Let’s say you’ve decided to cloth diaper, you have selected the style and brand of your choice and now it’s time to focus on accessories. The good news is, accessories are a breeze! The most common accessories used with any cloth diapering system are wet bags.

In this article, we are going to discuss how many wet bags you need, where your wet bags should be kept and how to clean your wet bags.

What Is A Wet Bag?

A wet bag is a waterproof bag used for storing cloth diapers and/or other items that are or can become wet. For example, some people use wet bags for dirty cloth diapers while other use them for snacks, lunches, pump parts, etc.

A wet bag is different than a pail liner in that it has a zipper closure at the top where pail liners do not. Pail liners may have a drawstring closure or elastic around the top allowing for it to be secured around the opening of your diaper pail. In general, pail liners are also normally much larger than wet bags.

The uses for wet bags are literally endless. Many families continue to use wet bags and pail liners long after their cloth diapering journey has ended. My current favorite use is to hang a large wet bag on the back of our toddler’s door to be used as her hamper.

At Home

So, which should you use at home? I prefer to use a pail liner at home because I wash cloth diapers every other day instead of every day. Because this means we will accumulate about 20-25 diapers before it’s time to wash, we choose the larger pail liner option. If you are washing every day at home, you may not need a pail liner. If you can fit your entire wash load into a larger wet bag, you may prefer that option instead.

I actually use pail liners for our home needs as well. Smaller pail liners make great trash can liners and keep us from contributing to landfills by using countless plastic trash bags. Pail liners can also be used inside hampers for easy dirty laundry removal, especially if you are using a coin operated laundry or laundromat where you need to transport your laundry easily.

For Your Diaper Bag

A large hanging wet bag or pail liner will be much too big for your diaper bag. I prefer to pack a Thirsties wet bag or a GroVia wet bag, which holds about four to six diapers. Any more than that and we will probably have stopped at home to switch out the contents of our diaper bag anyway.

I also like to pack an extra wet bag for all the messes of toddlers while we are out and about. Because wet bags are waterproof, they are perfect for newly potty trained toddler accidents, spills and mud (and pretty much anything else you can think of).

For Your Car

For the car, I would recommend one wet bag filled with the cloth diaper essentials. I like to pack three cloth diapers, six cloth wipes, a GroVia Itty Bitty Magic Stick and a container of BALM Baby Spray That Bottom. I tuck this wet bag under my seat and forget about it completely. The next time I forget the diaper bag at home, I know I’m covered!

#Momrealness™

So, what’s the breakdown? You’ll need at least one pail liner or large wet bag for your dirty diapers at home, two wet bags for your everyday diaper bag and one extra to keep as an emergency bag in your car. It’s that easy!

Because wet bags have such a variety of uses, investing in good quality wet bags is very important. If you take care of them by washing with your cloth diaper laundry and hanging to dry, your wet bags should last you several years.