Cloth Diapers? - Mount Laurel,NJ

Updated on November 03, 2011
K.H. asks from Mount Laurel, NJ
8 answers

Whats you're opinion on cloth diapers? I think they are really cute and better for the environment. Have you used them? Whats the best way to clean them?

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G.S.

answers from San Juan on

I love them. I did disposables for the first 10 months then switched. I use these liners that pretty much catch poop which makes clean up much easier. I really find that they are not much more work. I bought a few different brands, but the pocket diapers are the easiest to deal with.
For cleaning, I run them on the hot cycle with oxiclean and detergent. When its nice out, I air dry outside.
And yes, they are super cute. I do still use disposable sometimes when we are out and about for a long time just because of the convenience.

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K.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

I don't like cloth diapers. I couldnt stand seeing my child sitting in a pile of pee filled cloth. Blah. they always caused rashes, had to change much more often and at the end of the day it depends on what aspect you're looking at on how much better they are for the environment. Sure they keep disposables out of the landfill, but the cost and energy to clean them constantly and no matter what the compaines say they have to sue chemicals to disinfect them. And those companies who don't you'll find babies tend to reject them more often. something harsh has to be used or how else can you explain getting fresh white diapers delivered. From what I understand they only put cloth diapers out to cycle much less times than you would if you bought your own, but with your own you have to be so careful on disinfecting. Many people may say they've had no problems but it's the typical situation that sooner or later somebody is goig to have a problem sooner rather than later. Disposable diapers are meant to pull urie away from the skin where cloth is not. It boils down to cost, convenience and health of your particular baby. Again, cloth was not the healthy route for my children.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

4 moms found this helpful

S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

I used them with my first two children years ago. I hated them and never would use them again. I was so happy when disposable diapers came out although they were not nearly as good as the ones out now. I put mine in a diaper pail, washed them in bleach and hung them outside on a clothes line which made them white as snow. Even when done with them they were white white. The children who used cloth had diaper rash, the ones not in cloth never had diaper rash. It kept them wet closer to the skin. I hated going anywhere with kids in cloth diapers, so much more work to change a baby that way. That's my opinion and I'm sure you'll get many the opposite.

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J.W.

answers from Fayetteville on

You can buy disposable diapers that are all paper... no plastic.
I say this because many people do not realize that when they wash cloth diapers in their washer they are depositing a lot of fecal matter into the washing mashine that stays there. You simply do not want to clean out every little hole in the washer with a q tip everytime you wash. Now I realize that we all wear underwear. And I am sure that you would prewash those diapers before washing them mechanically. And they are adorable. But I am not sure that they are what is best for baby. They simply cannot wick away the moisture as a good disposable diaper can. There are lots of ways that you could try to help the enviroment other than this. If you do want to go the cloth diaper route, I would only buy about a dozen until you know you want to commit. Also washing all of those diapers over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over (this is just two weeks worth) uses a whole lot water. By the year 2013 they are saying that conservatively at least 6 states in the U.S will have to ration water for most of the year due to a diminshed availability of safe drinking water.

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R.C.

answers from Phoenix on

Jury's still out on whether cloth diapering is better for the environment (www.google.com/search?q=carbon+footprint+of+cloth+diapers..., but they are easier on the budget if you don't have to have the all-in-one super sweet kind. I have 3 children and have part-time cloth diapered all of them and have no regrets. I went with the old-fashioned prefolds with diaper covers after the first 6 weeks of their lives. I say "part-time" because I used Huggies/Pampers whenever I went outside the home and at night. My daughter had especially sensitive skin and she only had rashes/irritation when she wore disposable diapers too many days in a row. I did save a load of cash too since I only used about 1/3 of disposables that I would have should I have not cloth diapered. Best way to clean them was with an initial rinse cylce with either bleach or vinegar (sm amount), regular hot wash with fragrance free detergent and extra rinse. Dry hot with no fabric softner/dryer sheet. My diapers are still great condition 6 1/2 yrs and 3 kids later.

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

I used cloth diapers with both of my kids many years back before they had all the fancy folds. I used flats that you folded to fit the baby's bottom. I did diapers about three times a week and that was about 4 or 6 dozen at a time (I had about 12 dozen). There was no diaper rash on either kid. I used Dreft and hot water. To help with the messy diapers there was a disposable cloth that I used to remove the solids and this did wick the wet away from her bottom.

The only rash my daughter had was her urine was strong and we had to find a way to dilute the acid other wise nothing.

Disposables that were used to transport back and forth from child care center for son or trips/vacations.

To clean them I would rinse them prior to putting into diaper pail. When I had a load I would rinse before I would wash and rinse thoroughly; sometimes I would add a second rinse. They dried nice and soft and fluffy. But then again the fabric processing was different than today.

It is up to you how you take care of them. I never did strip them and occasionally they did see sunlight.

The other S.

PS When finished they become beautiful dusting/polishing clothes.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

In my honest opinion when diapers are washing in a washing machine they dirty the washer up with feces and you have to wash the washer out with hot water and bleach at least once after each load. If you don't each and every load after had that poop and urine smell in them and you just can't get it out.

I think it is nasty to use cloth diapers, most laundry mats won't even let you wash them there since it makes the machines unsanitary. I

It takes money and energy to wash and wash and wash the machine and other stuff so no, I would not use cloth.

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C.L.

answers from Reading on

I love cloth diapers. We bought a new washer when we started using them that has a sanitize cycle, so cleaning is easy. We calculated the cost of the washer with the cost of disposables, and the washer was cheaper over time. We put the wet diapers in a lined diaper pail and the poopy ones in a 5 gallon bucket with soap inside. When our daughter was older, we dumped the solid poop in the toilet first. We used motherease diapers http://www.mother-ease.com/ We used g diapers http://www.gdiapers.com/ when going out. We only used disposables on vacation. Our daughter's skin was better with cloth diapers. The diapers are still usable for our next child who is due in 1/12. You can always order a few to try. good luck!

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