I have done it – once, and I wouldn’t do it again. The space they took up was ridiculous. The amount of time I spent in front of a washing machine was dumb, and I had to strip them all when I got home because I changed up my wash routine while there to save time, and didn’t get all the detergent/stink out. I might use disposable inserts, but I won’t go cloth all the way for a trip like that. I will say that I do use them while camping because the space issue doesn’t matter and I just wash them when we get home because our trips are 3 days or less.

I took a four-day trip and just brought my entire stash. I don’t know if ‘sposies were in the budget, but I wouldn’t wash them again while away- my host had hard well water so I had to do a double cycle when I got home anyway to make sure they were clean.

We have taken cloth for trips that are driveable up through 4 days/ 3 nights without washing ( though dunk and swishing poops). I wouldn’t recommend going that long without washing but it was ok. We frequently take weekend trips with cloth and just bring a large wet bag.
Trips by plane we take cloth if we are checking a bag and have access to laundry. Otherwise hybrids and occasionally disposables.
We use lulus glamour wash for travel because the sample sizes are small but cover several washes.

I have taken cloths on every trip we have ever taken. I never thought twice about it really. I can see the potential for it going rough however in our experience all worked well. First we fly southwest so baggage allowance is generous, we only have one little one with us and we are usually visiting family who have washer and driers to use. [also both my husbands sibling cloth diaper so no we visit really ever has a problem with us using their washer for diaper washing] We pack enough to wash about every other day,which is about 15 diapers. We wash when we have three or four left so we have diapers while they dry in the sun. We pack enough detergent in a ziplock bag, we have found it will be allowed to go through TSA just fine. We use rockin green detergent. Thus if we are on a ten day trip, which we are currently enjoying with family, and I expect to wash every day at the most I pack 5-6 table spoons. Most airlines allow a diaper bag plus a personal bag and a carry on. This means my husband and I together could bring about five bags on the plane alone. In truth we take the diaper bag,a snack bag and family entertainment bag. The later contains toys for both daddy and baby plus a book or so for mommy. Southwest Airlines allow two checked bags a piece so we have plenty of options to ack diapers not needed on flight. I use one bag, sometimes a second small backpack for mommies and babies cloths plus diapers. Daddy packs one backpack. Which means we could even check more if desired . I hope that helps some people:) Enjoy

For short Friday – Sunday trips, we bring cloth and wash when we get home. For longer trips, we only bring cloth if we’re staying with family or friends with easy access to a washing machine. For hotel stays, we don’t bring cloth because i’m not spending my time or money on washing at a hotel or laundromat. We always use disposables in the airport and long car rides, it’s just easier and takes up less space. But traveling with cloth does require extra space in your suitcase! They do take up a ton of space.

We don’t usually fly so I’ve never used cloth while traveling but we have taken them on trips! I usually go the hybrid route though using disposable liners! 🙂

•How many cloth diapers would you pack for a long weekend trip–like from Friday to Monday? J: our whole stash, practically, which is ~24 diapers.
•How many cloth diapers would you pack for a full week trip? J: same answer, as long as I had a washer I could use at my destination (at grandma’s or a friend’s house, or a rental house with washer/dryer). Not sure I would be willing to spend my vacation at a laundrymat otherwise.
•Do you pack cloth wipes? J: No, we don’t use cloth wipes.
•Do you pack your own detergent? How do you pack detergent?? Or do you buy whatever detergent is available where you are going? J: We save up our free samples from diaper purchases and pack those! But it would be easy to put some powder detergent (like Rockin’ Green) in a baggie, too!
•Do you bring your diapers on the plane? J: yep! but we keep a ‘sposie or two handy as well.
•If you do bring your diapers on the plane, how on the world do you fit them into the small and precious space in your diaper bag that also needs to be reserved for snacks, books and toys–especially if you have older siblings to entertain. J: We pack as many as we can in the diaper bag (at least 3 even for a single leg), and count our LO’s suitcase as one of our carryons in case we need backup diapers OR clothes. We get more packed AND carryon luggage now that LO is two and requires his own ticket. But even before that we did the same, just packed our own stuff more efficiently!

First of all, if we want to get more people to use cloth, then we need to stop acting like the world will blow up if we use a disposable diaper occasionally. There are times when it’s more practical to use disposable diapers. Take as an example the girl a few weeks back who was feeling guilty about using disposable diapers because there was a hurricane coming. There’s a hurricane coming and you’re worried about putting at most thirty disposable diapers in the trash? That is what drives people away from cloth.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest . . . I have never taken a long trip with cloth diapers. But every time I visit my parents and use disposable diapers for the week, I miss my cloth diapers. They just work better. I don’t think they would take up much more space than disposable diapers. A pack of diapers and a box of wipes do take up a lot of space in a suitcase.

we used cloth on the plane, the real one and hybrid’s. both worked well. for a weekend trip i pack about 15 diapers. more than i need, but just in case. or less plus disposable liners. if we leave for longer, i’ll ask friends and family if i can wash at their house, and then keep packing 12-15 diapers, I use their regular detergent. i do not use cloth wipes.

If I were flying, I wouldn’t take cloth since they take up so much space. If I were driving and had access to a washer/dryer at my destination, I’d probably take about 15 diapers and probably some disposable inserts or liners to help with the lack of a diaper sprayer. I wouldn’t stress over using the occasional pack of sposies, but I’d definitely miss the cuteness of cloth. 🙂

I take mine when we are traveling, but usually only in the car. We don’t travel by plane much. I pretty much take the entire stash no matter what. If it’s just a weekend trip, I just wash when we get home. For week-long trips, I don’t worry about detergents just that once (or twice, sometimes) that I wash while I’m gone. When we travel by car, it’s easier to just cram an extra two bags in somewhere. I would guess if I was doing plane traveling and wanted to be brave, I would put the diapers in my suitcase that would be checked. I’m a pretty efficient packer, so it would probably work, at least for short trips. I do also do cloth wipes just b/c it’s easier to shove everything together in the wet bags rather than separating and putting in trash, etc.

Thanks for this post… I don’t know how traveling with cloth will go with our future little one… but I’m curious to try!

I can see myself traveling with thirsties diapers. My LO is wearing one now and these are simple, light, and compact. Really the ideal travel diaper. Also they wash easily anx more quickly than others so if you need to wash it won’t take forever like many other kinds do.

We haven’t (Lo isn’t here yet), but I have a friend that always travels with her younger girls in cloth. It’s definitely doable if youre smart about it.

I have traveled with cloth, but not on a plane. For a weekend trip, I usually bring 20 diapers and disposable wipes. I wait and wash when I get home. For a week long trip, I brought my whole stash ~30 diapers and washed in the rental washer with my own detergent.

I packed most of my pocket diapers last year. The detergent we use is soap nuts, so those were easy to bring along. I kind of cheat with my wetbag sometimes – I don’t stuff it into the backpack I use as a diaper bag, I attach the bag to the top loop of the backpack. That way it doesn’t take up half of the space inside the backpack and it is super accessible.

However, I wouldn’t do it the same way again. I would use disposable inserts with hand-washable covers – you know, like my Thirsties. The washing on the trip was kind of a nightmare. The machines didn’t work well, and we were in a much more humid climate to begin with. Drying took forever, and the diapers didn’t really smell fresh. (We were using a top loader, non-HE machine too!) Not going to do it the same again.

On our last couple of trips I’ve taken enough diapers to change her every two hours and enough for two days without washing. My baby will be spending a few weeks with her grandma in Las Vegas and ill be sending the diapers thrust the mail just si my mom wont feel overwhelmed with all the luggage. As for the detergent. I put some in a ziplock bag. As for wipes I pack about two dozen wipes. So far we’ve never run out of diapers nor wipes.

Great post and so much to look forward to once my little one arrives next yr! Should be challenging but I’m up for it!

I have never tried to fly with cloth. We did take cloth camping this summer and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually just for 3 days so perfect and I didn’t have to worry about washing while we were gone

We have not flown since my LO was born. We did go on a trip to Wisconsin and we were gone from Thursday till Monday. We brought 4 covers and a package of disposable (eco-friendly) inserts. We save so much money cloth diapering that buying a package of disposable inserts to use hybrids while traveling is worth it. Plus it is still environmentally friendly 🙂

BTW I hand washed my covers in the sink and they came clean very easy and dry quickly 🙂

I do travel with my diapers I take them all:) I just stick them in a bag and if it is just a couple 3 days I just Make sure and scrape off the poo put in bag and go, tmi lol I know. I just wash when I get hOme , of it is going to be more than a couple days (idk I hAvnt done more that a weekend) I would still take stash i would just use my g diapers I suppose they aren’t as ?? Delicate without the pul and all:) I can just wash regular , and prob bleach the inserts lightly and do an extra wash On them:)

I would bring everything!

We have yet to take our baby on a real trip, so I have no experience traveling with cloth. It seems like it could be a lot of packing and then what about washing while you are at your destination?

i use them while traveling, but I’ve never gone by plane

I have only traveled with cloth once – I took a few for overnights. It wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t great either, since I had so few diapers it wasn’t as easy to wash, had to worry about laundry detergent/washers/etc. It’s usually easier to just buy some disposables when we get to where we’re going (so we don’t have to use up precious luggage space for cloth)

I haven’t flown since my first was a baby, and we used disposables for those trips. I do bring cloth by car. If I were flying with cloth, I’d bring three day’s worth of my most compact diapers, and plan to wash every other day. For me, it would be prefolds and flips, but I’m sure the duo covers would work just as well. For the plane, I’d bring enough diapers for a change every two hours, and if I didn’t have room for another few extras, I’d throw in a few sposies in case of delays, blowouts, etc. I’d use sposies at night, so I wouldn’t have to bring another type of diaper and wool. This is pretty much what we do by car. 5 people in a PT cruiser makes space a premium there, too. 🙂

Oh, and if I only have to wash once or twice while I’m gone, I don’t worry much about detergents and wash routines. I just get them clean enough, and plan on a more serious washing once we get home.

I have used disposables on the airplane, but would’ve been fine with well-stuffed pockets. Diaper changes on the plane are surprisingly convenient — everything is within arm’s reach!

When we’ve had a “home base” with W/D when visiting, I took everything, including cloth wipes. I researched which brands of detergent worked best before leaving so I knew what to look for.

When staying in motels, flat diapers w/covers are great — you can wash a flat in the sink, hang it in the shower overnight, and it’ll be dry in the morning.

Im pregnant with my third child and I am eager to cloth diaper. I have been researching and have gone through the laundry list of CD concerns. If traveling I would probably bring the amount normally used by my baby and a few extra just to be on the safe side. Sure it might mean an extra small bag just for diapers, but with three children I am not exactly expecting to pack lightly. The worst thing that could happen is that I would have to wash the diapers each night by hand and hang them to dry. I breastfed my other two children- no formula, no pumping, no bottles- until they were 20 and 22 months. My friends and family thought I would cave and supplememnt, pump, or wean at one year; but, I didnt. I am sure CDing and travelling can be conquered also.

About to go on out first baby trip! Going to visit Grandma for five days and we’ve already decided to bring the cloth. Fortunately it’s a short flight (2:30 hours) so bringing diapers with us in the diaper bag shouldn’t be a biggy … it’ll just be like any other outing.

We’re bringing cloth wipes too and are going to wash at grandma’s — fortunately she has soft water, so the diapers’ll wash even better, I think!

I took our cloth on our family vacation this summer. I didn’t think it was a hassle at all. I took about 20 pockets (plus a couple already in the diaper bag) and a couple wet bags (for a 2 month old and night for a 2yo). We were staying with family and in a beach rental with washer/dryer which made it easy to wash. I followed my regular wash routine but used their detergent with no problems. We flew and I took our diapers in a carry on (was afraid they would get lost if I checked them). Since we had to pay for 3 seats we had plenty of room for them in a carry on. I also put a change of clothes for everyone in there too just in case.

I did it! But it only worked because I knew I wouldn’t need my full baggage allowance. We were flying to Australia from DC, so I used disposables on the flight, and then brought my entire stash in one checked bag. We did use disposable wipes while we were away though. We stayed at my parents’ place the entire time, so I knew it would be easy to pull off. The only issues I had was that the washing machine was a front loader and didn’t wash as nicely as my top loader. Also the laundry detergent was different, so I was worried I’d get build up, but they came out fine.

Domestically, I only use cloth if I’m driving, and if I’m gone for 3 or less days (so I can do laundry when I get home). Otherwise, I do disposables, but may use cloth on the last day.

I only take cloth if I know that we are staying with family. I don’t want to spend time on washing if we are at a hotel.

I have not had my little one yet, but this information was super helpful to me. It’s crazy the things that you would never think of until after you have your child. I never even thought of this!

Yes! The last time with traveled with disposables (before we switched), DS had a blowout in our hotel bed at 5am. NOT FUN. We’ve now taken cloth for four trips of varying length, both car and plane.

We use our Grovia AI2s for travel. We take all of our shells (12) and inserts (17) plus some random other inserts that will fit well, and all of our Grovia boosters. I also take a gallon bag with biosoakers just in case. All of this gets me to three days, which is my typical wash interval. We took one trip recently that was four days in a hotel and I chose to use biosoakers for the first day then start using cloth on the second day. The night we got home I just threw everything in the wash.

We just started using cloth wipes at home, but still use disposables for the diaper bag. We used a mix on our recent 10-day trip. I just emptied the peri bottle and squeezed the air out before packing, refilled with water when we arrived at our destination.

I would not plan to use cloth inserts if we didn’t have laundry access. However, now with a baby we prefer a “vacation rental” with more space and laundry facilities to a hotel anyway. I generally just use whatever detergent is available where we are staying — happy Tide user at home, but a few washes in another detergent won’t kill anything. I just make sure to wash hot and do an extra hot wash or rinse.

For a road trip, everything is packed in the dry part of a large Planetwise wet/dry bag. For a flight we have to get more creative 🙂 When taking a stroller that goes in the huge stroller gate check bag, I just threw the entire wet/dry bag in there (still room to spare). No one asks what’s in your stroller bag!!! When taking our umbrella stroller that has a smaller travel bag this strategy is less feasible (the extra space is taken up by my carrier). On two flights we had to check a garment bag since my DH needed his suit, so we just stuffed all of the covers and inserts (separated) into the outer compartments of the garment bag.

I might end up flying to see family with DS for a long weekend on my own soon, so I was just pondering how I’d handle that situation. I think I would opt to pack our clothes and diapers in my travel pack, which has a large padded hip belt and a zip-off daypack. That should be enough room for our clothes and diapers, the daypack can be used as a diaper bag, my hands would be free to push the stroller and the car seat (still using a bucket) could hang from my forearm. Alternatively the travel pack can ride in the stroller and DS can ride on me.

Wow, that was a long comment!

I wouldn’t mind traveling with cloth, especially since it would be interesting to wash with non-well water! we have well water and it has proven to be my worst enemy with cloth diapers. so I don’t think it would be much trouble!

I’m impressed, y’all. I don’t even go across town with cloth in our bag – though we do have a few packs of disposables that were gifted to use up. After that, I plan to bring our prefolds.