Cloth Diapers? What's the Deal?

Cloth diapers are much cheaper in the long run...I had 6 kids and used cloth for everyone of them...actually when they were born I don't think they had pampers...there is really no hassel with them and 4 dozen would last a long time...they lasted me until they didn't wear them anymore...

Hi P., I used to use them when around the house. But now with the price of energy to wash and dry. i think the cost will even out. J.

I've invested about $500 total in 18 diapers for my daughter. That includes a diaper pail, a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet to spray off poop, cloth wipes, etc.. The diapers I chose are BumGenius, they last up until 30 lbs...and they have three different size settings. They fit great and we don't have any spillage/leaking problems due to fit. Occasionally we'll have a super full diaper, but it would spill out of a disposable as well. When we travel we use disposables. As far as laundry, I do a cold wash and a hot rinse. Then I throw them in the dryer. Yes, its an extra wash, but I think its worth it!

Cloth is the way to go. We've been at it for 22 months now!

After the baby starts eating, the poop changes a lot and you can just knock the poop into the toilet and then drop it in your dry diaper pail (with a cover!).

We do about two loads of diapers a week. We wash each load twice. The first time in cold to knock the remaining poop off (with phosphate-free detergent, a dash of borax and a dash of non-chlorine bleach). Then, we run the second load on hot with the same detergent combo. The second load we put on an extra rinse to make sure all of the detergents are rinsed out.

If you get wool diaper covers, it is more complicated because you don't want to wash them on hot, so we take them out after the first wash is done. Then, once in a while you will want to add more lanolin to them to keep them water-resistant by using a detergent with lanolin in it. I really like wool covers because you can use them more often before washing because they don't get that stinky pee-smell. You just wash them if they get poopy.

We've found a ton of cloth diapers and covers at yard sales, from friends, consignment stores etc. We've probably spent about $200 total at this point but we have a ton of diapers and covers of all kinds and sizes that will last us until our guy is ready for the toilet.

We also use soft flannel wipes that are washable. This is a big savings too and they go right in with the diapers. I just wet them and pop them in a diaper warmer with a couple drops of Tea Tree oil to keep them bacteria-free.

When on vacation, we use 7th generation wipes and diapers--you can get them cheaper by the case on Amazon.com.

We switched to cloth when my son was a year old. We are very happy with our decision. I tried prefolds, all in ones and fuzzibunz and ended up selling all expect the fuzzibunz. You can buy really good clean used diapers for a good price. This is what we did between craigslist and www.diaperswappers.com . Most parents take really good care of their cloth diapers and they are in great shape with no stains, rips, etc.

Feel free to email me at ____@____.com if you have questions. I could talk your ear off. The point is, overall we have been very happy.

Good luck,

L.

we're using a cloth diaper service, which picks up dirties once a week and leaves the clean ones. this was $25 per week until baby was 6 mo, now $20.
so, it's not a hassle at all, and we even use them when going out. there isn't much/any smell to the dirties, so it's OK to put into a plastic bag and then into the bucket when home.
so, the service washes the diapers 13 times or something, but I haven't read up on washing them ourselves. So far it's totally worth it.
one week when we were on vacation, we used dispos, and we had SO much more trash than usual. I read that a baby produces one ton of diapers before potty training.
a middle-ground option I recently learned about is G diapers, flushable things that biodegrade super fast. they come with cute diaper covers. you should check out their website.
good luck!

I changed to cloth about 3 months before my DD started using the potty. Agree, for the enviornmental stand point, it was worth it alone. Also in 3 months I would have spent close to $80 on diapers at that point. Which it kind of came out even on what I spent on cloth. I could have sold them for almost full value when she was done but I had a friend whom I have choosen to pass them onto. It says you have a new baby, your savings will be through the roof! You can buy bumgenious or a brand of the like that go from newborn to toddler size in 1 diaper. They call them all in one, if I remember correctly. SO then your not buying new ones each size you have. Sure your doing laundry more but to me it was worth it. If you have enough diapers it probably wont inconvience you that much especially if your 4yo is as messy as my DS was. They say a good system costs about $200. If I can remember correctly with a newborn that can be gone in disposables in 1-2 months or so. If you go to an organic store, in my area its Peacock Organics, you will get tons of info about how disposables can be harmful just by being against your babies skin, let alone if it seeps and you get those gelly bumps everywhere or worse if they play in it and consume any.
Best of Luck!

We did cloth dieaper when we were at home. When we go our we use Seventh Genaration. This brand of diapes are better for the envoroment. They alo have to bleach they are brown. this was the only kine we could use on her. My husband and mother were the same way about cloth so this was the compermize. I bought several kinds. If you live near Amherst ST. in Nashua you can go to Mother & Child they sell used cloth diapers. So you can find the one you like the best I liked the kind that snaped better because she could not take it off like velcrow. Good luck git keep me up dated on how it goes.
PS If you go cloth get the hose that conects to the tolet so yo can clean the bm out of the cloth it is very help full. I use it on her underpants know the we are potty training.

P.,
I've been CDing for about 6 months now (we CD during the day and use disposables at night). Cloth is really not is difficult as it seems at first. The wet diapers just go right into the pail and until the baby switches from breast/formula to solids the poopy ones don't need to be cleaned prior to putting them in the pail either. There are tons of different types of CD, from prefolds (the kind that need some sort of pinning and a cover on top) to all-in-ones (which you stuff an insert into but then act just like a disposable). If you're serious about trying it there are a couple ways to start. Some websites have starter packages where they send you a bunch of different diapers to try and some let you keep the ones you like and return the rest or you can buy them used from other mamas from sites like Diaper Swappers.
As far as cleaning goes, like other people have said, you end up doing a second rinse but that's about it. I wash my diapers every other day because if you wait longer than that it starts to get smelly. Another reason to switch to cloth is that both Pampers and Huggies announced that they will be raising the cost of their diapers in coming months, so disposables are just going to get more expensive. With cloth you can buy a one size fits all to go from newborn to toddler(I like Bum Genius 3.0) or you can buy sized diapers and sell them when the baby out grows them. And finally, one more reason to switch: disposables are so good at keeping moisture from the skin it's hard to kids to tell when they're wet, so CD kids tend to potty train a little earlier (if you're thinking that far ahead)!
Good luck!
-S.

Hi P. - When my boys were little I used a diaper service. I was a SAHM, living on a tight income, but it was totally worth it I thought. I hated everything about throw away diapers, including the environmental impact. Using the service assured me clean sanitary diapers, without the work of doing them myself -- I felt they got them far cleaner than I ever could. They are as conveneint as throw aways because you just throw them as is, in the bucket they provide which has a plastic bag. On delivery day (once a week) they pick up the dirty bag and leave a clean one full of fresh diapers. It's soooo cool.
Good Luck! - M.

If you're not sure whether or not you can commit to cloth, buy them USED! Check out Craig's list, Ebay, Mother and Child, neighbors, friends, etc. There are so many expensive cloth diapers out there today, but really all you need is a stack of prefolds or contours (wicked cheap), a few snappi's and a few covers. Maybe invest in a wool cover as well. The nice thing about buying used is you will find some really cute homemade wool covers that are one of a kind. Another mom said she does cloth at home, seventh generation when away. I do the same thing and would recommend seventh gen. disposables if you decide cloth isn't for you after all.

My girl only poops a few times a week. I soak the poopies in cold water before washing them with the wet diapers. You can also get a stack of cloth wipes. Buy a used wipes warmer for a few bucks, a liner for the wipes warmer (I think they're called pillows? can find them at babies r' us) and put the wipes in there with a weak solution of soapy water with a little bit of oil. you can find solution recipes on the internet. replace the solution every week. Diaperpin.com has good advice as well.

Hi. The inital cost of cloth diapers is a lot but you do save in the long run. you can buy onesize that adjust to fit a newborn all the was up to 40 lbs. I like fuzzibunz and bummigenius.

I switched to cloth a couple months ago and only use pampers a night (he wets A LOT at night) I went to Tiny Totland and bought Kushie diaper wraps for 8.99 each. I bought 3 of them and make sure you get the white backgrounds because the colors feel more uncomfortable. Take it out and feel them at the store. Then I bought the flannel cotton prefolded diapers. The plain white ones are 17.99 for 6 and the printed are 21.99. I bought 3 packs for a total of 18 diapers.
Wash them with regular soap Not Ivory. It has to be non phosphorous, which is Tide or what you have. No Fabric softner. Then you put the cloth diaper on your baby with the wrap and instead of pins the wrap velcros like a regular diaper.
When you change your baby you have a diaperpail (I have a cleaned out kitty litter bucket) Fill it with water and add 1/4 cup of baking soda. ( big box of store brand is cheep) Just put a wet diaper in and poopy diapers need to be shaken over the toilet. It actually comes off very easily, then add to the diaper pail. I usually wash then every couple of days.
I feel good about doing it and yes we save money because I only buy a small pack evry 3 months or so.
When I was switching I wanted someone to tell me all of this but noone did and I figured it all out on my own. My son is one and my husbad didn't think it would be worth it. I spent less than $100 and haven't bought a pack of diapers since because I had a large pack of diapers and he only uses 1 a day. I just put a plasic bag in the diaper bag for the wet cloth diaper till we get home. Hope this helps!
M. Rossiter

I used cloth most of the time with all of my babies. Mostly because believe it or not there is LESS diaper rashes with cloth than with disposables. They are very easy to clean. Generally one washing will be enough... although at times there will be a soap buildup which makes them less absorbant so you will need to run them through a wash cycle with no detergent every couple months or so. I actually make my own cloth diapers... I make flannel prefolds and I make all in one style cloth diapers. They are pretty easy to make.

T.

GO got cloth diaper... it s worth long run even you can use it again for ur 3rd as if u plan to have 3rd in future :o)

i started cloth diaper late with my firstborn. and now with my 2nd newborn (full cloth diapering)

I use Happy Hieny, Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz. BUTT with my newborn as of right now she is lmost 2 wks old and we use kissaluv fitted diaper and swaddlebee organic velour fitted diaper with cover in NB size.. both works wonders.

for the cost.. fitted diaper with cover is cheper than pocket diaper but pocket diaper is easier to use and hold the wet diaper better.

i only prewash it in cold with no soap then wash wash it in either heavy or regular cycle (depends) with hot water with just lesssssssssss than 1/4 of soap (i use charlie's soap) then extra rinse with cold water to remove soap residue.
you can hang it dry or put it in dryer or do half and half.

you will be in love with it once u start it. my fiance doesnt complain. as for newborn to before start soild foods.. (BREASTFEED)'s poop isnt bad tht u dont have to dump it in toliet. once start soild food.. will need to dump poop in toliet. some have toilet sprayer that connect to toliet.

good luck!

P.,
I am a former skeptic turned cloth diaper making momma who is obsessed with cloth now... With my first child my husband wanted us to use cloth and I was not sure I could do that. Then we 'bit the bullet' and bought our first set. I fell in love with their ease of use and then started adding up the savings. Due to a house fire we didn't get to use that stash for the entire time we were cloth diapering our oldest, however, I had calculated that if we had used them for her entire diapering days we would have saved well over $5,000... and that was on the assumption she'd be out of diapers at the age of 2, and well, I've since made her a new stash since at 3 she is just now becomming mostly potty trained (still needs a diaper on out of house outings as she is scared of public restroom potties).

With my youngest we've been saving even more money since I make her diapers myself.

As for cleaning them ~ its a lot easier than you may realize... the washer and dryer do most of the work for you :).

I do the following:
Rinse cylce COLD
Normal HOT/HOT wash
Rinse cycle (any temperature) with 1 - 2 cups of Vinegar added.

I make all in one diapers with snaps on them so they go on and off very easily (similar to a disposeable only they snap instead of velcro ~ velcro sticks to everything in the wash). Once the diapers have been dirtied I throw wet ones in a wet bag (a bag made out of waterproof materials that holds your diapers & is washable). The soiled diapers I gently shake over the toilet then throw them in the wetbag as well (once the majority of the bowel movement is off the diaper ~ when breastfeeding the stool is much softer and it may not come off right away ~ i just throw them in the wetbag).

At the end of a few days when I have enough to wash I pick up the wetbag and dump the diapers into the washer followed by the wetbag. That way you don't need to touch the dirty diapers.

If you have more questions please let me know. The main trick of cloth diapering is making sure you get the type that is best for your family (selecting is usually the hardest part). I'd be happy to help out if you have any questions.

A.

I made the decision to do the cloth diaper thing when I was pregnant. My baby is now 4 months old, and I am really happy with my decision. I use an all-in-one diaper that will expand to fit my baby until he's potty trained. There's no cover, and no worrying about buying new sizes as he grows (more money). Although nothing can beat disposables when it comes to convenience, these are pretty much the most convenient you can get when it comes to cloth. I honestly don't mind a little extra work when I know what a big difference I'm making to the environment and my baby's skin (and possibly health). The basic idea is, the one-size all-in-one (I use bumGenius from cottonbabies.com) diapers are more expensive (mine were $203.40 for one dozen -you need at least 2 dozen), but: 1) you never have to buy more... even if you have another baby, 2) that price includes the microfiber inserts, and 3) although they take a little extra effort on your part, the benefits are numerous.

The only difference between the one-size all-in-one diapers and disposables is that you have to wash them, and in order to get the best value you need to wash out any solids into the toilet before washing them (there's a great diaper sprayer for this that attaches easily onto the back of any toilet). My biggest caveat here is you really should have a washing machine and dryer in your home for the most convenience. Honestly, the washing is easy too. You need to wash them every other day, once on cold then once on hot and then dry them. It takes me about 70 minutes from start to finish. I just throw them in while I do other things around the house and set the kitchen timer so I remember to go change the cycle. For me it has been well worth the while. No running to the store and lugging packages of diapers around (which only get bigger as your baby does); after the initial expense you never have to figure diapers into your budget again; they use only very small amounts of environmentally friendly detergert, so no guilt there.

To summarize, even though you spend some cash up front, you end up spending a LOT less on diapers in the long run. Also, there is some effort on your part. I'll be honest and say it's certainly not as convenient as disposables, but it's nothing a normal person can't handle. I was willing to make a bit of an investment with my time and money and I can say it has been WELL worth it. Cloth diapers have come a long way in the past few years and I would highly recommend them to anyone that has their own washer and dryer or clothesline.

I use cloth 100% of the time, run a baby boutique full time, waitress part time, and have 2 children- one is 13, and the other is 2....if I can do it, anyone can.
*Cost- you can get a whole kit for around $200 if you go with prefolds or contours, and then use them forever. If you average out how much you spend per week, they pay for themselves in a couple of months.
*Hassle- it's no longer a walk from here to your garbage pail than here to the diaper pail. I use a dry pail with a liner, and just carry the liner to the washer and dump it in.
*Washing- I wash around 2x a week. Just one hot wash with a cold rinse. Sometimes, if I've waited too long to wash (3-4 days gets a little stinky), I do a second wash cycle, but not very often.
*My Preference- I used prefolds with Bummis and Diaper Deb covers for a long time, although I started out with Fuzzi Bunz pockets. Although the pockets are convenient, they are more expensive and generate the largest volume of laundry than other options (you must wash the cover and insert every time. With prefolds/covers, you reuse the cover until it's soiled or wet). Most recently, I've switched from prefolds to Diaper Deb contoured diapers, which are quick and easy to use. Just my preference- they're very economical, and I'm thrifty that way.
*A note on how often to change- you will likely end up changing your baby MORE often than with "sposies". Although cloth is very absorbant, you need to change your child EVERY time she pees. Disposables are sometimes so absorbant that they'll hold many many pees, but even though your child feels dry, ammonia and bacteria are still on her skin. The same goes for cloth pocket dipes that have a stay-dry liner. It's not sanitary to leave her in it for hours unless she doesn't pee for that long.
*About Potty Training- a child in cloth typically will train 6-12 months earlier than a child in sposies, since she will be more aware of when she's wet.
*Bottom line- I love my cloth dipes. I never worry about running out of diapers and filling up the landfill. I do run a baby shop, so I'd be happy to send you a link if you want more info on what I use and offer...you can also check out www.realdiapers.com for some great information on the impact of disposables and www.diaperpin.com for more info on the TONS of options! Do your research, explore what you want from your diapers (convenience vs. costs), and arm yourself with information. Blessings, H..

My husband and I have used cloth diapers for about 5 months now and we've been very happy with them. We use Bumgenius 3.0 (one size pocket), swaddlebees pockets and all in ones and some hemp prefolds with a few different covers (I was skeptical about wool covers but now they are my fave). It took a lot of research to find what I like and I sampled a bunch of different types before buying more. They are expensive but in my opinion totally worth the cost - especially since you can reuse them so long. To wash them I run them through a cold cycle first with no detergent, then through a hot cycle with a little detergent. Most places you buy them will give you a set of instructions, etc.

Best of luck!

Hi P.,
I love love love bum genius. I have yet to have any leaking problems. If we are out and about I use a g diaper insert so we are somewhat disposable.
They are not that bad to clean once you are committed. Because it is an investment I had to become committed. I found the 3 stage ones on clearance and got 12 of them. You will end up changing your child a lot less than with regular diapers.My daughter is almost 7 months and I use 2-3 diapers a day. I do use a disposable diapers once a day in transition. If I know I will be putting her to bed in a couple of hours I don't want to use the cloth. Or if I know she hasn't pooped yet and is going to I will sometimes throw a disposable on. These cloth are super absorbent and pull moisture away from the skin. I do recommend getting doublers for night time.
I use 2 plastic diaper pales with tops labels "wet" and "soiled". The soiled I take care of the heavy cleaning in the bucket in the shower and then dump the yucky water in the toilet. I wash the diapers separate from my daughters clothes (i use 7th generation detergent it has to be scent free). My daughters is now starting to eat food so the poop is not sooo mushy and is so easy to handle. The first 4-5 months may take some elbow grease but It is totally worth it. I feel I am doing my part. Good luck finding something that suits your lifestyle and considering the earth.
D.

I started cloth diapering when my 2nd child was about 6 months, he's now 22mths. i do it the very simple way....dry bucket where dirty diapers go (i try to shake/use toilet paper to get most of poop in toilet) Then I put them in the washer, do 1 rinse only cycle to get any remaining poop off, then the wash cycle. the cost up front seems a lot, but i think it is cheaper (or at the very least break even) in the long run. you can get them on sale (last years models), or some on ebay or craigslist. some of the ones i bought when he was about 8 mths, still fit on a bigger setting.(fuzzi bunz are my fav.)
i am soooo happy i am cloth diapering (mostly),
and you can get by w/ out a ton of diapers, you can build your supply slowly as you figure out what works for you!
good luck
L.

Hi,
I use cloth diapers on my 11 month old and have been since he was born. I use fuzzy bunz and both my husband and I love them. They don't leak, work very well at keeping the wastes inside and are easy. We store the dirty diapers in a dry pail and when the pail is full, we was them once one a double rinse cycle. We go through about 6-7 diapers a day, so we purchased 10 diapers. I usually wash them at night. We use seventh generation diapers at night when he is sleeping. I hightly recommend fuzzy bunz. We absolutely love them.

Cloth diapers are fabulous! I used Kushies AIO diapers. I really think the way to make it succeed is to make sure you have enough. I started off with way too few and was a laundry slave. I did find that one wash is all they needed. They also make flushable liners which are great for clean up! I actually have some diapers that I am done with (they're all clean - no worries) if you're interested in seeing if you like them let me know. It's great to feel that you're doing something good for the environment, your baby and the rest of your family!

Cloth diapers are a bigger initial investment but cheaper overall, even if you go for the expensive kinds. You can goodsearch (google) for cost comparisons.

Your box of 82 costs $20 and lasts I guess 2-3 weeks. My inital setup cost $200 and I'm still using it all a year later with no signs of needing to buy more yet. I've saved at least $100 over using disposables.

For my DD use diaper service quality (DSQ) cotton prefolds and Bummi's Super Whisper Wraps covers during the day, and Happy Heiney pockets at night (with extra stuffing) or for those uninitiated to CD'ing. DS at 5 is still not night trained, and he has Happy Heiney trainers, overstuffed, for nighttime. I do wash twice, and you have to be particular about detergents, but I've heard of people doing fine with just one wash. I wash every 2-3 days, but I do laundry that frequently anyhow.

Joanne of Zannadu.com does a free diaper workshop in Natick about once a month, I'd definitely recommend checking it out, she covers all the different types and I've gotten most of my stash from her.

It's great to see all the cloth diapering mamas out there!!

I forgot to mention in the message I sent you that we use baby washcloths for wipes. I do have some cloth wipes that came with some fitted diapers I bought and they are nice, but it's much cheaper just to use washcloths. And for wipes solution, we use water with a couple drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle.
We've been using cloth diapers for just under a year now and now we have quite the stash and will only have to invest a little bit more for a few smaller sized covers (since we didn't start until our daughter was 10 months) when our new one is born. Well worth the investment and a couple people have touched on reselling diapers. You can get quite a bit of your money back if they're in good shape so really that $200 investment could easily be taken down to $100 or less in the end.

Cloth are EASY and CHEAP, saving you about $1500-2000 over the diapering life of the child. $250-$350 will easily buy you 20-24 high quality cloth diapers (fuzzi bunz or other good pocket diaper) which is a wash every 2.5-3 days. Washing is easy! Once you are done with the diapers (i.e. you have diapered this child AND any subsequent children with the same original cost!) you can easily sell them on ebay or other auction site for 1/2 to 3/4 of what you paid for them. Talk about financial deal!!

To wash: take diaper off child, rinse any poop into toilet (especially easy with a small sprayer attached to your toilet--$5), separate inserts and diaper and drop into dry pail or bag. On wash day, put load into washer, do a prewash with vinegar or baking soda (you'll experiment to figure out which works best for your washer and water type) then a regular wash in hot and rinse in cold with a non-phosphorus detergent. Some do a second rinse just for "fun." I do this because it is only one extra button on my washer so what the heck. Line dry the covers and machine dry the inserts or line dry everything in the sun for extra whiteness.

It is NOT any harder than doing a regular load of laundry! You mother probably remembers pins and plastic pants and YUCK. Diapers are NOT like that anymore! Go to everydaydiapers.com if you are interested (and for the record, I do NOT run that site or make a profit from her selling diapers, I just know her and she knows her stuff!). You can also get used diapers on ebay for less, and they are just as good, truly.

Or, you can continue to throw away $0.25 per diaper or about $2.50 a DAY.

Hope that helped!