CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Clean B Detergent

I won this laundry detergent in another site's giveaway.  I was SO excited.  I had heard only good things and couldn't wait to try it for myself.

Picture from Clean B website
Let's start with the basics. I received a powder detergent that comes in all kinds of scents.  You can choose from her amazing selection. The detergent IS cloth diaper (CD) safe. If it's CD safe that means it's also safe for all of your other laundry.

When I first received this detergent I was having some major stink issues with my diapers and thought that switching brands would do the trick. Nope, the scent made the stinkies seem even worse because they had a perfumed stink. Ugh.  Okay, the stinkies were not the detergents fault or even the other MAJOR cloth diaper detergents fault.  It was my crappy washing machine's fault.  After purchasing a new machine I gave this detergent another fair shake. It cleaned just as well as my other brand.

The scent is still too much for me, but it is getting everything clean, so I can't complain too much. Since it was free and all.

She does make more than just powder detegent.  You can see her huge selection of items HERE.

The nitty gritty:
Would I buy it? No - since I wouldn't use it on my dipes
Why? The scents are just too strong for me and they don't rinse away like the other detergent I normally use. I don't mind the scent on my daily clothing, but I do not like the scent lingering on my diapers.

Do I recommend it? That's a tough one. It cleaned just fine, but not better than anything else.  If you like scented items, then YES, I recommend it.

Tiny Tush Elite

The Tiny Tush diaper was one that I've wanted to try for quite some time  now.  When I was given the  opportunity to review the diaper, I jumped at the chance.  I first heard and about and saw this diaper at All Things Diapers in Blaine, MN. I asked questions, touched/felt it, opened/closed it, and tugged at it for 3 visits in a row before taking the plunge and wanting to purchase one!


So what makes this diaper different from other pocket diapers?  Well, right from the start here is what I noticed: 

* the "one size" feature offers 4 settings instead of the standard 3
* the pocket is "reversed" from the standard set up - Tiny Tush says they did this to prevent stools from getting caught under the flap.
* BOLD color options - no prints though
*Made in the USA (the inserts are imported though) 

Notice how the pocket is set up
The diaper comes with 2 inserts, a large and small, with the tiny tush label sewn on.  If you're anything like me you don't like to mix up brands, so those labels are important. Yes, you CAN put different inserts with different brands, but I'm a bit type A when it comes to things like that.  The small insert is for the smallest settings or to use as a doubler with the larger insert. There are also nice laundry tabs on the aplix diapers to keep it from catching other diapers in the wash. After 8-10 washings, thus far, I don't have any build up on the hook part and the loop is still nice looking.  I have other brands (which I will review later) that don't look so nice.  Appearance is important to me!  We pay good money for nice diapers and they should stay LOOKING nice in my opinion.

What you get when you buy
I started this testing off by grabbing the doll to try sizing.  As you can see there is some gapping on the leg.  Yes, this type of doll has small legs, but other diapers I tried on her stayed snug.  It also was very high in the rise on the smallest setting.



After I prepped the diaper (washed and dried all parts 3 times) it was time to put it to the test. I started with trying it on the 2nd setting, it was too small for my 18 pounder. I then raised it to the 3rd setting.  I had some trouble getting it to fit around the waist without being too tight on the thigh.  I did get it, granted it's not "straight" but I didn't care, it fit.  I think I would have had real issues getting the snap version to fit correctly.

(The leg marks are from the diaper he had on overnight)

The first time using the diaper we went about a half hour before I HAD to change the diaper.  My little guy decided he needed to blow up.  All was contained in the diaper!  It was a mess too, so I was VERY happy. In fact, I have yet to have a leak with this diaper.  I even got brave (since it was sheet washing day) and went with this diaper for an overnight (9 hours) with only the large insert.  I was impressed.  I'm not going to try that again, but it was fun to know the diaper could handle it. I've also had this diaper on during car rides.  No leg leaks or pressure leaks like others I've tried! 

The diaper is pretty trim as well. I also noticed that the diaper seems softer? than other pocket diapers when on.  What I mean is that it bends and moves better than some other brands.  It seems more like a piece of clothing rather than a stiff diaper.

So what don't I like? There has to be something since nothing is perfect after all.  So here it is ... I don't like that the large insert has to be folded in order to be sized down.  There aren't any snaps or closures to hold it to the size you want.  You just have to fold, stuff and hope it stays. I know, not that big of a deal.  I also think that the Aplix feels a little loose.  I researched online and found that about 10 minutes in the dryer may take care of this problem so I will try that next time it gets washed (I usually hang dry all covers).

Overall, would I buy more of these diapers?  You bet I would.  I would want to try a snap closure first to see which I prefer then go from there. The hardest part would be choosing the colors I would want there are so many to pick from:

picture from the tiny tush website
So, where can you buy these diapers?  I highly recommend THIS site.  They carry only the best, have free shipping within MN and anywhere in the US with a purchase over $49, and they are just a drive, e-mail or phone call away if you are having any issues with your diapers.  I have asked them so many questions.  They are SO knowledgeable. Talk about GREAT customer service. They will even answer your questions if you ask on their facebook page! Of course there are other stores and websites that sell this diaper, but why go to those when you have a link right here?  ;)

Here is what Tiny Tush has to say about their diapers:

Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Fitted Pocket Diapers combine technology, design, and good old fashion comfort!
This unique cloth diapering system is the easiest system available today. With a reverse envelope pocket opening in the rear of the diaper, the inserts are easy to install. The reverse envelope pocket opening also prevents stools from getting caught up underneath the flap. This makes cleanup easier and yuk free.


The exterior of the Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Pocket diaper is a water proof PUL. The inner layer is an non piling polyester micro-fleece to keep the diaper looking like new wash after wash.

Tiny Tush Elite One-Size pocket diapers are designed to fit babies from 7-35 lbs. The snap down system for sizing is similar to the popular Tiny Tush Trim except that there is an extra row (a fourth row) of snaps for increased adjustability. There is also an extra column of snaps to keep this amazing diapering system secure and trim.

The four row snap down system allows the rise of this diaper to be adjusted incrementally from newborn, infant, crawler, to toddler. Both the Aplix and snap closures use the same snap down system.

These wonderful pocket diapers are available in Aplix and Snap closures.



An extra special THANK YOU to All Things Diapers for sponsoring the diaper for this review.

BumGenius 4.0

They are my new favorite diaper.  Granted it's the first "pocket diaper" I've ever used, but I still love it.  What is a pocket diaper?  Well it has a pocket for an absorbent insert to go into.  This means there is a "feel dry" liner against the baby's skin.  I have some other all in twos (AI2) but this is the easiest for daddy to use.  The other AI2's that we use are "snap in" insert styles.  I usually will just take the inserts out and use the cover throughout the day.  This does make less laundry than the bumGenius, but I don't mind.

The diaper

So what do I like about the 4.0?  Besides the ease of use like I said, I also like the colors.  Silly, I know.

The feel of them is also nice.  The liners are SUPER soft to the touch and always feel dry and MUST feel nice on the bum!  That part I can't test.  The outsides are also soft and nice to touch.  The one size feature of this diaper is no lie.  I am able to use it on the 8 week old and the 2 year old!  I've also washed 6 of them SEVERAL times and there hasn't been any pilling yet.  I'm sure it will happen, but they still look new.  In the diaper world they are since they're only a month old, but you know what I'm saying.  ;)

The various sizes
I also like the snap system for our 2 year old.  She can't go streaking, which has been a new favorite pass-time if we let her go pantless. I didn't buy any of the hook/loop (velcro) so I can't compare it to those.  I have had a problem with some hook/loop closures on other brands so I avoided them with these since I could.

I would have liked to buy some prints in the 4.0, but my favorite diaper store (All Things Diapers) doesn't have any in stock yet AND they (the prints) weren't a part of the buy 5 get one free deal bumGenius is running (which ends tomorrow).

We're doing our first test as an overnight diaper tonight.  I have put in a bumGenius insert and a hemp insert as a doubler.  I wanted to keep it somewhat trim which is why I didn't do two microfiber inserts.  I'll let you know how it does.  I know it can be on the baby for over 4 hours with no problems, but we still do disposables overnight with him.  I was doing the prefolds and it was too much effort in the middle of the night when I was half awake.  I think I could EASILY do these in the middle of the night, but I have a bunch of disposables that I need to get through, so we won't find out the overnight abilities on the baby for a while yet!

I would also like to try the following brands: Fuzzibunz, Rumparooz, Softbums Omni (invented in Andover, MN) and I'm sure there are some others ...

(pics are from the bumGenius site)