5 Reasons to Use Cloth Diaper Liners

Let’s talk about cloth diaper liners and the 5 reasons to use them if you don’t already! There are many benefits to cloth diapering – including better for baby, the environment and your bank account! But sometimes cloth diapering seems intimidating.

There are so many types and options, its easy to get lost in what you do or don’t actually need for cloth diapering. You truly only need something to absorb pee, contain poop and keep it from getting onto baby’s clothes. So really a cloth diaper liner is not a necessity.

But I promise you will be happier in your cloth diapering journey with the addition of liners! I say this from my personal experience and what a difference it has made for us.

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How to Use a Cloth Diaper Liner

First, let’s quickly talk about how to use a cloth diaper liner. A liner can be made of various materials and simply lays on top of the cloth diaper. It is sandwiched between the absorbant material of the diaper and baby’s bum. So the liner is what is in contact with baby’s bottom. We primarily use covers with pre-folds (and a liner) but liners can also be used with any diaper including AIO’s and pockets.

When baby poops, the liner is easily removed and the poop is “plopped” into the toilet. The liner then goes into the diaper pail to be washed with the rest of the diapers (if reusable) or into the trash (if disposable). This is really referring to when baby is eating solid foods. Prior to that, babies consuming a diet of only breast milk or formula have water-soluble poop, meaning diapers don’t require rinsing or disposing of poop before washing.

That being said, we did not start using a liner until solids were introduced. I imagine they could still be beneficial if you choose to use them before having solid poops, but I have no experience using them during that time and did not feel a need to use them while my baby was exclusively breast fed.

Types of Cloth Diaper Liners

A liner can be reusable or disposable. I only have experience with reusable liners, so that’s what I can speak to the best. Reusable liners are typically made of a fleece material but can be made from materials such as cotton too. I’ll talk more about this later, but fleece liners are often a preference due to their stay-dry qualities and lack of fraying. They are very easy to DIY. If you want to learn more, I have an entire post on how to DIY with a downloadable pattern to make it even easier.

As far as disposable liners, I have read information on them just in my overall research of cloth diapering. Typically they are a biodegradable liner that can be thrown in the trash (after disposing of the poop). Some liners advertise as being flushable too. 

So now that we have covered how to use a liner and the types of liners, lets move on to the top 5 reasons to use them!

1. Easier Clean Up

Using a cloth diaper liner makes cleaning up solid poops soooo much easier! The liner lays on top of the diaper and essentially catches the poop. This makes it so you can simply “plop” the poop into the toilet without a big mess. We also use a diaper sprayer, which is helps to completely clean the reusable liner. And sometimes (depending on the poop), we have to clean the prefold and cover too – but its minimal and so much easier since the liner catches most of it. Our liners are made of fleece which is easier to spray off than a material such as cotton. 

2. Prevent Stains

It is not uncommon for cloth diapers to become stained…naturally. But using a liner creates a barrier that can help prevent stains. Not that stains affect the use of diapers, but there can be a number of reasons you’d be interested in keeping your stash looking as best as possible. A few that come to mind are resale when your babies are potty trained. And appeal to others that might be diapering your baby but aren’t as comfortable with cloth as you are.

3. Protect Cloth Diapers

Along the same lines as preventing stains, liners can create a barrier from any ointments and creams coming in contact with cloth diapers. There are many cloth diaper safe ointments, meaning it doesn’t matter if the ointment gets on your cloth because it washes out and won’t affect the absorbency.

But your “regular” diaper creams and ointments are not safe to use with cloth diapers and can ruin them! They are absorbed into the diaper itself and are very hard to wash out – making the diaper repel water and become non-absorbent. This is NOT what you want a cloth diaper to do. It’s job is to soak up and absorb everything so it doesn’t end up outside of the diaper and everywhere else!

Personally, we use a cloth diaper safe ointment. But if you want or need to use one that’s not compatible with cloth diapers, a liner can help. And you can still wash reusable liners with your diapers. There is a great reference on diaper creams here at Fluff Love University. No affiliation or sponsor, just a great reference in my opinion.

4. Comfort for Baby

Depending on what type or material of liner used, it can provide a little extra comfort for baby. Specifically fleece. Fleece materials provide a “stay dry” feel to baby. And who wouldn’t want that? It is also worth noting that microfleece and microfiber are very different.

Microfleece is ok to come in contact with baby’s skin. Microfiber is NEVER ok to come in contact with baby’s skin. Lots of inserts are made from microfiber and are meant to be placed in a pocket diaper which has a microfleece barrier between the liner and baby’s bum. Some liners have a microfleece layer sewn onto the outside with microfiber inside. 

5. Cheap and Easy to DIY

Reusable cloth diaper liners are very easy to make and are super cheap! I have an entire post that walks you through how to make your own DIY cloth diaper liners. I also have a printable pattern to make it a no-brainer. Click here to read it. But basically all you need is an inexpensive thin fleece blanket and scissors. No sewing or fancy materials involved. And really no reason not to make them!

So there you have it. The scoop on cloth diaper liners and my top 5 reasons for introducing them into your stash. Trust me…you won’t regret it!!!

Let me know if you use cloth diaper liners and love them as much as we do!

Also, click HERE to order from Nicki’s Diapers. They are my favorite, go-to diaper cover and proved to be bullet proof for even my heavy wetter. They are offering Free Shipping on orders over $10!