How (and Why!) to Travel with Cloth Diapers

I love cloth diapering my girls.

I love keeping 2500 diapers (per child!) each year out of the landfill. I love the thousands of dollars it saves me. I love hardly ever dealing with diaper rash. I love that I’ve never experienced a blow-out.

I love how cute they look!

But cloth diapering at home is one thing. I have a system, I have a powerful washing machine, and I have back up solutions.

But traveling with cloth diapers? That is a whole different story.

Before our first trip as a family of 3, I had so many questions about cloth diapering on vacation. Was is even worth the trouble?

Fast forward 4 years, many trips, and a couple kids… and although it took me a few tries to figure out a system, I am now a huge fan of using cloth diapers while traveling.

I do truly believe that bringing cloth diapers on vacation is worthwhile, and all the more so if you are traveling to a less developed nation where trash disposable is problematic. Here are my top tips for travel with cloth diapers!

Plan your stay around your diapers.

Okay, yeah, that might be a bit extreme. But at least take it into consideration when you’re booking! Decide how much of a priority cloth diapering is for your trip, and think about your options for cleaning diapers when you’re assessing places to stay.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t cloth diaper if you don’t choose to stay somewhere solely for their washing machine! I firmly believe that you can cloth diaper anywhere, if you really want to.

Powerful washing machines are not the only way to wash cloth diapers!

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How to wash cloth diapers when traveling

Stay somewhere with a washing machine

A lot of people choose Airbnbs for family travel specifically for the sake of laundry. This is definitely something to consider if you’re bringing cloth diapers! I would of course recommend bringing cloth diaper liners to ensure that no solid waste goes into someone else’s washing machine.

Note: Always throw the diaper liners away – don’t flush them! Even if they claim to be flushable. You don’t want to deal with the aftermath of ruining someone’s septic system!

Hand washing cloth diapers

The advantage to this method is that you can do it no matter where you stay! This wouldn’t be my preferred method, but it’s honestly not that bad. Especially if you have an exclusively breastfed baby (water soluble poo is easy to wash away) or use the cloth diaper liners mentioned above.

One downside to handwashing cloth diapers is that they will not be as sanitized as they would be after running on a long, hot cycle. You can soak them in extra hot water or dry them in the sun to help, but honestly as long as my baby is healthy and I have ensured that the diapers are clean, I’m personally fine with going a week without them disinfecting in the laundry.

The shower method for pre-rinsing diapers

I always do this, whether we are staying somewhere with a washing machine or not.

Pile your used diapers in the shower. Once again, I would only recommend this with exclusively breastfed babies or with diaper liners, so no solid waste is going into the shower drain.

When you shower, lay the diapers out below you so that they get drenched. This is a great way to pre-rinse the diapers without using any more water than you’re already using.

Occasionally pick them up and give them a good wringing, then return them to the shower floor.

Scoot them out of the way (or hang them up) while you use shampoo or soap so they don’t get any build up on them.

By the time everyone has had their morning shower, the diapers are pretty good and rinsed. At that point, either hand-wash them or throw them in the washer – no need to run the machine multiple times.

Laundromat or hotel laundry service

I have never brought my cloth diapers to a laundromat. Nor have I asked a hotel to wash them. But I imagine they would? These are always options that you could try if you’re staying somewhere without a washing machine and you’re not down with the hand-wash.

If you are cloth diapering on vacation and staying at a hotel, you could always call ahead of time and ask if they will wash cloth diapers and what kind of detergent they use.

Heading somewhere sunny? Take advantage of that solar power.

There’s no better way to dry your diapers than to leave them out on a bright, sunny day. And if you’re anything like me as a traveler, you’re likely to head somewhere with lots of sun for every trip!

Not only do you save the electricity – again, very important if you’re traveling to a less developed nation – but the sun helps to disinfect the diapers, as well. Win-win!

This is easier in some locations than others, but I’ve certainly found a few creative ways to get my diapers out into the sun.

Some things to consider.

We stayed once in an Airbnb where the host insisted on washing our clothes so we didn’t “mess up the machine” – I did not feel comfortable having her wash my cloth diapers, so we went disposable.

Another consideration is your child’s stage of poo. Exclusively breastfed babies are easy. That water-soluble poo is so compatible with cloth diapering. Older kids with very solid poo that brushes easily into the toilet: also easy.

That in-between stage, when everything is a little too reminiscent of peanut butter, is tough. I know I keep saying it, but diaper liners are everything. It’s not worth putting anyone else’s washing machine to the ultimate test.

Cloth diapers are not going to be right for every single trip. Going camping? I wouldn’t want to wash my diapers in a campground shower – or the river. On our trip when I was 7 months pregnant? I had no desire to hand-wash a toddler’s poo. We brought disposables.

One further consideration is how readily available disposables will be if you need them. Are you staying in the jungle, a half-day’s journey from the nearest town? (I’m guessing not, if you’re traveling with a baby!) But in all seriousness, when we visited Thailand with our 4 month old, we found it very challenging to get diapers when we unexpectedly needed them. We were in the tourist area, and spent a whole afternoon hunting for diapers. In Italy, they were in every market.

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Bring some disposables as a back-up, or even try the half-and-half method.

The great thing about disposables is that they pack super easy. You can bring a few as a back-up, and they take up almost no space. If you end up in a situation where you NEED a diaper and yours are out of commission, you’ll be super thankful to have brought enough to tide you over while you track down more.

I’ve tried it all when it comes to traveling with diapers:

• Bring all cloth diapers plus a handful of back-up disposables
• Bring all disposables
• Buy a bunch of disposables while there
• Half-and-half: Bring some cloth diapers and a pack of disposables

I have come to really prefer the half-and-half method.

For 2 weeks of travel, I might bring along 20 disposable diapers. It’s nice to have both, especially when considering the day-bag. If we’re going out for a full day’s adventure, I don’t want to carry 6 cloth diapers with me… (enough for the day plus a couple “just in case”). I’d rather bring 2 cloth diapers and then have a handful of disposables in my bag to use after those as needed.

What’s the right number of cloth diapers when you travel?

This will of course depend on your baby’s age, but it’s a very different number than what you would have at home. I pretty much plan to wash the diapers every day (right after my shower), so I don’t need a massive supply. I also prefer to pack very light, so I don’t want a massive supply.

Even with a baby and a toddler, we always travel carry on only. I just don’t have the suitcase space to bring my whole stash.

I have found 6 – 8 to be the golden number. It’s easy enough to pack them, and combined with some disposables, it’s plenty to get through a day (plus a day to dry in the sun).

If you don’t want to use disposables at all, maybe bring 12 to make sure you can get through two days if necessary.

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Sometimes, things might go wrong.

I mentioned earlier that we had to hunt down diapers when we were in Phuket. That’s because the apartment we stayed in had a very old washer/dryer combination machine, and it didn’t actually dry. That’s fine, I like to sun-dry anyway.

However, this apartment only got late afternoon sun, and it was so humid out that the diapers couldn’t actually dry, hanging outside or inside the apartment.

Another time that it went wrong was our trip to Mexico with a baby. There was no washer or dryer in the our Playa del Carmen Airbnb, so I hand-washed and hung them out to dry. The porch area that we had was completely shady, however, and they did not dry. Like, they stayed sopping wet for days on end.

I had to abandon cloth diapers for the rest of that trip and ended up bringing home a nasty, wet mess in a plastic bag. It was seriously stinky, and made me re-think cloth diapers on vacation. But I learned from it and planned better for future trips.

I would love to hear what others have done regarding diapers on vacation! Let me know in the comments. Anybody have an experience that went terribly wrong?!