Diaper rash cream and laundry detergent. These are two things that I feel are the most unknown when you start cloth diapering. No one told me I needed to use special creams and detergents but boy did I learn fast! (FYI, Desitin is a PAIN to scrub out of a cloth diaper!)
In the beginning I tried to use diaper liners as a barrier to lay between my normal diaper cream and the cloth diaper. What a fail that was! Liners are very thin and their sole purpose is to make cleaning up a messy poo diaper easy. Take my advice now and just don't even try it unless you want to ruin your beautiful fluff. Take a little bit of time and research the different kinds of cloth diaper friendly rash creams. There are plenty out there and you may like one more than others. Some creams can be a little costly. One of my all time favorites is CJ's BUTTer. A 4oz tube (about the size of a tube of Desitin) can run you about $9. One of the things I LOVE about CJ's is all the scents. You can buy this cream in a jar, tube, stick or spray bottle. They also sell body wash, shampoo, lotion, cloth wipes solution and more! CJ's is worth every single penny, I promise! Some other popular brands that are CD safe are California Baby, Angel Baby Bottom Balm, Grandma El's and Grovia Magic Stick. California Baby is also available in-store at Target and Babies R Us as well as other retailers which makes it a plus :) At this moment I am all about using straight Coconut Oil as rash cream and plain ol cornstarch as powder. The coconut oil at $8 for a 16oz jar is a great deal!
For some people, choosing a detergent is as easy as picking the store brand Free and Clear formula and calling it a day. I ended up going with a CD safe detergent called Charlie's Soap. Apparently there is a percentage of people who have severe problems with this formula though. For me it worked ok. I did try a WAHM made formula but after terrible customer service I switched methods again and tried Ecos Free and Clear (bought at Whole Foods). This formula did pretty well for me too but then my AMAZING friend starting making her own detergent after I converted her to cloth diapering and I have been using it ever since. You can check out DeeTergent on Facebook and don't forget to check the discussions tab for available scents and pricing.
Pinstripes and Polkadots has two fantastic resources as well! Check out these links for charts on cloth diaper friendly diaper rash creams and laundry detergents. They use a four star rating system to grade products, provide notes and list of ingredients in each product. This site also explains what ingredients to look for that are a clue to know whether a cream or detergent is cloth diaper friendly.
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