Diapers Q&A

Cloth vs disposable diapers?

What are the pros and cons of each? How do you clean cloth diapers when you have a big, nasty mess???

Public Comments

1. I personally like disposable diapers (not a parent) cleaning a filthy cloth like that is pretty unsanitary.
2. I like the disposable because it's easier and I have a friend that 'used' cloth and she complained about the mess so she switched quickly..
3. Should I Dunk in the Toilet? Many parents cringe at the thought of having to rinse soiled diapers before washing them. This is the very reason why many would prefer to use disposables and "throw away" the problem. Dunking them in the toilet is not necessary however. In most cases, all that you need to do is lightly shake any excess feces into the toilet, perhaps using a bit of toilet paper to remove stubborn spots, and then simply throw the diaper into your diaper pail. If you would feel more comfortable rinsing them, perhaps you could get a diaper sprayer that attaches to your commode or bathroom sink, and lightly spray your diapers before putting them in the pail. Many cloth diaper retailers sell diaper sprayers or mini-showers, as they are often called. visit: http://www.diaperjungle.com/washing-cloth-diapers.html ^might be mighty helpful debate: http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm
4. Let it soak in warm water, add detergent (add a little of bleach), repeat process until they are clean. Why use cloth when you have disposable diapers? Disposable are more convenient, safer, cleaner, and not that expensive.
5. Disposable always, I know the other option is more green for the earth and cheaper for the wallets but children already have you running a mile a minute. Using disposable gives you one less thing to do.
6. kept diaper pail in bathroom with clean water and desitin soap. rinse out in toilet unlean all stuff off. soak in pail until have a couple of days worth to wash. only used disposible when traveling. prefer cloth as could tell if wet and could change. daughter never had diaper rash. she was also wearing panties before she was 1 year old.
7. Cloth: Better for the environment Cheaper Option Need to be washed and dried Bulky under clothes (you need VERY strechy waistbands) You insert a disposable liner into the nappy, and when theres a poo the liner catches it and you just flush or bin it. The cloth part of the nappy is usually stored in a bucket full of water with some tea tree oil before washing. Disposable: Quick No Mess Expensive Harmful to the environment If you go for cloth nappies i recommend Bambino Mio. Maj
8. They have the coolest thing now. A mini-shower head that connects directly to your toilet and hangs from the tank. All stores selling cloth diapers sell them. Not sure why this is a thumbs down... but whatever! Oh.. the days of cloth diapers and plastic covers with pins are OVER. There are several pocket diapers that are very simple to use. The diaper itself is waterproof and you put a insert inside to absorb and put away from skin. I am switching from disposable to fuzzi bunz pocket cloth diapers for my 7 month old.
9. Cloth pros: they don't fill up the landfill, inexpensive/reusable Cloth cons: diaper pins (ouch!), cleaning them (my mom used to swish them around in the toilet & then toss them in the washer (disgusting) - and if you're anywhere but home you have to save them somehow until you get home, and you still need the plastic diaper covers (landfillers!) so they don't soak through & get everything you own wet/soiled (like the couch, carpet, your lap...) Disposable pros: they're disposable! Disposable cons: can get expensive, you might have to run to the store in the middle of the night if you run out, and they pile up the landfill by the thousands. I personally prefer disposables.
10. i like disposable diapers though they are much more expensive then cloth diapers there way more convient and cost you less time. when you out and your baby makes a stinky you just clean him or her up and keep it moveing but with the cloth ones you have to worry about the smell staying in where ever you are or what if you baby makes allot of stinkies more then you have enough cloth diapers for i just think there not worth the money you save
11. ok well cloth diapers are like so nasty and you constantly have to wash them and make sure that they don't leak through the clothing. where as disposable diapers, you change and throw away. also they make some that are biodegradable so they won't hurt the environment. i will never ever use a cloth diaper, there's a reason disposables were invented.
12. First off good for you for considering cloth!! They really aren't as hard or as "gross" as they seem! I am due in 4 days with my first but used cloth with my twin sister in laws who are almost 2. They were SO great for their bums, NO diaper rash at all. We used Fuzzi Bunz, and had a sprayer that attached to the back of the toilet to rinse the poo off. It's really handy and hooks onto the wall. It's also recommended that you don't rinse diapers directly in the toilet anymore because of the bacteria. The little sprayers are seriously a life saver though! Or a utility sink works well too. If you are having a breast fed baby they actually say you don't have to rinse, they can just go right into the wash and will come out clean. Now remember don't ever use bleach on them, but you can lay them in the sun to help naturally bleach them if you feel it necessary. Cons of Cloth: -Pricy to start with -Tricky while on the go (though not impossible) or at a daycare Pros of Cloth: -Cheaper in the long run -Great for the environment -Great for baby butts :) -You can add or subtract inserts for more or less leak protection -Many choices to help fit what suits you best -Did I forget to mention they are SO good for baby bottoms?! I will admit that disposable are nice for a long trip or a babysitter who isn't comfortable with cloth. I am not by any means against disposable, as a matter of fact I plan to use them for long trips etc...like flying or taking a train but for days around the house his little butt will be in cloth! But disposables are horrid for the environment and can really help promote the diaper rash. So really it will be up to your life style to decide what works best, just know that cloth really isn't so hard or gross! Best of luck to you! **After reading some of the other responses I want to add the following-most of the new cloth diapers ARE NOT BULKY! They aren't any more so than a disposable. Also very few cloth diapers require DIAPER PINS! They have little snappies that aren't pins but do the same thing a pin would and they work great!**
13. Pros of cloth - avoid diaper rash (if you change frequently), cheaper, healthier (no nasty chemicals), more breathable, better for the environment, cheaper, babies toilet train earlier Cons of cloth - more laundry Pros of disposable - convenience (this is disputable) Cons of disposable - unhealthy, may cause diaper rash, terrible for the environment, expensive I recently switched to cloth and I LOVE them. Cleaning the poopy ones is not as bad as I thought it would be. You just shake it into the toilet, and rinse it out, then put it in hot water and baby-friendly bleach (NOT javex) to soak until you do laundry. I only wash them every second day because we have enough. My daughter's daycare also uses them, which is awesome. The cheapest option is simple chinese prefolds. I've tried a few, and like Comfy bummie's chinese prefolds the best. For wraps, I like the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. But my absolute favourite diaper is Motherease one-size cloth diapers. You can also buy paper liners which are flushable. If you can't decide, and want to give cloth a try, G-diapers are an alternative. There are 3 parts to them - an outer cloth pant, a reusable plastic liner that snaps to the cloth pant, and a disposable liner. The disposable liner is large, but smaller than a diaper, and is flushable and biodegradable. We use this option when we are traveling. But I'm not a big fan of them. Edit- Paula K, cloth diapers have changed in the last 30 years. Diaper pins??? Way old. There are many new diaper sytems out there and NONE require pins. Also, the covers aren't plastic anymore and they don't fill up landfills because they are reusable. Good luck!
14. Disposable diapers are expensive, and not good for the environment. I used disposables for the convenience. But for my next child I want to try cloth diapers.
15. In most areas (not all) cloth is considerably less costly, reduces diaper rash when changed frequently, and helps the baby to potty train much earlier (most by 24 months). No tax on diapers. Cons are regular washing, more frequent changes, and problems with clothing fit (diaper butt). Many day cares will not accept cloth diapers. Washing machine breakdown can bring you to a complete halt. Disposables are more costly in most areas (initial cost, plus tax, plus special drives to store because you ran out), add to untreated sewage in landfill trash, tend to cause more severe diaper rashes (some requiring antibiotics) and potty training is often later. (some by 28 months). They are convenient. Day cares accept them. With cloth diapers, it works to have a diaper liner. If you have a big nasty mess, you pretty much deal with it the same way you do a disposable, only you put it in the washing machine and do a prerinse and then add the remaining diapers for washing. Some people do 'toilet' dunking, but I think that is just plain nasty. My point is that if your child has a blow-out, it doesn't matter what they are in. It is a mess. Cloth diapers today have many of the same features of disposables including no pins. If you get a one size, that's all you need - one size. If you have multiple sizes, you save money because you can reuse many of the diapers for the next baby.
16. I use cloth nappies and found them to be easy to use, cheap, convenient and more stylish. You never run out (okay you might get a bit low on supplies on wash day) and your baby learns to recognise when it is wet which should make the transition to potty training much easier. I use microfibre fleece nappies from a company called Lollipop with a Motherease waterproof wrap and you don't need to rinse them before you wash them as the poo just slides off! They dry almost instantly as well and I have yet to have any accidents or leaks when my baby is wearing them. I have tried both wet and dry pailing and both work well. With wet pailing you do have to rinse the dirty water out the nappies which some people might not like. As to all the people out there that think cloth nappies are dirty and unhygienic - disposible nappies have only been around for 30 years or so. What did people use before them? - cloth nappies, so they can't have been that unhygienic if we all survived without catching some terrible 'dirty nappy' disease. I used disposables for about a month and I didn't like the thought of all the chemicals next to my baby's skin, they leaked more than the cloth nappies and I couldn't believe how much rubbish I was throwing away just in nappies. As you can probably tell I am a big fan of cloth nappies and I think they are just as convenient as disposables, okay you have to do a couple more washes a week. If you are not sure what type of nappy to use it doesn't have to be one or the otehr - buy a couple of cloth nappies and see how you get on. if you use a cloth nappy once a day, with the rest disposables you will still be helping the environment as well as saving money. Good luck.
17. pros of disposables: hold more pee (but who lets their kid sit in a dirty dipe all day??), more trim (esp when baby is tiny, or if using one-size dipes on smallest size), less laundry (though i had a TON of blow outs in disposables...). pros of cloth: less expensive overall, contains poo messes better, reduced impact on environment (in making them and with less landfill fodder, even with water usage into account), cuter patterns that you can chose, no toxic chemicals or irritating perfumes, can be easier on diaper rash btw, did you know that *technically* you are supposed to clean poo out of disposables, too? if you get a sprayer you can spray the poo out into the toilet, but it's not necessary to do until you introduce solids. edit@ Paula K's answer- -diaper pins are obsolete: snappis are the way now -the covers are PUL, usually. a waterproof fabric (like gore-tex) that are reusable & go on like disposables -and i've often had to carry a dirty disposable diaper with me, AND dirty clothes from blow outs. that's what plastic bags are for.
18. I've done one child in sposies and I'm pregnant with a child that will be cloth diapered from day one. Sposies are no cleaner, safer, or easier than cloth diapers ... in fact, they can lead to all kinds of problems and in the US contain traces of ditoxins that can cause an array of health problems. In fact, even with disposables, you shouldn't leave the poo in the diaper... Untreated human waste in a landfill= no good! Many cloth diapering parents never have a blow-out, but if you do, breast-fed poo is 100% water soluble and will come out easily in the wash. Formula fed babies and those on solids poo is usually thicker and can be sprayed off with a diaper sprayer, a inexpensive head that can be attached to a toilet or faucet. Most cloth diapering compaines sell them online and they are very easily attached (no plumber necessary!) Also, there is a large variety of different styles of cloth diapers to choose from, and I promise you can go with out ever putting a pin near your baby. Do your research and you will find there are cloth options suitable for every skill level and budget. Another good thing about cloth is that if you don't like what you have or your baby grows out of it, you can resell it to another cloth diapering mom and recover some of your costs. Diaperswappers.com is a great resource full of moms that will gladly answer any questions you have.
19. We did both. Cloth are more economical and environmentally friendly. Disposables are more convenient and less messy. When you have a 'big nasty mess', you dump the solids into the toilet and flush. You can also use a bucket to soak soiled diapers in until you're ready to wash a load. We did disposables for our first two children, cloth for our last two. We reverted back to disposables for our youngest son (who doesn't want to potty train, apparently) just for the convenience of it. So just weight it for yourself. Economical/green(er) vs. convenience/less mess. I almost forgot! My wife did a podcast on this very topic via her natural family living blog (barefootmoms.com). Here's the direct download link if you have a few minutes to listen to a podcast about cloth diapering: http://www.archive.org/download/barefootmomsBFM002_0/BFM002.mp3 Good luck whatever you decide!
20. While disposable diapers may be easier to just take off and toss they are a lot more expensive, bad for the environment, and make your house smell no matter what diaper pail you purchase. I am the owner of my own little diapering site and I diaper my little boys in AIO diapers during the day which go on and off just like disposables, And then at night I put them in a fitted diaper with a diaper cover for maximum absorbency. When I used to use disposables on my oldest he always had a soaked diaper in the mornings along with the bed sheets and everything so I ended up doing laundry anyway. Now, No Leaks with Cloth! As long as you purchase the right kind for you, I think you would be happy. As far as the "mess" is concerened I know it sounds really aweful but it actually isn't that bad if you set yourself up for it. You can use disposable flushable liners so you just flush the mess along with the liner, or you can get liners like the ones that I have on my site that are made of suede cloth and are super easy to clean off for the real messy poops (I bought a dish wand at the grocery store real cheap to help clean off the diaper liner so I didn't have to touch anything. I keep in next to the side of the toilet and just rinse it off and sometimes spray it with a light all purpose cleaner.) For regular poops, Suede Cloth doesn't really stick to those so they should just roll off into the toilet and then just throw it into the pail or the wash! Best way is to start off small. Even use both disposable and cloth until you start getting comfortable and have purchased enough cloth diapers over time to want to go to it full time. Hope this has helped! -Amy http://www.babypeapods.com