The benefits of cloth
The start up cost of using cloth may seem daunting, but when you consider the long term finances, cloth is less expensive by far than disposable diapers. The average family will break even within 6-10 months of using cloth. After that it’s 100% savings. Thinking about starting a college fund or taking a vacation? This is a great place to start! Another benefit to cloth is that not only are the diapers reusable throughout the course of diapering one child, but those diapers can be used for each subsequent child. That’s right! You could diaper your second child for next to nothing.
You may have heard that cloth is more difficult to use. Not the case at all! You’re already doing laundry, using cloth only adds an average of 2-3 loads of laundry a week. You may actually find that you are doing less laundry with a cloth system. A properly fitted cloth diaper actually minimizes blowouts so a diaper change becomes just that, not a whole outfit change. Gone are the days of pins and folding vast sheets of fabric, today’s all in one diapers are just as convenient as a disposable, but without the waste. They are a simple option for those who may be overwhelmed by the idea, but want to make the choice. And then there’s the poop factor. The most commonly heard comment from people thinking about cloth is “What do you do with the poop?” Well, flush it down the toilet of course. By the way, did you know that you’re supposed to flush solids from a disposable too? Yup, it’s written on the side of the disposable box. You can purchase a bidet kit from your local home improvement store, attach it to the toilet and spray the poop right off the diaper. No need to touch poop, ever.
We all know that our landfills are filling up faster than we can handle. A child in disposable diapers from birth to age 3 will create approximately 3 tons of garbage. Those 3 tons of diapers will take at least 250 years to begin to biodegrade. Disposable diapers consume 300lbs of wood per child who uses them for the course of diapering. When looking at the facts from standpoint, cloth is the obvious choice. Well, what about the water it takes to wash the diapers? Washing cloth diapers uses the equivalent of an average toilet trained child flushing the toilet 5-6 times a day. And don’t forget, it takes lots and lots of water to process all that wood pulp into the paper to make those disposable diapers. Bleaching the wood pulp to make disposable diapers also has it’s side effects. Dioxin, a by-product of the bleaching process, has been linked to cancers, liver damage, and skin diseases, and has been banned in most countries, but not in the
Cloth has come a long way baby! When choosing cloth you also get the added fun of choosing from a large selection of prints, materials and colors. No more plain white covers for today’s cloth diapered child. In addition to being a and stylish addition to any baby’s wardrobe, cloth diapers are also more comfortable than disposables. If you had to make the choice, would you prefer to wear paper underwear or some made with comfy cotton velour? Making the commitment to cloth doesn’t mean that you have to give up the stay dry options that the chemical gels disposables offer. Fleece topped soakers wick moisture away from the skin and leave babies feeling just as dry. Children in cloth also tend to potty learn sooner than children in disposables. Cloth trainers offer the option of cotton inners that when soiled still feel wet as opposed to super absorbent disposables.
What do I need to cloth diaper my child?
These recommendations are for the cloth diapered newborn. Keep in mind, this number will decrease as the child ages.
For a standard 2-3 day wash routine
10-12 standard all in ones
24 extra snap-in inserts
24-36 cloth wipes
Diaper pail
Waterproof “wet bag” for trips
That’s it. Just add water and detergent to make a complete diapering system