Cleaning Up

Clean up with cloth diapers isn't really that bad. Sure, sometimes it's gross, but so are regular diapers. It's just not a happy thing in general. Mosy people don't use the "dunk and swish" method (if that was the only option I would NOT be doing CD). Most people use a diaper sprayer:

These attach to a valve behind your toilet, or to the shower, or whatever really easily. You just spray any extra mess off into the toilet. No need to touch anything you don't want to. :)

We don't have one of those (though I might be interested in getting one), but I use flushable liners. They're not that expensive, and you just throw one in every diaper change. If the diaper's just wet, you can throw them in the wash with everything else, and they last 3-4 washes (so you don't go through them too quickly). If the diaper's messy, you just throw them in the toilet. (With most of the mess). Sadly, Jaina seems to have a sixth sense about when I forget to put one of these in... The brand I hear is best is Imse Vimse. The toddler ones are great because I can just cut them into pieces and use one for both kids

Laundry
This can be slightly complicated, but it hasn't been, for me, so far. You just try something that works for other people, and if it doesn't work for you (i.e. if you're getting smelly diapers) you try something else. Diapers are a little picky about which detergents you use on them, as detergent with additives can cause build-up, which will smell. We use All Free & Clear on most of our clothes, but it's not the best thing for diapers, so I've been using Purex Free & Clear on them. Here is one good link about different detergents and how they work for cloth: http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

I do a cold rinse, a hot wash/cold rinse with 1/4 - 1/2 of the detergent called for, then an extra cold rinse to make sure all the soap is out. If I think about it I do an extra spin at the end, as it cuts down drying time. I also add a little Calgon (water softener, in the laundry aisle) because I think we have really hard water here in Davenport, and hard water can cause build-up, too.

I usually hang the pocket diapers and the covers to dry overnight, and dry everything else on high. Most things can be dried on high, but the tags will tell you, if so. Fitted diapers sometimes take a little extra long to dry, and All-in-Ones (AIOs) would take even longer.