Cloth Diapers?

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Are you ****ting me?
In the 60's, before diposables, I experienced the joy of cloth diapers. Do not even think about it.

Yeah, but in the Sixties, they had no Velcro. They also had icky rubber pants.

Now they have all-in-one covers with Velcro and inserts so that putting them on is just as easy as putting on a disposable. Seriously. I used cloth diapers for about a year and a half or so, so I speak from having experienced the joy of cloth diapers also. DO think of it!

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by brokencrayola

I used cloth for some of the time with my first son, but quit after awhile. By the time you buy enough diapers (and you need a lot unless you intend on doing a lot of wash), plastic diaper covers, and a diaper service, it is not cheaper. We did not have a diaper service where I lived so I washed them all myself. It gets really old. You obviously have to wash them in a load alone. You have to clean all the poop that clings to the diaper before you can wash it. They cannot sit long at all in a diaper hamper before they begin to smell pretty bad. They are much more bulkier when worn as far as how the baby's cloths fit. They do not fit as well as a disposable diaper and you get leg blowouts. I even washed them and hung them outdoors to air dry. Well that works until it rains, snows or freezes, or until bugs that like the moisture land all over them, or until the birds look at your clothline as a nice place to land and your diapers have bird poop on them. I finally gave up the quest to help the enviornment and give my son a natural diaper experience.

You really don't have to use a diaper service -- in fact, it's better if you don't, because they use tons of chemicals in their wash and it's not the best idea to have that on your baby's butt. Keep the dirties in the laundry room in a trash can filled with Dr. Bronners or some kind of castile soap and just basically run a diaper load of wash every day. Big deal!

[Ilovejazz]

I used nothing but real cloth. I just bought regular diapers and placed them inside diaper covers that were secured with velcro. Much, much better for baby's skin.

[Picassine]

My daughter will be using cloth diapers because they are extremely 'environmental friendly'.

The initial cost is fairly substantial...but the disposable diapers are also very expensive. So the cloth diapers are definitely cheaper in the long run.

I suggested that she uses cloth during the day and one 'heavy duty' disposable for night... because the wet cloth would stay longer on the skin therefore would be less comfortable...and also use disposable when going out.

[Ilovejazz]

Originally Posted by Picassine

I suggested that she uses cloth during the day and one 'heavy duty' disposable for night... because the wet cloth would stay longer on the skin therefore would be less comfortable...and also use disposable when going out.

No need really. Just double diaper with cloth at night. Also, if the baby is 100% breastfed, it's no trouble at all to use cloth away from home because the diapers don't smell.

[lpdsag]

From what I know, children get more diaper rashes with cloth. My brother bought cloth for his little girl and they NEVER use them. Cost versus convenience was not enough to persuade him to use cloth. Either way, whatever makes you happiest. I used disposables.

[Ilovejazz]

Originally Posted by lpdsag

From what I know, children get more diaper rashes with cloth.

I've heard that from others, only to find out how infrequent the diaper changes were. Babies should not sit in wet diapers for very long. At night, just apply a thick layer of zinc oxide ointment (the pure stuff is even better and much less expensive than the national brands with perfume and other additives) to the baby's skin.

[katie45]

IMHO, it depends on your budget and your lifestyle. If I were a mom who had to work outside of my home, I would use disposable diapers since time to do laundry is very limited.

If I were a mom who was able to stay at home, I'd save the money and use cloth diapers.

And disposables are a godsend when having to change little ones when away from home!

[gentlearts]

I notice it's a man who is advocating saving money by using cloth diapers. Is he the one doing the laundry?

[Momzuki]

The mathematical truth about the cost of cloth diapers:

Cloth diaper promoters drastically inflate the cost of disposables. This website (Cloth Diapering 101 - Mom Advice ) estimates $2,862.72. for disposables for one child. They figure 8 diapers a day at 28 cents a diaper, and the kid pottytrains at age 3 and a half. None of these things are true for me. I used to work in a daycare, and kids are pottytrained by 2-3 years old, not three and a half. I have never, ever paid anything close to 28 cents a diaper. My kid pees a lot but he doesn't go through 8 diapers a day any more. Consumer Reports estimates that you will spend $1500-$2000 on disposables using retail prices.

I am on track to spend just $600 for disposables for my child. I average $20 a month on disposables. $20. Really. I checked. It's not hard. Stock up on the Pampers and Huggies when they're on sale and there’s a promotion where you get $5 off if you spend $20. Use coupons bought for pennies on ebay. Snap up the Luvs when it’s BOGO.

I've never run out of diapers, because I've got a stash of ones bought on sale. The stash gets low, I spend $1.50 for 20 coupons on ebay, and go to the store where Pampers are on sale that week. They're almost always on sale somewhere.

Since my baby is six months old, and I’ve been averaging $20 a month on diapers for the last six months, I predict that I can keep it to an average of $20 until he pottytrains. If he pottytrains at 2.5 years old, that's $600 total spent on disposables. And I didn't have to wash one diaper.

I can pinch a penny. I wanted those cute cloth diapers to save me money. The math does not lie.

This website: Expensive to Wash Cloth Diapers? estimates $436 to wash diapers for 2.5 years, which is $16 a month. I’ll go with that, even though since I’ve already seen that the cloth diaper promoters didn’t tell the truth about the cost of disposables, and this one may not be telling the truth about utilities spent on cloth diaper washing.

Here’s the humorous scenario of Cathy Cloth and Diana Disposable. Both have kids who pottytrain at 2.5. Cathy Cloth spends $300 on cloth diapers. She sells them for $200 when she’s through with them. Yay! Her total cost for cloth diapers was $100. But wait! She’s got to wash them. Add $436 to her cost for washing them. Her cost for cloth diapers for one child was $536. We’ll assume Cathy didn’t use any disposable liners or extra bleach/Tide. Diana disposable used coupons and bought on sale, and she spent $20 a month on disposables. Diana Disposable spends $600 total. Cathy saves $64 by using cloth. If I were Cathy, I’d spend more than that on ordering pizza because I’m so sick of doing laundry that I don’t want to cook. Cathy gets fat eating too much pizza. (Kidding!) Diana spends $64 more, but instead of spending time doing laundry she goes for extra walks with her baby. She loses all the baby weight and looks great. (Kidding!)

But wait! Cathy, even after doing all that laundry, still wants more kids. So does Diana. They have another child. Cathy keeps her cloth diapers for the next kid. She doesn’t get her $200 back because she can’t sell them, but she doesn’t have to buy new. Her “cost” of keeping these diapers is $200. Then there’s the $436 in utilities. Cathy Cloth spends $636 to diaper dear child #2. Diana Disposable spends $600 again. Oh no! Cathy Cloth spent $36 more, and she had to wash all those diapers! Now, Cathy Cloth spent $1172 on diapering two kids, and Diana Disposable spent $1200 on diapering two kids.

Cathy and Diana love kids, so they have another one. Cathy spends $436 on utilities. Diana spends $600 on more disposables. Cathy saved $164. She will save that much for every child she has, assuming she doesn’t break down and buy a few new cloth diapers.

I have nothing against anyone who uses cloth. Everyone has their reasons for wanting/needing to do it. But…you’re not saving much money, if any.