Review - EcoNuts Multi-Surface Cleaner

Over the past few years I've been trying to "green my cleaning" by incorporating more natural cleaners in my house. I felt this was especially important when the babies came so as to limit their exposure to toxic chemicals.   I have been wiping down the kids' high chair seats every day (sometimes twice a day) and figured that any residue from a traditional cleaner might get on the hands/food that touches their high chairs.   One product I was dying to try was the multi-surface cleaner from EcoNuts. I have heard really good things about EcoNuts soap nuts (also on my list to try) so I thought their multi-surface cleaner would be a good thing to try out.  Here is what EcoNuts says about their cleaner on their website:

The ultimate in non-toxic liquid surface cleaners!

Safe to use around children and pets, and packaged in an aluminum bottle with our low-flow spray trigger (saves you money!).
This lightweight and compact 10oz bottle will clean everything in your kitchen and bathroom and leave it fresh-smelling. No gloves, goggles, or face mask required to block those awful chemical fumes!

The formula is based on our Eco Nuts and other botanical extracts. It is phosphate-free, sulfate-free, ammonia free and alcohol Free.

It works on tile, metal, stone, porcelain enamel, chrome, laminate, quartz composites and other non-porous surfaces.

Use in conjunction with our Clean-All powder to power through tough messes.

When I got it i thought that it had an interesting spray nozzle and was a good size although pretty expensive as far as cleaners go at 7$ for 10oz (for comparison, Windex multisurface cleaner is about 4.50$ for 26oz.)  As soon as I sprayed it, I was immediately put off.  WOW it smells like vinegar - a LOT.  Not even close to "fresh-smelling" as they claim in their ad.  I don't care how "natural" it is - if it smells awful I am not going to use it.  I cleaned some mirrors to see how it did as a cleaner and it's fine.  I decided that i could use it on outside tasks like cleaning my car windshield and the outside of glass windows but i will not be using it in the house.  I've only seen a few reviews of this product online and no-one has mentioned how much it stinks so I don't know if I got a bad bottle or if I am crazy, but this stuff stinks.  And that's just my opinion.

TrendLab One-size All-in-One Cloth Diaper Review

I'm a sucker for a sale.  So when my friend introduced me to Totsy and I saw TrendLab Cloth diapers on sale for $8.75 each I was intrigued.  I hadn't heard of this brand on the cloth diaper blogs.  So when I googled it, I came to their website and read about the features of their cloth diaper.  It looked to me like an All-in-Two diaper (not an All-in-One as they have named it) because the liner snaps in and out and you can reuse the outer shell (that is lined in fleece).  They did have one interesting feature.  They have three different types of snap-in liners that are "gender-specific."  In addition to being color-coded (GAG): blue for boys, pink for girls, white for all, they have different levels of extra padding where that gender needs it most.  Sounds interesting though not sure why you wouldn't just use the white ones all the time but it seemed novel to me.  In addition, the inserts are contoured, that is, they aren't flat but have a little gathering in the middle to make the sort of concave to fit around the private zone.  They also only have one snap to secure the liner in place inside the shell, but that is the same model that Softbums has so that is not so unusual.

Blue boy insert and white gender neutral insert

So I purchased two shells (each come with a white snap-in liner) and two sets of two "boy" liners at $5.75 each.  One was a nice sunny yellow and the other a steely grey color. My first impression is that yes it's a pretty cheap diaper cheap. It's made in China.  The boy liners are all microfiber even the top which touches the baby.  I was sure I had read on many a cloth diapering website that that was a no-no when it came to absorption in using cloth diapers.  The white ones however have a nice soft fleecy top.  Don't see why they couldn't have topped the boy (and presumably the girl) inserts with a fleece topper but I was still ok with it.  I washed them up and tried them on my kids.  They have a nice generous fit around the bum and waist and are pretty stretchy tabs with a hip snap.  I tried the boy inserts and have had no problems with over-drying or rashes or anything.  Their tushes are really squishy with these diaper/insert combos which is funny.  I actually haven't had any leaking problems with this diaper because of the good fit around the legs on my giant children and the really absorbent liners (both blue and white).  I only use it for daytime use at the moment.  I will say that they are actually a little big on my kids in the waist and I often can't do up a d hip snap because i have to pull the regular snaps pretty far into the middle of the diaper.  So I get some wing droop.  I don't particularly care about it but it can look a tad messy.

the outer snap setup

the tabs and hip snap

boy insert in shell

Greyson wearing the yellow trendLab

Now, as for their claims you can reuse the shell, well, that is a bit of a stretch.  My kids usually soak through the liner and thus urine gets onto the fleece of the inside of the shell.  I COULD snap in a new liner and put it back on my kid, but that is getting a tad gross.  It would make SO much more sense if the liners were backed in PUL so that the moisture was contained in the liner and then you definitely could reuse the shell.  Here you are better off just using it once and then laundering.  But I will say with the amount the liners absorb you probably can get 3-4 hours out of it so that is pretty decent for a daytime diaper.  Some other reviews (on amazon and the like) complain about the microfiber-to-skin issues and while I haven't had any that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.  Some people suggested cutting a slit in the fleece of the shell and using it as a pocket diaper.  That could work if you are that concerned.  I am tempted to add a PUL layer to the back of the inserts or even to the inside of the shell but at like 9$-12$ for these diapers, it probably isn't even worth it to break out my sewing machine.  I can also see that the fleece on the inside isn't super high quality and that the stretchiness of the tabs will probably wear out quickly.  Again it's a cheap diaper cheap.  Not super fancy but not total garbage either.  I am giving it a rating of 3 snaps.

Pros

• Contoured microfiber liners
• Gender-specific liners
• Inexpensive
• Generous fit

Cons

• Cheap construction
• Shell not reusable if soaked with urine
• Microfiber liners not fleece topped (except white liner)

Reviews are the opinions of Experiment MOM only while using the actual garment reviewed. I was not provided the diaper and I was not compensated for this review

Sew is Your Baby Pocket Diaper Review

I am addicted to cloth diapering.  If you are reading this, chances are you are as well.  I am always on the lookout for new cute diapers to try on my kiddos. Recently I decided to try one of the Sew is Your Baby (SIYB) pockets.


 I LOVE the silky denim print and since I usually let my kids go pantless I thought this would be adorable.  And WOW is it adorable.  This is in the silky fabric so my kids can slide around on their bottoms easily and jammies go over it very easily. Now I usually don't use pockets for daytime (too little bang for the buck especially when changing two kids in diapers all day long) but I was eager to try this one so I stuffed it with 3 inserts (not Sew is Your Baby inserts) and it fit great and no leaking at all.  You can see baby Jack modeling the dipe here.  He is 8 months and about 23lbs with really chunky legs.

Then I put it to the overnight test. Usually I put in 4 inserts into pockets for overnights.  Generally I use 2 microfiber and 2 hemp, either Thirsties Hemp doublers or gCloth.  So you can see they are heavy wetters.  This diaper held up perfectly, no leaks or dampness.

As far as features, this is a basic pocket.  It reminds me of a Bumgenius 4.0 pocket. It has a nice soft pocket which they say is microfiber but it isn't really absorbent, more of a "sueded" stay-dry polyester.  The pocket opening is about 4 inches which is a tad small for stuffing but the pocket itself is pretty wide.  It has the typical one-size snaps to adjust the rise (clearly we are beyond that stage) and a hip snap.   The legs have a single elastic layer.  In the bottom photos you can see a length measurement and comparison to a Thirsties AIO Duo.  The SIYB pocket is nearly 2 inches longer than the Thirsties AIO and I can definitely notice a difference on my kids. With the Thirsties AIO, they always have an exposed bum crack while with the SIYB their bums are fully contained.

Overall I am going to give this diaper 4.5/5 snaps.  The ONLY issue I have with this diaper (and it's a small one) is that it's manufactured in China.  There are a lot of diapers manufactured in China and many cloth diapering companies choose manufacturers that have good wages and treat their workers ethically so I can't comment on how these diapers are made.  I have also had this diaper for a short time so I don't know how it will hold to multiple washings. What I do know is that at 11$ for this diaper (alone, no inserts) it is an excellent value that rivals bigger-name diapers.

My rating:

Pros:

• long length
• nice material in and out
• big pocket
• easy clean/quick dry
• good value

Cons

• made in china

Reviews are the opinions of Experiment MOM only while using the actual garment reviewed. I was not provided the diaper and I was not compensated for this review