Disposable vs. Reusable

Meaghan - posted on 07/24/2010

I have three small children ages 3, 2 and 4 months. My 3 year old is potty trained and I used disposible with her. I used luvs. They worked pretty good and were not as expensive as the big brands. With my 2 year old I was always intrested in CD, but just never made the leap. Then when I had my third baby I was thinking "this is going to be expensive with 2 kids in diapers" so we made the leap to cloth diapeing and I will never look back. There is a joy in CD I never knew you could have. You get this sence of sastisfaction putting on a clean warm cloth diaper on your child, than a stiff disposible that you just waste and throw away. There are so many different types of cloth diapeing it can get overwhelming. I suggest looking it up, looking at reviews on different ones like on (www.diaperpin.com) and just doing your research. They have bunddles out there so you can purchase everything you need. It may be up to 500 or a lil more depending on what type of cloth diapers your getting it cost me about 800 since I had two kids in cost, but in the long run your saving money. I think it costs about 2000 dollars to buy disposibles from brith to potty traning. here is a good website on the differences of both http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diaper...

Rachel - posted on 07/24/2010

reusable/cloth nappies work for us, they may be expensive straight up but you do save money in the long run. I use cushie Tushies but i'm in Australia so if you are anywhere else they may not deliver. Cons.... the main thing would be the washing but i go though 4-6 a day depending, and just put a load on at night then they dry so i don't find it a hassle. My daughter is 3 months so it might differ how many you go though with the age of your child.

Tara - posted on 07/23/2010

Disposable diapers are way better than cloth diapers.Easier to put on,easier to use,easier to throw away.No washing,no worrys!! :) I for one would rather dispose of a diaper then take the time to wash them.

Tarra - posted on 07/23/2010

girl, that is up to u but to me it would be unsanitary, i would throw away and get new ones, diapers are not that expensive especially if u have a sams club where u are at, i get 292 diapers for 40 bucks that is alot,. this is where i would probably make others moms mad, just spend the money on it. but it is going to be up to u

Amber - posted on 07/23/2010

Reusable cloth diapers are a great way to potty train sooner. That is why back in the oldin days babys could be potty trained by 10 months of age. The reason for that is because disposable diapers are made to where if the baby goes to the bathroom the wetness pulls away from their skin so they cant notice they are wet, but if you use clothe diapers then the baby will notice they are wet more often and will soon not want to be in that anymore, so they are more likely to be potty trained faster, cuz they dont want to sit on wetness

Heidi - posted on 07/23/2010

Wet pails and plastic pants are a thing of the past. Modern cloth diapers are leaps and bounds beyond what was used even just 20 years ago. You can still do prefolds and covers - but todays covers are a far cry from plastic pants.

If you cover your pail and properly rinse off the poo before putting dipes in it, it won't stink. And if it does a bit there are pail powders you can sprinkle in or essential oils that you can put on the pail liner to help with the smell. We have our second in our room with us still and her diaper pail is in my bedroom. Believe me, it doesn't stink!

Cloth is just as easy to use when out and about as it is at home. Just put soiled dipes in a wetbag instead of the trash can. Wet bags hold in moisture and odor.

Cloth does not smell as bad as disposables. We have had to use disposable dipes in the past month, and the poo and pee smell both on the babes and in the pail is markedly more with sposies.

Cloth works better. Way more blowouts and leaks with sposies.

When we use sposies we STILL put the poop in the potty. Because that's what you are supposed to do - read the package. Poop in the garbage means poop in the landfill means poop in the ecosystem = yucko bucko.

Cloth is less expensive. And more so when you can start using your stash on your second baby. OR third. And they have resale value if you take good care of them.

Cloth diapers come in One Size now. So you could build a stash of diapers that goes from newborn to potty training without ever having to buy larger sizes along the way.

Cloth is better for baby. There are so many icky chemicals in sposies. Some of which are banned in other hygiene products (tampons) due to causing toxic shock. Not putting that on my babe. And they also require massive amounts of chemicals, energy, and water just to make those sposies. And then they sit in the landfill for 500 years trying to degrade.

I could go on.

We love our cloth diapers.

Lea - posted on 07/23/2010

We tried cloth diapers. They require a huge initial investment and... you have to keep buying larger sizes as your kids grow. My husband quit after a few months anyway saying the diaper pail where they were soaking was too heavy for him. If you go with disposables, a word of advice: if you are concerned with the environment, don't get cheap ones. They will leak and cause more laundry and you will have to constantly change them ending up costing you just as much as pricier ones and putting a lot more in the landfill. We tried a lot of brands and settled on Huggies Snug and Dry. There are also environmentally friendlier disposables also.

Jamie - posted on 07/23/2010

I have used both, and I preferred the disposable. I had to wash the reusable dirty diapers everyday or my laundry room would have a slight smell. I also knew two women who had the same problem. I must admit my child never personally smelled, in fact, I got tons of compliments about how my daughter always smelled great. So as long as you change your daughter regularly I don't think you will have a problem with him/her smelling. For me, the only problem was just having to wash a tiny load of diapers every single day. It wasn't so much about cost as it was just time consuming and tedious. Also, who uses 200 diapers a month? I don't know if you are using a hyperbole or if some kids are bathroom going machines. I buy one box of luvs a month which is 104 diapers which cost 13.99 at least where I live. Also, you could buy just a minimal amount of reusable diapers and use them on a trial basis. If you like them you can always buy more! I was not trying to critisize either side I just think different things work for different people.

Ashley - posted on 07/23/2010

I LOVE our diapers.... Their called kawaii baby. I order them at www.luvyourbaby.com I get 6 diapers with 12 inserts for around $50 and thats with shipping. There amazing!

Lori - posted on 07/23/2010

....and as a "mother" i also mean as a childcare provider in any way...case and point, my nephew was ill today and (to make a long story short my sister has a broken leg and cannot drive) i needed to take him to the dr. while at the dr he vomitted all over me and himself. after being vomitted on by a 19 month old, the least of my concern was a dirty diaper!!

Lori - posted on 07/23/2010

I dont know about anybody else, but as a mother i have been peed on, pooped on, spit up on, vomitted on, sneezed and snotted on, coughed on, bleed on, cried on and every other bodily fluid you can think of..as well as grown my baby inside my body and shared everything with him. Changing diapers isn't pretty no matter what you use, but I don't want to put a ton of chemicals on my child's skin!
And that's very true Amy, you are required to flush the poop from disposables as well!

Natasha - posted on 07/23/2010

I personally, think reusable ones are better. Not just for your wallet, or your child but for the environment too. Which is beneficial to all of us. I only use disposables when I go out. And it saves big time on money! But seriously, if your going to use reusable ones, please make sure you also put nappy liners in them as the bubbas can get a nasty skin rash from the material of the nappies. Cause it's rough against their skin. But good luck in whatever you decide to do :) In the end it's your choice :)

Amy - posted on 07/23/2010

Alyssa with the modern style cloth diapers it is not recomened that you put the dirty ones in a bucket of water, it will actually cause them not to work as well. You put them in a can just like disposables, and use a cloth liner so you just dump the whole thing into the wash. You don't use plastic pants either. Check out http://www.kellyscloset.com. As for another pro for cloth there are no harmful chemicals coming in contact with your babies skin. They still put chemical that are not allowed in tampons because the cause toxic shock syndrome in to the diapers, I don't want that on my babies skin. As far of taking the poop of of the diapers you also are required to do that with disposables to, read the packageing.

Alyssa - posted on 07/23/2010

Cloth diapers are good for burping clothes. I would get the 3 ply if you go with cloth diapers for diapers or burping clothes.

Alyssa - posted on 07/23/2010

Cons: With cloth diapers you have to have a bucket with water to put the dirty ones in and it stinks. You have to use plastic pants over them which makes the kid twice as hot. They stain.
Pros: You dont have to spent as much money on them. And thats all I have for Pros. lol
Pros: With disposable diapers you have a new fresh one every time. You dont have to wash them, or put the in a bucket to sit and stink. You can throw them away. You dont have to deal with getting poop and pee off.
Cons: You have to get a good brand or they dont hold so well. Thats it.

Heather - posted on 07/23/2010

I could never use cloth diapers if it wasn't for the diaper service in town! If there is one near by where you live, you should deffinately look into it! I think it's an amazing idea!!!

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

@Luschka, by the some guidelines cloth diapers are not approved for Child Care Providers. Some daycares even have to put this rubber pants on children in diapers, or potty trained, for health reasons.

Jessie - posted on 07/23/2010

oh, and for when we are out, I found baking soda bags that clip to your diaper bag (kind of like the doggie doo bags) and those control all odors of dirty cloth diapers until you get home.

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

@Luschka, I dont think you understand what I am saying. I have a diaper bin for throw away diapers. This is what I am saying. When a child that I am caring for has a poop cloth diaper I can not go to the bathroom and wash the poo out in the toilet while I have other children runing around. I am also not a laundry service, and I am not going to waste my elec. that I pay for washing some nasty diapers. And, I dont know anyone is going to throw poo in a bag and let it sit around their house all day. NOT ME!

Jessie - posted on 07/23/2010

I use gdiapers with my boys and love them. We did disposables with my oldest until I was able to stay home because his daycare provider couldn't do cloth due to health code reasons and the expense of doing one kind at home and one at daycare was too much. Gdiapers are the pocket type and can interchange with cloth and disposable inserts. The disposable inserts are biodegradable and flushable. I use regular cloth diapers folded up in my inserts as well as making my own inserts. (cut a washcloth in half and sew it between two pieces of flannel cotton) super absorbent that way, plus cheap. My cloth diapers don't stink and I even get compliments that they don't stink. I soak dirty diapers in a bucket of water with a little detergent that way the stink doesn't set. If they do get a little stinky, soak with some vinegar and sprinkle baking soda in the wash and dry in the sun. Diapers.com sells the gdiaper covers and gives $10 off to new customers. I was able to get 6 diaper covers for $50. My toddler is #2 toilet trained so making my own inserts allows me to put a thin insert in his diaper to help him learn when he is wet. My infant peed and pooped through every kind of disposable diaper we were given when he was born and the mess finally stopped when I switched to cloth. I actually do less laundry because I don't have to change his clothes every time he is changed. Plus, the cloth keep the moisture away from his skin better. I got a free pack of the flushable inserts, and while I don't like them on their own as they bunch up, it works really well to wrap a cloth diaper around it and then it holds all night. My infant is colicky so the less we have to mess with him at night the better.

Luschka - posted on 07/23/2010

@ Crystal I use disposable/washable liners inside a Bambinex nappy. I she has a wee I wash and reuse them, but if she has a pooh they can be thrown in the bin. I don't understand the 'leave the room to throw out a pooh' comment, because we just pop the dirty liner in the nappy bin where the disposables would go. Then pop the dirty (stained, but not with a pooh in it) nappy in nappy bag and mom can deal with it when she gets home. No biggy. No need to leave anyone. That's what we do when we're out and about. You're not being asked to WASH the cloth diaper, surely. If I'm leaving Kyra with anyone, I just have a few nappies ready with the liner inside and they are the same shape as disposables with valcro tabs, so it's no extra effort for them.

Amy - posted on 07/23/2010

If they end up smelling you can strip your diapers, with diffrent soaps and lots of hot washes and no soap and that usually gets rid of the smell. Also you need to use a cloth diaper friendly detergent, they are pretty cheap for the amount of time they will last. Also check out http://www.diaperswappers.com and craigslist for used diapers you can get good diapers for alot less then buying new!

Barbara - posted on 07/23/2010

Victoria- I've tried all kinds of cloth diapers, including the cloth diapers with disposable liners, and I have found that the cheapest way to go without losing any effectiveness at all is with a good prefold diaper and a cover. Prefolds are about a dollar each or so, so if they get too yucky you don't have to feel that bad about tossing them.
I like the Thirsties covers. They don't leak, They're well made and comfortable, and they are super cute. And you can find them for about 11 bucks each. They last and last, especially if you line dry them. They usually take about a half hour to dry in the sun, so that's not too bad. Hope that helps in your search!

Rachel - posted on 07/23/2010

I do both!!! I use reusable ones when I am home. If I go out for a while I will use a disposable. It has actually turned out to be such a money saver. The laundry I do every other day. I bought a little garbage can with the pop up top that I used to put the dirty diapers in and I keep that next to the changing table. Super easy. I have been doing this for just over a year now. The disposables I use are prefolds with the plastic pants over them.

Victoria - posted on 07/23/2010

Wow there's been a bit of hostility here...lets keep that down to a min, shall we? We're moms here, or moms-to-be in my case, throwing things out harshly isn't something we should make a habit of. If you dislike cloth diapers, please say so in a kind respectful manner, and if you don't like someone's opinion on them, again debate back as respectfully as you can.

Now as for the topic: I've done some research for my specific area. With the cost of water and electric, should i choose to wash them in the washer and not by hand, cloth diapers are still less expensive ---In the long run!--- I've seen some say that cloth is more expensive talking about this many disposables vs this many reusable ...but I've found much cheaper reusable bundle packs online... I've also been looking around and there is always good and bad reviews on EVERYTHING.

My friend-- a single mom --uses any diaper she can afford, because she can't seem to get hired. Several of them caused rashes, even caused bleeding, even Luvs and Huggies! However, they are easier to just toss, though with how we live we can't take out the trash to a dumpster every time it fills up yet, and the smell is horrid. And that's just from babysitting!

I've come to the conclusion that disposables are good for going out, good for travel, good for just throwing away, and cloth diapers, if maintained correctly, may be best for at home use. If cloth diapers end up smelling or staining I'll look further into disposables!

Celeste - posted on 07/23/2010

Crystal, definitely understand that. The few times I had another caretaker for my boys, I asked them first. I always had disposables on hand for when I had long trips or at night. I've never had anyone not tell me they didn't want to use them. No one has ever had an issue with them..

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

@ Lori, yeah it is one thing to be home by yourself with your child. I was talking abotu Mothes who dont understand that the one who taking care fo your child can't just leave the room to take care of this.

Lori - posted on 07/23/2010

Crystal- it makes sense to not want to leave your (or other's) kids alone to dump out the poop but I look at it like my son is either attached to my hip and with me in the bathroom anyway, or going to have to be alone for the 2 secs it takes me. He has to be alone for the 2 seconds it takes me to go to the bathroom myself!!! But I can understand your point, defiantely.

Lori - posted on 07/23/2010

Celeste- no one seems to be answering what kind of cloth they have had such problems with! Other than babies maybe having an allergic reaction to certain fibers, or something of the sort, I don't know a single person who has had bad luck with cloth. I also never have leaking problems. And personally, I prefer diapers that don't hold "as much" urine or feces because I don;t want my baby sitting in that long enough to worry about it! Although my cloth hold everything they need to!

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

@ Lori, I am a stay at home mom, who works fromo home as well, but I am glad that you consider others that may have to watch your son for you. That was my reason for asking that question. Everyone is not ok with CD, and some ( like myself) can leave children by themselves to go dump poo out of a diaper in the bathroom.

Emily - posted on 07/23/2010

I do both- at home we use bumgenius diapers and when we go out we use disposable. In our experience we love the cloth diapers! We have less blowouts with the diapers and they hold the stink in better. They are so easy to wash too. We have a cloth diaper pail and with the smelly thing that it came with we can't smell a thing bc the lid locks down so tight. When I get down to about 5 diapers I wash a load. It really has saved us so much money it is crazy! You pay more up front for them but in about a month or two I'd say we made up for it. Plus they are cute, always a plus. We found you do have to almost go up a size in clothes bc they are a little bigger, but that really isn't a big deal for us. If you want to know anything else, send me a message :)

Celeste - posted on 07/23/2010

I can understand that, Crystal. My boys' preschool is able to accommodate cloth. Along with the teacher, there are 2-3 assistant. If they weren't able to do cloth, they would tell me. Fortunately, it's a non issue now since they are PT'ed

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

As a child care provider and a church nursey worker I can assure I can not leave the other children alone to go dump poo out of a diaper. I even had to waste one of my own diapers so I could get the poo out of a cloth diaper. CD may work at home but for those who have several children to watch after and cant leave the room to go take care fo a cloth diaper can get very stressful at times.

Lori - posted on 07/23/2010

Crystal- if my son is in someone else's care (he doesn't go to daycare) and they are uncomfortable with cloth I give them disposables to use when he's there. I use Earth's Best or Tushies because they don't contain the gel chemicals and are chlorine free. I only leave him with my mom, who is fine with a cloth diapers and 2 friends, if I need a sitter. One friend doesn't mind the cloth at all and the other is uncomfortable with them, so I give her a few disposables for the short time she's with him. For kids in daycare situations, Gdiapers are awesome. You can use cloth, reusable inserts at home and buy reasonably priced biodigradable and flushable inserts for school or those who aren't comfortable with cloth.
I use both kinds though. There are some moms out there that will not use disposables at all. I don't know what they do. Like I said in previous posts, I do what works for my family but I don't expect everyone to be okay with it. So in the event I have to leave my son with someone who isn't comfortable with the idea I wouldn't want them to feel that I was making them do something. I don't want chemicals on my kid however, so I chose the next best option for us.

Celeste - posted on 07/23/2010

Again, curious, what kind of diapers are you guys using that they're not working out for you? There are a ton of different diapers that are out there, so if one doesn't work, there are others that you can try. I've never found them that difficult to use. And again, I've never had anyone say if my kids stink (and trust me, the people that I know would tell me). And again, those of you don't want to use them, then don't. CD's aren't for everyone.

Crystal, my twin boys go to a special needs preschool and they used cloth. It never was a big deal. We talked about it during their ARD, and told them I would use disposables if they wanted me to. Never had an issue.

Laura - posted on 07/23/2010

I tried both disposable and re-usable and ended up sticking with disposable. The cloth nappies are just way too much to cope with. They leak very very quickly and do not last years mine only lasted few months before they were ruined beyond repair and it also made it harder for my son to sit up and move properly even the smallest cloth ones are bulkier than disposble. in the end when they were ruined i didn't bother with more just started using disposable and would never go back.

Melissa - posted on 07/23/2010

I thought all through my pregnancy that I would like to use cloth diapers. I did my research. But when baby arrived, Daddy didn't back me up on the idea. We are big recyclers, but when it came to diapers, Daddy had a weak stomach. He still uses an N-95 mask to change the stinky disposable diapers and takes them to the outside garbage can immediately! Makes me laugh even though we've been at this for 14 months!

I try to offset the cost of disposables by buying only on sales, using coupons, etc. I've even beat those costs by buying beat up packages at Sam's club. Because the box was dented they marked it down nearly $15! With all the personal energy I put into paying the least amount possible, I could probably have just done laundry at home, lol!

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

I have a question for all you ladies who use cloth diapers. If your child is in a day care or church nursey, or someone other then you has to care for your for a period of time do you let them use cloth or disposable?

Crystal - posted on 07/23/2010

I would find it very strange to have a diaper on my baby that who knows how many other children have worn it.

Skye - posted on 07/23/2010

Wow! I think some of you are very ill informed.

I think that it depends on the person but i use both cloth and disposable nappies. I use cloth when I am at home (when I say cloth I mean all in one nappies - they fit from birth fit through to toddler years & do not need an extra waterproof cover at all) & then if I am out somewhere for convenience I use disposabes so I can throw them away.

I have done alot of research about it & even though upfront I spent about $500 (I have about 20 something) I have found that I hardly ever use disposables and they have already paid for themselves.

I find that they are also very absorbant, kind of like a new tea towel - the more you use it the mre absorbant it becomes. When you first get them you need to was them a few times before you use them.

I have a nappy bucket with a lid and wash them probably every couple of days.

When you wash them you only need to use half the amount of detergent that you would normally use with a wash as well. I have never had any that have been smelly at all. And they never seem to stain.

I would personally prefer to have a breathable fabric next to my skin if i was a baby than a synthetic material of a disposable.

I started to use them initially because we were filling up a whole garbage wheely bin each week of nappies and now only have a few to put in the bin.

The type of nappies that I use dont need to be soaked at all. I would totally recommend them . I have tried a few different brands but much prefer these.

Check out: https://www.cushietushies.com.au/store/pc/home.asp

They have heaps of info on their website too about studies that have been done regrading the extra cost of having to wash cloth nappies & the extra cost of detergent etc. Its really interesting to find that more energy consumption is actually used up in making a disposable nappy than washing a load of cloth nappies! Anyway - the info is on their website.

Hope this has helped a bit :)

Heidi - posted on 07/22/2010

We use cloth and love it as well. Cloth is really easy and I do one extra load of laundry every 3 days. Not a big deal at all.

Tracy - posted on 07/22/2010

I use a diaper service. They pick up dirty diapers once a week and drop of clean ones. I still use disposables at night because my twin girls seem to get rashes (and they now sleep 9-11 hours). I also use them for traveling or when I go out because I don't like the idea of carrying my dirty diapers around the mall or storing them in my vehicle for long drives. Overall they are great. My only issue with cloth is that they are quite bulky compared to the disposables.

Brittany - posted on 07/22/2010

It really depends on the cost of water and electricity in your area and if you can fork over the initial costs. I couldn't afford to hand over $100-200 to begin.

Joanna - posted on 07/22/2010

I also have been cloth diapering for almost 8 months and we have had the diapers smell once, when my top loader washing machine broke and I had to wash the diapers in a front loader. Stripping the diapers took care of the urine smell and we have never had problems since. Everyone I have come in contact with has been impressed by the diapers and no one has ever said anything about the smell

Joanna - posted on 07/22/2010

I love the cloth diapers. I don't like the idea of all the chemicals in disposable diapers being that close to my baby 99% of the time. I do feel like we save money with the cloth because we only had to buy diapers once (although it is addicting!). I also like the fact that if we run out of diapers (which doesn't happen), I can just wash them and have them I don't have to run to the store with baby in tow. The cons are that you do have to try different diapers to find which ones fit your baby best and which kind you like best. There are many different options of cloth diapers

Louise - posted on 07/22/2010

well i usede cloth when at home all the time and only used disposable ones when i went out and yes it saves heaps of money

Barbara - posted on 07/22/2010

If you have cloth diapers that smell, try this:
-Rinse them out, even if they are just peed in.
-Keep them in a bucket with water, a little vinegar, and some tea tree oil between washes.
-If possible, dry them in the sun. Kills germs, and bleaches out stains.

Voila! No more smelly diapers.
Also, you can get a little spray apparatus at pretty much any hardware store that hooks on to your shower, and can hose out dipes into the potty as easy as pie. That is, if you have a bathroom that accommodates the reach of the hose to the potty.
Just thought that might be helpful to someone. Took me a while to figure out.

Emilie - posted on 07/22/2010

When I was pregnant with my son my mom bought me some cloth diapers off of ebay. She told me that they were supposed to last from birth to potty training. I honestly didn't know much about cloth, and they did sav use some money. But I think that they were used to much and they just didn't hold much and my son had to be changed all the time. Also they did not last until potty training (maybe the person that sold them lied) because my son out grew them waaay before he was 1 year old, he out grew some of them before he was 1 month old. They were better on his skin that disposibles though, he never had a rash with cloth. I never used cloth with my daughter though, I just didn't know alot about cloth and I didn't know where to buy more (other than ebay) and like I said my son had to be changed all the time. I know now more about cloth, and next time I will buy a variety and I will buy them new, I will buy better brands that will hold more and will not leak so much, but the cotton was better on my sons bottom and they are better for the environment.

Julie - posted on 07/22/2010

I have used both - disposable when out and Pea Pods when at home. I can honestly say that they are the best money saver I have purcxhased. Also they dont cause nappy rash, they are environmentally friendly and are easy to wash. It takes 60 years for one plastic nappy to break down so imagine how many and how long it'd take for all the other ones to break down around the globe. Im doing my little bit and it trruly is cheaper and not that hard.

Tasha - posted on 07/22/2010

to any mother who truely thinks their child doesnt have a funk in cloth diapers...NEWS FLASH the kid has a funk! I know plunty of ppl who have used cloth and in different families. They all have a funky smell. I shop at Sam's Club 200 diapers for like 29$ a box. 200 diapers last a month if not more.