungy. Trust me, wash at 3 days! I found that if I carried 2 dozen cloth diapers when I was traveling for one week, I never ran out and had plenty while I was doing the diaper wash.
So see, it really isn’t terribly difficult to keep baby dry and happy when traveling.
Make the Decision and Do It!
When it comes down to it the hardest decision we typically make in any commitment (be it cloth diapering or underwater basket weaving) is the decision to MAKE A DECISION. Once we decide, we are one step closer to action. Decision + Action = A Done Deal.
Decide you’ll use cloth diapers beyond the front door and beyond and you will.
That’s a fact.
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
I started cloth diapering a little more than a month or so ago and I decided to cloth diaper on our 2 week trip over the holidays. I asked my MIL 1st and she was totally down with it. The only problem was realizing I no way of knowing which big purple bummis bag had clean and which had dirty on the 20 hour drive home(bad weather and traffic) without sticking my hands in and grabbing something nasty:) It seriously was no problem. I agree- when you decide to do it all of the time you don’t have to question it. There is a way! I only used the Flip disposables a few times.
We flew across the country using only cloth diapers over the holidays with no trouble! It is just like being at home, just make sure you have it all in the bag ready to go when you need it. I was able to pack less clothes because I knew there would be no blow outs, unlike my poor nephew who went through three pant changes a day because his disposables just couldn’t hold up. Yah for cloth!
We cloth diapered my son on a road trip from Ohio to Florida. We stopped at a hotel in TN, stayed with my husband’s grandma in GA (that is where I washed diapers on the way down and the way back). We stayed at a hotel in FL and did Disney and Sea World. The only issue we had were some compression leaks in the carseat since he was sitting so long. We are getting ready to the same trip this year and I may try the flip disposables some but cloth on vacation is really no different!
We recently tried to do an over night with cloth diapers and it was a disaster- I made the mistake of relying on the Flip disposible inserts, and they did not work at all- in retrospect I see they have not gotten great reviews. We ended up caving and buying huggies, Eek- and they were too small anyway- at one desperate moment I considered buying some kitchen towels from cvs and just folding! Next time we will hVe to plan better and choose our old reliables.
if you are a full time CD’er, I see no reason to have disposables for going ‘out’. Just throw a wetbag in your diaper bag and go! It’s not any harder to change a cloth diaper than a ‘sposie, and even if you have a dirty, a wetbag will contain the smell enough for it not to be an issue, if not there’s always your car trunk or the bottom of your stroller basket to keep it away from your nose! I second the ‘peace’ diaper and would suggest getting a 2nd’s diaper, a clearance diaper, or any other super cheap buy and just leaving it in your car as a backup. Got one with really ragged velcro, but still serviceable? Same thing. Put one in each car!
We went to a wedding over New Year’s with all cloth – people thought we were crazy, but it was no big deal. We took flats so we could hand-wash, but found that our hotel had a laundry room.
we went home to Indiana for Christmas and it never crossed our mind to do anything but cloth. Even when we got stuck in the blizzard in Virginia to make it a 31 hour road trip, we never had a single problem. We just double stuffed all our pockets and were good to go. The BG’s (one size and infant insert together) were definetly the best!
I cloth diaper part time at home. My sons butt is just so big that not many clothes fit over even trim diapers and I work part-time so this lets me manage the laundry, packing, etc. However when traveling this summer to Costa Rica and staying for a month in a remote area I took 8 prefolds (all that would fit in the luggage) and 2 covers to part-time CD there. I emailed a head of time and was assured I could wash them. It worked out well except that the house keeper washed them for me (they would not let me wash them myself) but she had young kids and did not mind at all. Also for a few days the washer broke so it was good I used disposables too. I think it was important to be flexible. Disposables cost about 50 cents a piece there and as a traveler I considered that expensive but I can’t imagine how expensive that is to a local farming family. So the other reason I used cloth diapers there was so that I could leave them when we left. They were very gracious that I left them for another family. In a way it was better than a monatary tip because I am sure they will passed around to many families there.
Sato Travel is full service travel management company specializing in cwt sato travel for active-duty and retired military, Civilian DoD and Federal Agency employees.
I never go anywhere without my cloth diapers! But I always have disposables just in case.
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