Clothe diapers vs disposible?

Question

Pros - Cons? Cost difference?

Answer 1

Pros of cloth diapers:
-More environmentally friendly
-Cheaper [$250-$700 over the time your baby is in diapers]
-Reusable
-Probably more comfortable for the baby
-Less diaper rash
-Cloth diapered children tend to potty-train earlier, because the cloth tends to hold moisture closer to baby’s skin.

Pros of disposable diapers:
-Easy to use
-They can be thrown away
-More absorbent than cloth

Cons of cloth diapers:
-They are fastened with pins, velcro, or snap buttons
-Some daycare centers won't use them
-Can be messy and hard to clean
-They tend to leak more if not fastened properly

Cons of disposable diapers:
-More expensive [around $1500]
-Bad for the environment
-Harder to potty train
-More diaper rash
-The chemical used to make the super-absorbency of disposable diapers is Sodium polyacrylate, which has been linked to TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) and can cause allergic reactions.

Answer 2

Cloth diapers are cheaper in the long run than disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers breathe better than disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers are a lot softer than disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers don't get hot and sticky like disposables.

Cloth diapers cause less, if any, diaper rashes than disposables.

Cloth diapers are basically a one size fits all diaper, if you are using the standard rectangle or prefold diapers. Myself, I wear contoured cloth diapers that I made for myself with elastic in the waist and leg openings.

What else can I say about them. I'm incontinent and wear diapers 24 / 7 because of a medical condition. I've worn both disposables and cloth for extended periods of time to make up my mind which I would prefer.

True, disposables are more convenient for the most part but the are very uncomfortable compared to cloth diapers. For all the reasons I stated above, I prefer the cloth diapers and that is now what I wear all the time. I only use disposables on long trips where cloth would be way too much of an inconvenience.

Think about it, isn't the comfort and health of your baby more important than convenience is for you? I mean to me, your baby should come first, then and only then should convenience come into play. With that thought in mind, it should be cloth all the time and disposables on the rare occasion that you can't store or launder cloth diapers.

Laundering cloth isn't as bad as so many people make it out to be. I do two loads a week for myself. I was them in regular detergent without any additives. I use vinegar in the first rinse and nothing in the second rinse.

Never use bleach on cloth diapers because it breaks down the fibers and the diapers wear out sooner than they should.

Never use fabric softener on diapers because it coats the fibers and makes them less absorbent which causes leaking at times.

If a diaper isn't thick enough, with cloth you double up, what do you do with disposbles? You can double up but then you have wasted the cost of two diapers and nothing on doubling the cloth ones.

Not much else to say other than cloth is my recommendation, unless you hadn't already guessed that.

Good luck.

Answer 3

When my son was a baby I stayed at home.
We were poor so I used cloth diapers and washed by hand.
We couldn't afford a washer/dryer and I wasn't keeping them dirty until we went to the laundromat.
I did buy the cheap store brand disposables for whenever we were away from home.
I nursed, and one plus on that is that the dirty diapers aren't as bad as those of formula fed babies.
My job before I had my son was working in the infant room of a daycare center.
Let me tell you, after changing diapers on 14 babies all day long for a year and a half, changing the cloth diaper of one baby was no big deal.
He didn't get diaper rash too bad either. Get them changed quickly and clean the baby's bottom well, and put a little Desitin just in case ... and the baby's bottom should be fine.

Pros? More friendly to environment and a lot less expensive.

Cons? You must wash them. Not convenient if child is in daycare or when you go out in public.

Answer 4

Cloth diapers - better for the ecology because disposable diapers take a long time to disintegrate. That's the only pro that I know of.

Disposable - less smell, no washing, more sanitary, easy to dispose of.

Cloth diapers may be cheaper but in the long run much more work. It depends on how you want to spend your time.

Answer 5

I go disposable.

Pros-convenient. Easy to find more.

Cons-hippies think there are health concerns with them, but honestly, my kids have never had problems. Can be more expensive, even though there are really cheap brands (the cheap brands are not as absorbent so you have to change them more often and the cost ends up about the same as the expensive diapers)

If you choose cloth:

Pros:reusable, earth friendly, can be used for other things, cheaper in the long run

Cons:lots of laundry, expensive upfront cost, not as absorbant, difficult to use-especially in public, stinky when you have to save them to be washed, can be hard to find--might have to order off the internet

If you really want to get the best of both worlds, use cloth at home and disposable when you are out places.

Answer 6

My mom used cloth diapers on all 4 of us kids and we NEVER had diaper rash, even with the plastic pants. People that are lazy would prefer disposible so they don't have to change their baby as often. Letting a baby sit in a pissy diaper is what causes diaper rash, not cloth diapers.

Answer 7

Disposable diapers are pretty easy. you don't have to have the trouble of mucking out baby waste and washing them but they are pretty expensive, even with discounts. but with that much diapers you are harming the enviornment.

clothe diapers save you lots of money although prob. not much time. you'll have to spend lots of time mucking out the baby poop and if you throw it in the washer sometimes it gets on your clothes too and you end up smelling like poop. on the other hand, you help the earth from getting filled with stinky diapers

Answer 8

diposables are more expensive vs clothe diapers but u would have to change his diaper about 5 times a day probably even more with the clothe becuase its not as absorbent as the disposables are.you would have to buy alot of clothe diapers and that might cost you. its better off with disposables. trust me.you dont want anything seeping out from that diaper.

Answer 9

WOW!! I know it's been YEARS since my son needed diapers (he's 14 now), but I LOVED being able to stay home with him. When and since I could - I went with cloth diapers. My daughter had to go to disposables cause I HAD to get back to work! DEFINETLY less costly!!! However, if mom or dad work - not good. Disposable wins, unfortunately! CONGRATS! I miss the baby stages!

Answer 10

Cloth diapers do not keep baby's bottom very dry like disposable one do. the plastic pants you must use over cloth diapers keep moisture in and cause diaper rash. And cloth diapers smell worse in the garbage - plus if not sanitized correctly they can cause all sorts of rashes and problems. Nowadays disposable diapers can be cheaper and better for baby