7 Reasons To Use Cloth Diapers Rather Than Disposables
Raising a baby provides moms and dads with wonderful rewards and some challenging moments. Since our children live their first few years wearing diapers - and they require a lot of changing we are looking for the right decision about what kind of diapers to use - both from a convenience perspective and from a what-is-right for my baby point of view.
One thing that we don’t always consider is the impact that the diapers we choose for our baby have on the health and comfort of our baby, the positive impact that we can choose to have on the environment, and the substantial savings available through the use of child diapers made from cloth.
We have done some research and here are our seven reasons to move away from disposable diapers and instead choose to use cloth diapers for your baby.
1. Improved health for your baby. Take a look at what makes up today’s disposable diapers. They are made with a chemical that makes the diaper very absorbent - but this chemical (sodium polyacrylate) has been linked to toxic shock syndrome. And that’s not the only dangerous chemical. You will also find in disposable diapers traces of Dioxin (this is a carcinogen) and it can cause genetic damage, immune system suppression and even disease of the liver.
2. Reduces risk of diaper rash - baby rash is very rarely a problem when using cloth diapers - our boy Holden is over a year old and has never had a rash. Disposable diapers because of their super absorbent chemicals can fool parents into thinking that the baby is not wet, and as a result changing the baby will take place less often. Cloth diapered babies, on the other hand, are changed more often, as the diaper starts feeling damp after 4 hours or so. They are also more breathable - where disposables become much hotter allowing for rapid bacterial growth which can cause baby rash.
3. Baby’s comfort. Cloth-style diapers are made from layers of breathable, soft-to-the-touch cotton. Plainly stated cotton just feels better next to baby’s skin. Cotton is breathable which means that it is cooler next to baby’s tender skin. Especially on hot, humid days cotton clothe diapers are much cooler than the disposable alternative.
4. Save money - raising a baby is expensive and we all want to save money when we can. There have been numerous studies that compare the costs of purchasing disposables versus the cost of purchasing and washing cloth baby diapers at home. The results of the studies vary but they all agree that the cost of cloth, home laundered diapers, is considerably lower than buying disposables. Consider that over a 2 1/2 year period where there will be approximately 7,500 diaper changes, the savings of cloth over disposables is in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. This savings is even greater when you consider that the same diaper can be used for another baby. In our case - in Holden’s first year we have saved over $800 by using cloth. Think of what you could do with the SAVINGS you earned from buying and laundering your own diapers!
5. Do your part to improve our world - cloth diapers can be used over and over again making them better for the environment. Consider some other items. A high quality cloth diaper can be washed a hundred or more times. And if you have or plan on having more than one child the cloth diaper can be used for your 2nd and 3rd child. And sure it use up energy to wash cloth diapers. This energy use cost is very small when you compare it to what the cost to the environment caused by the use of disposables. We can expect a disposable to take at least 400 years to be fully decomposed in our already crowded landfills. Also consider that the manufacturers of diapers that are disposable in a year will use more than a million metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic each year.
6. No fuss changing. Cloth diapers are built with snap closures (no more pins). They are adjustable so that they provide a great fit for your baby. Many of the cloth diapers are made with a built in outer liner making it easy for anyone to change a baby - even a grandpa.
7. No outer diaper cover required - today there are all in one diapers that have a built in waterproof outer cover meaning that there is no need for a diaper cover.
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