There many HUGE misconceptions about cloth diapers now-a-days. I know what you’re thinking, “Safety Pins? Washing poop? More laundry?” Don’t worry, I’ll tackle all of these, so keep reading :)
-Better for baby: The obvious reason I chose to cloth diaper is because disposable diapers have a LOT of chemicals in them.
• Fact #1-Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.
• Fact #2-Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.
• Fact #3-Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria.
• Fact #4-In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis.
Pretty scary stuff. No wonder those things don’t decompose for 250-500 years….they are filled with chemicals. Another other reasons they are better for baby is the potty training factor. Studies have shown Cloth Diaper babies will on average be fully potty trained by 18-24 months compared to disposable diaper baby users at 3-4 years.
-Cost savings: The average disposable diaper costs about $.25 and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics you want at least 10 used diapers a day. This means 70 used diapers in one week. At $.25 each we have a total weekly cost of $17.50. That’s $910 a year. A disposable diaper baby will be in these for 3-4 years, that’s $2730-$3640 for the entire time. Now, I personally am buying really expensive cloth diapers (mine are all-in-ones, organic, and from one of the biggest cloth diaper companies) so my total for my stash of 24 diapers is going to be $530. You can easily get away with less expensive cloth diapers or buy used and your initial cost would be MUCH less. Even so, right off the bat I’m saving well over $2,000. AND cloth diapers hold up so well that you can use them from kid to kid. Thinking of two or three kids using disposables?…..times those totals up there by 2 or 3….you get the idea. I will be using my $530 stash for baby Jeanes #2 and possible baby Jeanes #3. And then when you are all done with having babies and therefore cloth diapers, you are in luck. The used cloth diaper market is huge! Yup you can sell them back for at least 50% of what you paid for them. Seriously?! That is a HUGE savings.
Now, if you want to get technical and add in water costs, we can talk about that. I personally am lucky to live on base and we don’t pay for water here, so this doesn’t factor into my cost savings, but I know for most it will. With a normal stash of 24 diapers, you will need to do diaper laundry every other day. If you buy 36, you can push it out to every 2 days, etc. On average a load in the washer is .50. So $15 a month in water. I personally plan on line drying my diapers in the sun…..it gets out all stains and is free!
-Better for the environment: One of the biggest myths I get from people about cloth diapering is “I just can’t deal with the poop, what do you do with it?” Obviously when they are babies, their poop is not solid, so you can throw the diaper right into the wash (with the rest of the diapers only), put it on a rinse cycle, then a normal cycle and you are good to go. Now, when they get older and start eating solid foods, their poop will be more solid. The cloth diaper geniuses came up with a sprayer that attaches to the side of the toilet, and all you have to do is spray the poop into the toilet, then throw the diaper in the laundry. Something I have found that many disposable diaper parents don’t know is that it is illegal to throw the poop away in the trash. You are supposed to rinse the poop before you throw the diaper away because if not, that poop ends up in our landfills and seeps into our water systems and that’s how many viruses and diseases spread. Don’t believe me? Read your diaper package :) I’m pretty sure I don’t know any of my friends who rinse the diapers first…..suprise friends!!
• Fact #1- In 1988, over 18 billion diapers were sold and consumed in the United States that year.4 Based on our calculations (listed below under "Cost: National Costs"), we estimate that 27.4 billion disposable diapers are consumed every year in the U.S.
• Fact #2- In 1988, nearly $300 million dollars were spent annually just to discard disposable diapers
• Fact #3- No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years
• Fact #4- Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste
• Fact #5- Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR
These are all my reasons to decide to cloth diaper. It was a complete no-brainer for me honestly. The cloth diaper has come so far in just the past generation. My husband was cloth diapered with the good old pre-folds, pins and a cloth diaper service. Wouldn’t a cloth diaper service be nice now-a-days?! No one could have an excuse not to cloth diaper then if someone picked up your dirty diapers and dropped off clean ones. Below is a picture of the 2011 cloth diaper…..no pins, just snaps, and looks just like a disposable diaper….but cuter :) If you are considering cloth diapering or have questions about it, I’d LOVE to talk with you about it! I have lots of sites, youtube how-to videos, and great info to help you in your decision.
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