How does our cloth diaper service work?
Thanks for your interest in Baby Care Diaper Service. Please read through the following guidelines on how our service works. If you still have questions, feel free to give us a call or email us.
Delivery Area
Our service area is roughly as far north as Florissant, as far west as O'Fallon MO, as far east as St. Louis City and as far south as 270 and 55. We deliver to a lot of areas in between as well including Chesterfield, South City, etc. Sorry, but we currently do not deliver to Illinois.
Pre Delivery Orders
We like to schedule your first delivery one to two weeks before your due date. Included with your pre-delivery will be:
- Diaper Pail - On loan and to be returned at end of service (Value $20) If you wish to purchase an extra pail, they are available for $20.00.
- Cloth Diapers - Pre-delivery includes half of your ordered amount (e.g. if you sign up for 80 diapers per week, you will get 40 for your pre-delivery). This is mainly because most people start using the diapers slowly or in the middle of the delivery week and this is plenty to get them through. Also, you won't feel overwhelmed when the next full delivery comes, used diapers are not sitting too long if someone starts off using them slowly, and we won't have hundreds of diapers sitting in homes that cannot be used by other customers. If you start off quickly and need an additional delivery the first week, we are always happy to run out a special delivery at no charge.
- Deodorizer Disc – You will receive one free per month. Additional discs can be purchased for $.50 each. The deodorizer disc fits in the lid of the pail. Look for the little slot along the back rim and slide the disc in.
- Pail Liner - This will be for your first week. After that, you will use the liner that your clean diapers are delivered in.
- Booklet – Instructions on different ways to fold your cloth diapers.
- Newborn wrap – Wrap is free of charge with 4 weeks paid service.
We then put you on hold until we hear from you that your baby is born and you are ready for service to begin on a routine basis. We ask that the hold period not be greater than 2 months after your initial delivery.
Service Procedure
Once your routine service begins, our delivery person will provide weekly delivery and pick-up right to your door. You do not need to be home for deliveries.
Diaper counts work on a rotating 2 week basis. The number of diapers you choose to receive is what you should always have on hand each week. For example, if you order 80 diapers, we will deliver 80 diapers the first week. The second week, we will deliver 80 more diapers. You will fill out your clean diaper tag telling us how many diapers you have on hand. Let’s say the second week you write down that you have 20 clean diapers. We now know you have 20 on hand plus the 80 we just delivered. That means you have 100 on hand. The third week we will delivery 60 diapers (the 20 left over from the last week, plus the 60 equals 80). So if you use more than your weekly amount one week that means you will be that many diapers short the next week.
We charge you for the number of diapers you are ordering, or renting, each week, not the number of diapers you use. If you consistently have many leftovers, please call us to reduce your weekly order, which will result in a price decrease. We will help monitor your situation with you so that you are receiving the optimal number of diapers.
Click here for an illustration that helps explain cloth diaper math.
Soiled Diapers
Your clean diapers are delivered in a plastic pail liner. Use this bag to line your hamper. It is not necessary to rinse or wash the diapers, just throw them in the pail, inside the liner. Once your baby begins to eat solids, please shake off any loose stool in the toilet. Diapers used as burp cloths should be rinsed to avoid mildew growth and stains.
Delivery Day
The driver begins his route at 6:00 a.m.so we ask that you make sure diapers are out by that time. Some customers choose to put their soiled diapers out the night before to assure a smooth pick up and drop off. Make sure you attach your clean diaper count tag to the top of the bag with the number of clean diapers you have on hand.
Clean Diaper Tag
We use tags to count our diapers, rather than having someone count each dirty diaper individually. With your monthly invoice, we will supply you with 4-5 tags with your name already on them. The night before your delivery day, count all your clean diapers. Then write this number on the tag and tie it to your diapers. If you forget to put the tag on the diapers, simply call or email and let us know your clean diaper count. If we do not hear from you, we will call you. If we still do not hear from you we will deliver 75% of your ordered amount the next week.
Forgot to Put out Diapers
If soiled diapers are not left out for pickup, your driver will still deliver that weeks clean diapers. If this happens again the following week, we will be unable to deliver another set of clean diapers and your account will be put on hold until we hear from you. Soiled diapers that sit longer than a week are more likely to stain. For this reason, if diapers are not left out, we will need to schedule an alternate pickup day or have you drop them by our office. If this becomes habitual, an additional pickup charge with apply.
Paying for Service
There are several ways to pay:
- Leave a check taped to the outside of your bag of soiled diapers. Please put the check in an envelope.
- Mail a payment (check or money order).
- Set up payments with your bank’s on-line service. Note: there is a $20.00 charge for returned checks.
- We are also now accepting payments via Paypal.
We will bill you at the end of the month in advance for the next month’s service.
More about the Wraps and Diapers
We carry Litewraps and Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. Please see the "Velcro Wraps" page to learn more about these two brands. Please order them 2 days before your delivery day. An invoice for the wraps will come with them on your next delivery day. We recommend you have three to four wraps in each size. The diaper wrap does not need to be changed with each diaper change, only if it becomes soiled. Care instructions are included with each diaper wrap.
We have two different sizes of diapers: newborn and toddler. Usually babies move from newborn to toddler diapers when they move from medium to large wraps (about 20 lbs.).
Vacation Hold – What to do when you’ll be out of town
You will not be charged for weeks that you do not use diapers if you schedule a vacation hold. If you are leaving town, please call 2 working days in advance of your delivery to have your soiled diapers picked up and a future resume date scheduled.
Keeping Costs Down
There are many different ways to keep your costs down:
- As your baby needs fewer diapers, call us to reduce your order.
- If you plan to travel, or for any reason will not be using the diapers, sechedule a vacation hold. (See above).
- When you encourage a friend to order service and they mention your name when ordering, and complete a
minimum of 4 weeks of service; you will receive one week of diaper service for free.
Changes to Your Weekly Order
For any change, whether to increase or decrease amounts or sizes of diapers, or to change your address, please call 2 working days before your delivery day. This is very helpful in producing accuracy and efficiency in your change request.
How Long Should I use Diaper Service?
Most babies need diapering for at least 24 months. Cloth diapered babies are usually potty trained earlier than disposable diapered babies.
Diaper Cleaning Process
Our process of cleaning cloth diapers is very environmentally friendly which is important to us. In fact, because of the bulk amounts we have, it is much more environmentally friendly that home laundering because there is less water and detergent used per diaper. We use a linen service that has industrial washers and dryers, designed specifically for this industry. They use a 12-step process of high heat, soaping, soaking, and flushing. The detergents and chemicals used are in very precise, measured amounts and are thoroughly rinsed out. The entire process brings the cloth diapers back to the same pH balance as your baby’s skin.
Two cool facts about our linen service: 1.) It is a family business right here in St. Louis. 2.) The water they extract at the end of the wash cycle is sent through a large tube that surrounds a small tube of incoming water to help heat it, thus saving on electricity. This is just one example of how our linen service helps put the environment first.
Discontinuing Diaper Service
When you wish to discontinue service, please call 2 working days in advance of your delivery. All diapers clean and dirty must be returned on the day you cancel, along with the loaner pail. A per diaper fee* will be added to yoru account for diapers that you keep or destroy by shoe polish, grease, car wax, etc. We do a final count on incoming diapers to determine how many are missing or unusable.
* Infant = $ 1.50 ea., Toddler = $ 2.00 ea., Pail = $20.00
Gift Certificates
When someone orders a gift certificate for you, it is automatically credited to your account. Gift certificates can be given for any amount. People may give a certain amount of money or a certain amount of weeks of diaper service. We will either send them the gift certificate itself that they can pass on or just credit your account depending on the purchaser’s request. When your gift ends, service will automatically continue and be billed to you until you call to cancel. Due to the cost of setting up new accounts, the minimum service is 2 weeks. Refunds are not given for unused service within the first 2 weeks.
Gift Registry
We offer shower and gift registries at Baby Care Diaper Service. All you need to do is contact us and we will send you registry slips to include in your shower invitations. You do not need to use the forms to use the registry. If it is easier for your guests to call or email us, they just need to let us know the amount of the gift and the intended recipient.
E-mail: babycarediaper@yahoo.com
Phone: 314-732-7009
Address: 1211 Bardot Lane
St. Louis, Missouri 63146
Version 08/08