Cloth Diapers

[bethzaring]

A friend of mine just became a grandma and she mentioned her son and wife were going to be using cloth diapers. To which I replied, that's neat, I will buy them some in support of this decision. Well, have you looked at cloth diapers recently? They come with instructions....and you need them. These certainly are not our grandmothers diapers. Jeepers. An engineering degree is helpful in applying these gizmos. But they are adorable..if a diaper can be adorable.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Yes, the new ones are shaped and sized so that you avoid gaps and leaks. Plus there are all sorts of "covers" to keep the baby waterproof. Amazing, huh.

 

[bethzaring]

yeah, I bought one wool cover to go with the corduory diapers. bought a small wool cover, but wish I had gotten a large one.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

They have patterns posted on the net for making your own. I made some for my youngest and they were really cute. Also, the velcro closures worked great.

It's funny - I was thinking about this the other day - I thought that using micro-fiber cloth for the inner layers of the diaper would be much more absorbant. But I have no use for diapers right now so I've stored this little idea away in my brain.

 

[LadyCook61]

my kids were on cloth diapers , over 40 yrs ago.

 

[VeraBlue]

I'm so happy to know that people are returning to cloth diapers. When my kids were born in the 80s, there was maybe one diaper service that I ever saw advertising. Everyone used disposable diapers. Being young and with the I'm immortal and so is my planet" mentality, I was swept up in the Huggies craze.

I wish I had used cloth, and regret every diaper I thoughtlessly tossed in the trash. As more families become 'green' there will be a return to the diaper service that is affordable and user friendly. If it's not affordable and user friendly, it won't work.

 

[GB]

I'm so happy to know that people are returning to cloth diapers. When my kids were born in the 80s, there was maybe one diaper service that I ever saw advertising. Everyone used disposable diapers. Being young and with the I'm immortal and so is my planet" mentality, I was swept up in the Huggies craze.

I wish I had used cloth, and regret every diaper I thoughtlessly tossed in the trash. As more families become 'green' there will be a return to the diaper service that is affordable and user friendly. If it's not affordable and user friendly, it won't work.

Sure disposable diapers are not great for the environment, but cloth diapers come at a "green" price too. Water is not something we have an endless supply of and it sure does take water to wash those diapers. They are usually washed in hot water too. How are you heating that water? Are you using gas or oil to do it? There is another thing that has a green impact.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Sure disposable diapers are not great for the environment, but cloth diapers come at a "green" price too. Water is not something we have an endless supply of and it sure does take water to wash those diapers. They are usually washed in hot water too. How are you heating that water? Are you using gas or oil to do it? There is another thing that has a green impact.

I agree. The water factor alone around here would do more damage than good. We were at stage 4 water restrictions. The water it would take to wash the diapers would hurt this area more than the diapers. And the electricity costs have even gone up since the water shortage. The reason is because it takes water to generate electricity. At this point in time, disposables are less threatening the cloth.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Yeah, there will be a cost to the environment for anything other than wrapping our babies' butts in palm leaves or whatever the heck they did before diapers were conceived. But I think there's probably less impact with cloth diapers. That's not to make anyone feel guilty for using disposables, though. I used them with my oldest children because they were marketed as better for keeping baby free from diaper rash and all sorts of things. I did use cloth diapers with the later ones but not exclusively. I used disposables when we went out and for trips.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I know what ya'll mean about water issues. Another reason I didn't use them with the oldest kids was I didn't have a reliable washer all the time and diaper services were expensive in that you had to purchase a lot of diapers up front and then the weekly fee. But if you use a service now, it is generally agreed that it is much more environmentally sound because of their commercial machines and their waste treatment machines.

 

[slangfeldt]

I use cloth diapers for my 3 (2 year old twins and a 7 month old) I have in diapers. They are great. They are a little bit more work (washing) but I would never go back to disposables except during travel. I also make my own diapers. There are many co-ops that have the supplies needed to make the diapers (PUL fabric is not sold at fabric stores).

 

[sattie]

Can anyone come up with a bio-degradeable diaper????? OK OK OK... I don't have kids so I really can't comment on this, but anything is better than something that sits in a landfill for years. But then I think about trying to wash those diapers and I kinda cringe... stuck between a rock and a hard place!!! UGH!

 

[bethzaring]

certainly no expert here in these new style cloth diapers, but from what I have read, there is not as much washing to them as you are assuming. It is recommended that the wool covers be washed about every six weeks, unless soiled with bm. The wool sheds moisture. And the diaper itself comes with inserts, it is the inserts that gets washed after getting wet/soiled, these are about the size of a maxi pad.

I saw it estimated that 27 billion disposables are used each year in the US. What amount of energy is expended to make and dispose of 27 billion diapers?

 

[Wart]

I saw it estimated that 27 billion disposables are used each year in the US. What amount of energy is expended to make and dispose of 27 billion diapers?

Not only energy needed to produce those diapers but how much finite non renewable resources are used. Lots of polymers in disposables, and polymers generally come from oil.

I'm pretty sure todays disposables are bio-degradable, but there is still sewage being put in landfills.

And the biohazard. People toss disposables everywhere. If someone has to carry a poopie cloth with them they are going to make sure the cloth is 'contained'. Not so with disposables.

In the '80s I worked in a gas station. Ma and Pa Entitled would dump their diaper bag in the island cans on a regular basis. I about retched at the memory of dumping those cans.
What's funny is I have never met anyone who admitted to tossing their biohazard by the roadside, or in a public garbage can, or left crap filled diapers sit somewhere. No one does it but it still happens?


About water, water is infinity recyclable. I can just about guarantee there is at least one molecule of water in my coffee cup that was at one time in poop. And pee.

 

[bethzaring]

just a comment from the original poster. I did not intend this to be a disposable diaper bashing thread. It was meant as an infomercial concerning the new styled cloth diapers now available on the market. They are amazing and quite cute. For those of us who do not come into contact with diapers, I found it a whole new world out there.

 

[GB]

It all depends on how the inserts are washed though. If you are water conscious and wash them in a tub then it might not take that much water. If you throw them in a washing machine then it could take a lot more.

IMO, there are too many variables to for any of us here to really know which is more ecologically friendly. We can all take out best guesses, but we really can not know for sure.

I have nothing against those who use cloth. I have nothing against those who use disposables. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. I do not think there is a right or wrong choice.

 

[GB]

Sorry bethzaring. I my post went up before I read your last post.

Lets get back to discussing the new style cloth diapers.

 

[silentmeow]

I used cloth for my two, that was 25 years ago. We couldn't afford the store bought! They did, however, pay for themselves over and over again as I'm still using them to polish things. They seem to never wear out!

 

[middie]

Oh man not the diaper debate again. When I had Billy Don's grandmother refused to talk to us for a year because we didn't want to use cloth diapers or breast-feed. She thought the way her kids were raised was the only right way. Okay I'm done hijacking
the thread. Sorry.

Back to topic !

 

[suziquzie]

I bet potty training would be easier with cloth diapers, they stay wetter? Just a thought.
I have seen a bunch of patterns for knit or crocheted covers. If I were having 1 more I would try cloth, just for a knitting excuse! But I'm not.