Using cloth diapers never crossed my mind when I went to create our baby registry. I thought disposables were the easiest and cheapest thing. I did no research on the topic because frankly, the idea of reusable diapers seemed like too much dirty work.
Since then I have met plenty of people that went the cloth route. After having in depth discussions with them (I had to know how they pulled this off), I totally understand why people use cloth and wish I would have looked more into it.
Before I get started, let me just say I'm not going to get into the "green" issue here. It is obvious what is better for the environment...but we are Mommy bloggers so we'll focus more on the cost effectiveness and ease of use factors. In an effort to make Captain Planet happy I will say "looting and polluting is not the way!" so please recycle when you can. ;o)
Here's the low down on how each diaper system works:
Cloth
Cloth diapers typically come in two parts- the water/stain proof cover and the absorbent liner. When changing baby, take the dirty liner out and replace with a new one. This means you'd purchase more liners than covers since the covers don't normally get soiled (hopefully anyway...). The diapers usually come in two sizes: newborn and infant/toddler. Dirty diapers can be stored in a lined garbage bin.
Cleaning the diapers consists of either tossing them straight them in your washing machine (just wet) or rinsing off using a sprayer attached to your toilet and then putting them in the wash. Sometimes your normal clothing detergent can be used or you can purchase a special soap just for diapers.
A few great resources for cloth diapers are DiaperPin.com and TheDiaperJungle.com.
Before I get started, let me just say I'm not going to get into the "green" issue here. It is obvious what is better for the environment...but we are Mommy bloggers so we'll focus more on the cost effectiveness and ease of use factors. In an effort to make Captain Planet happy I will say "looting and polluting is not the way!" so please recycle when you can. ;o)
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| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-weinstein/captain-planet-empedocles_b_561559.html |
Here's the low down on how each diaper system works:
Cloth
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| http://joshandjessicabrown.blogspot.com/2011/06/cloth-diapers.html |
Cloth diapers typically come in two parts- the water/stain proof cover and the absorbent liner. When changing baby, take the dirty liner out and replace with a new one. This means you'd purchase more liners than covers since the covers don't normally get soiled (hopefully anyway...). The diapers usually come in two sizes: newborn and infant/toddler. Dirty diapers can be stored in a lined garbage bin.
Cleaning the diapers consists of either tossing them straight them in your washing machine (just wet) or rinsing off using a sprayer attached to your toilet and then putting them in the wash. Sometimes your normal clothing detergent can be used or you can purchase a special soap just for diapers.
A few great resources for cloth diapers are DiaperPin.com and TheDiaperJungle.com.
Disposable Diapers
Most of us are familiar with how disposables work. There are several sizes to choose from depending on your child's weight. Baby gets a brand new diaper each time they are changed. Dirty diapers get stored in your regular trash can or sometimes a diaper pail. Your local garbage company gets the honor of picking up your dirty diapers once or twice a week with your other trash.
The Cost
So now that you know the skinny on each "system" let's talk about cost. DiaperDecisions.com has broken down the cost of several cloth diapering systems vs. disposables:
* The average cost (including washing expense) of a cloth diapering system range from about $381 to $1,600 TOTAL. That range is based on a lower to higher quality of diaper brand.
* The average cost of disposable diapers (calculating the same amount of diaper changes needed with cloth) is $2,600. This does NOT include costs for a diaper pail and refills for those.
Weighting The Advantages and Disadvantages
Take a look at that price difference and you can already see what my number one advantage to a cloth system would be. Even with the higher quality brand, cloth diapering comes in almost a thousand dollars cheaper than disposables. And that's just with one child! That's money in the bank with any additional children since you won't need to purchase additional diapers...talk about a nice beginners cushion for college funds!
Another advantage of cloth is that your child may seem more comfortable in a natural feeling diaper. Babies with several diaper rash issues or major skin sensitivities can really benefit from going cloth.
I know I wasn't going to mention this but come on...it really is better for our environment to use cloth.
Although there are some major advantages to cloth, there are some pretty significant inconveniences. Cloth diapers tend to be a bit bulky taking up lots of precious space in a diaper bag or when traveling. Speaking of traveling...vacations with cloth diapers would be a serious pain without the convenience of your home sprayer and a washing machine. And going out in general is a bit of a pain because of the chance you'll have to carry around a dirty diaper until you get home.
Although more expensive, disposables are so easy to get rid of. No waiting for a load of laundry to get done for clean diapers, no spraying (score!) and no bulky diapers to tote around. Need more diapers? Just go to any local store and pick up a box! Disposables might also provide a better fit for your child at some of those awkward weight stages that occur through infancy.
So what's better? Whatever feels right to you! I'll tell you what I wish I would have done- grabbed a couple of cloth and a box of disposables and tried both. That way I could try out the cloth with out the big initial investment, but fall back onto disposables if it wasn't working for us.
So how did you diaper your baby? And have we made cloth diapers seem "doable"?
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| http://www.thelearningcommunity.us/newborns-and-infants/issues/diapers.aspx |
The Cost
So now that you know the skinny on each "system" let's talk about cost. DiaperDecisions.com has broken down the cost of several cloth diapering systems vs. disposables:
* The average cost (including washing expense) of a cloth diapering system range from about $381 to $1,600 TOTAL. That range is based on a lower to higher quality of diaper brand.
* The average cost of disposable diapers (calculating the same amount of diaper changes needed with cloth) is $2,600. This does NOT include costs for a diaper pail and refills for those.
Weighting The Advantages and Disadvantages
Take a look at that price difference and you can already see what my number one advantage to a cloth system would be. Even with the higher quality brand, cloth diapering comes in almost a thousand dollars cheaper than disposables. And that's just with one child! That's money in the bank with any additional children since you won't need to purchase additional diapers...talk about a nice beginners cushion for college funds!
Another advantage of cloth is that your child may seem more comfortable in a natural feeling diaper. Babies with several diaper rash issues or major skin sensitivities can really benefit from going cloth.
I know I wasn't going to mention this but come on...it really is better for our environment to use cloth.
Although there are some major advantages to cloth, there are some pretty significant inconveniences. Cloth diapers tend to be a bit bulky taking up lots of precious space in a diaper bag or when traveling. Speaking of traveling...vacations with cloth diapers would be a serious pain without the convenience of your home sprayer and a washing machine. And going out in general is a bit of a pain because of the chance you'll have to carry around a dirty diaper until you get home.
Although more expensive, disposables are so easy to get rid of. No waiting for a load of laundry to get done for clean diapers, no spraying (score!) and no bulky diapers to tote around. Need more diapers? Just go to any local store and pick up a box! Disposables might also provide a better fit for your child at some of those awkward weight stages that occur through infancy.
So what's better? Whatever feels right to you! I'll tell you what I wish I would have done- grabbed a couple of cloth and a box of disposables and tried both. That way I could try out the cloth with out the big initial investment, but fall back onto disposables if it wasn't working for us.
So how did you diaper your baby? And have we made cloth diapers seem "doable"?
A friend of mine started a cloth diaper business and I love what she had to say about why they chose to go that route.
ReplyDeletewww.diapercircus.com
But RJ (her husband) also wrote a post on how they got started which I found to be really interesting.
http://newdadnewlife.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/how-we-started-cloth-the-abbreviated-story/
This is a pretty great post! Some good starting info and none of that overwhelming stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've never used a diaper sprayer. The gross factor doesn't weight in too much for me.(sometimes you get some really bad diapers though). I've washed public toilets that were dirtier than i've wanted before, so even though it's more often, My own kids potty is not as bad as that. And at 40 to 75 cents a pop it's a bit better. I just swish dirty diapers in the toilet till most of the poop falls out.
If you do want a diaper sprayer, I suggest just buying one for about $50. I found a tutorial on how to make one for $25, but i've spent about $40 on it, and still haven't gotten it to work right. I think my plumbing is just a bit different and I haven't put much time in figuring it out. (because I don't much see the point, and also I'm a bit afraid I'll just spray poop all over my face...) Diaper sprayers have gone down in price lately, so that's great!
The environmental benefits of using cloth are ridiculous. Mostly because there is nothing environmentally good about disposables at all. Plastics, Waste build up, shipping and fuel costs, harmful chemicals, and going through 6 to 20 a day... yikes!
One super great thing about beginning Cloth is it can be part time. Every time you use cloth you save anywhere from 40 to 75 cents. At 10 changes a day, you can pay for one of our covers in about two and a half days. I know you can't use just one cover 10 times in a day, I'm just breaking it down to numbers.
And for me, It was easier to wash a small load of laundry every day (or a large load every two to three days) than it was for me to find time to go to the store to get disposables twice a week. (I really don't like going to the store.)
We have tricks to make using cloth while out also, but even if you just use cloth at home you save money. You can do hybrid. If you want help to get started we'd love to give you some tips, and not just if you buy from us. I believe using cloth is better; If I can help you be better , our business is a success.
www.diapercircus.com
Thank you so much for this. I'm pretty nervous about having a kid 12 years after my first one. With my first one I didn't use cloth diapers and my daughter had the worst diaper rash. I'm hoping with this one I can use the cloth diapers and it will help with any diaper rash!
ReplyDeleteI use cloth diapers and I love it! I use fuzzibunz one size elite. They are colorful cloth diapers that have little snaps. Plus they're adjustable so I can use the same cloth diapers from newborn to potty training. I love cloth diapers because I'm always in control. If I run out of diapers, I don't have to make a trip to the store. I just wash them, at home! And I use homemade laundry soap to wash them with. Being a single mom on a budget, cloth diapers seemed like the most economical route for me. I am also going to start using cloth wipes. It seems easier to roll up a wipe in the cloth diaper and wash it all then to have a yucky wipe and have to bring it to the trash. Anyways, I love cloth diapers. Especially fuzzibunz, they're so cute (:
ReplyDelete