# Cloth diapering? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365 "2011-02-14T21:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/21 "2011-02-15T00:27:41Z")
I bought $400 (36 diapers, some prefolds, and covers) worth of cloth diapers with my first daughter. They were an adjustable style that you could button different ways to make different sizes. I LOVED them. I used a plastic hamper as a diaper bucket and washed them about every 3 days. I put them in the sun to dry and the sun has the added bonus of getting rid of any stains. To wash, I ran a “rinse only” first, then a hot wash. Both my kids toilet trained really easily between 2 and 2 1/2. My second daughter actually trained herself. I totally credit the diapers, because the kids can feel when they are wet. None of this namby-pamby feel-dry technology. When they were toddlers, I did put an extra prefold in the diaper at night for extra absorbancy, and I don’t recall that leaking was ever an issue. $400 to completely diaper 2 kiddos, and when I was done, I sold them for about $4 each. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/22 "2011-02-15T00:42:35Z")
We did cloth diapers using a service for our first and I think starting with our second as well. When we flew back home during Christmas time, we always used disposables during the trip, and they were easier. Eventually we just stopped using the service. The disposables did work better than cloth + plastic cover. > [@](#): > > 1. I can be totally smug around mothers with disposables Might work on mothers who also have their first kid. Parents on kid 2 or higher will just smug “oh, it must be your first.” right back at you. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/23 "2011-02-15T00:45:08Z")
We used a diaper service for our first. We were in an apartment and had an illegal apartment sized washer, so there was no way we could wash all those diapers. Eventually you get leaks even with two diapers, and then we went to disposables. As for diapers being cute, just you wait. After your thirtieth of so in one day, the cuteness diminishes quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/24 "2011-02-15T00:52:57Z")
> [@The\_Defenestrator](#): > > I love cloth diapers, but it seems to be one of those personal preferences things. My primary reason is the cost is so much less, and I don’t do organic or save the environment, just so you know where I’m coming from. Secondary reason is that I hate things that smell. > > I use a mix of chinese prefoldsand gerber prefolds, with Thirsties covers. I prefer the chinese prefolds, as they are more absorbent, but the gerbers were a gift. I like the prefolds because they are easy. I just fold them in thirds in the cover and velcro it on. I never did get the hang of snappis or pins, but I didn’t have to! Some people prefer snaps because they last longer, and although some of my velcro looks kinda crappy now, I prefer the more precise fit of it. I do love the Thirsties brand though, because they have extra gussets that keep everything in. I tried a couple of different brands (bummis whisper, and prowraps I think) in newborn size to start off with, and after that I went with only Thirsties because they are just better than the others. > > I’ve been doing it for 9 months. I used disposables for trips where I wouldn’t have access to my washing machine. First time I used 7th generation, and they were pretty cool because they didn’t smell but I got that pack for free, and then next time I just used store brands, but those had fragrances added to them, and they stank! And my husband also used disposables in the hospital for the first newborn poops that are really gross, and he said that was the grossest shit ever, so I would suggest waiting until all that is gone until you start cloth, but most of the time it only takes a couple days. > > I was doing warm wash with cold rinse for about 5 months, but then I had a bit of the stink (ammonia smell) issue, so I ran them on a hot rinse a couple times, and now I do hot wash, cold rinse, and I have not had any other issues with stink now. I use planet detergent, but there is [a list for other good detergents that work well with cloth](http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm). You really don’t need that much detergent. I use less than an ounce per load. Less is better because otherwise you might get buildup. My husband was using too much. I do one load about every or every other day, about 12 diapers or so per load. > > I don’t find the convenience factor to be any different for me. Yeah, you put the diaper in the wetbag when you are out; that takes 2 seconds. How long does throwing the disposable away take? About 2 seconds. Pretty much the same. But I have no problems with doing a load of diapers. It’s super easy laundry because you just throw it in, add detergent, start the wash, wait a while, throw it in the dryer. My prefolds dry within an hour in my bottom of the line dryer. No folding, I just use the diapers straight out of the laundry basket. But some people just really hate doing laundry and think it’s the worst thing ever, so if you are one of those people, you might not like cloth. The only thing that is really that different is that I’ve had to buy one size up in baby clothes to fit over the diaper, but it’s not really an issue because I buy carter’s brand and they are more narrow, so they fit well over the diapered bottom. > > I’ve never had any leak problems except when I’ve done something stupid like not velcroing one side of the diaper properly so that it comes undone later. Never had any rash problems (in either cloth or disposables). Never had any poop blowouts in cloth. The poop does get on the cover though, but you should wash the covers once in a while anyway. My baby is still mostly breastfed, so the poopy diapers go straight into the wash, no scraping or spraying poop. I also do EC now though so I don’t even have that many poopys now that we are out of the newborn poop every time you pee phase. > > And if you do end up using cloth, you might as well use cloth wipes as well, which I definitely prefer to disposable. I think they work a lot better. Disposables are always soapy and too slippery. I bought some wipes, and they were okay, but if I were to do it over I would just use baby washcloths because they are a lot cheaper and work just as well. > > Honestly, even if I were to suddenly become rich, I would still do cloth again just because it is what I’m used to. I would probably just buy more of a variety of diapers. I really do like them better now. I changed disposables when I worked in a daycare, so it’s not like I have no experience with them. The only kind I would consider using is those without fragrance. I just hate things that smell! But that’s just my little quirk. This is why we used disposables, take it off, wipe the area, pop on a new one. Done, cleaned and dusted in a couple of minutes. There are far more important things than washing nappies. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/25 "2011-02-15T00:58:46Z")
> [@The\_Defenestrator](#): > > I was doing warm wash with cold rinse for about 5 months, but then I had a bit of the stink (ammonia smell) issue, so I ran them on a hot rinse a couple times, and now I do hot wash, cold rinse, and I have not had any other issues with stink now. Have you tried adding a cup of white vinegar to the wash? It helps get rid of the smell of cat pee if your cat punishes you, so I imagine it’d work as well for other ammonia smells too. Sites recommend it for other reasons (like softening the diapers and restoring PH) so it seems okay for babies’ belongings. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/26 "2011-02-15T01:37:39Z")
We did cloth diapers with our son. Started out with pre-folds when he was a newborn and then switched to [bumGenius](http://www.bumgenius.com/) when he got a little bigger. Except for traveling (where hauling a bunch of diapers is inconvenient) he only wore cloth. Quite frankly, every time we used disposables he got rashy and had more issues with leaks/poop explosions – so we were never tempted to abandon the cloth. The bumGenius are so easy that even the daycare didn’t mind using them. Laundering them was easy too. Our supply of cloth diapers totaled about $500 for the 2 1/2 years he was in them. We are expecting our second this summer and plan to go the same route. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/27 "2011-02-15T01:42:08Z")
My wife and I are very busy, and still have no problems with cloth diapering. We’ve used Bumgenius as well (3.0 with velcro. We got a few of the new ones with the snaps and they are great too and will likely last longer than the velcro). Daycare won’t do it, so he’s in disposable during the day. But, honestly, these are not your grandmother’s cloth diapers. We find them not much more work than disposables. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/28 "2011-02-15T01:46:01Z")
As for the “greeness” of the diapers. We have one of the highest efficiency washers, and line dry the diapers. We use a non-phosphate detergent. We also plan on using the same diapers on the next kid. I can’t imagine that this is equal to disposable diapers in terms of the environment. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/29 "2011-02-15T02:01:37Z")
I was going to cloth diaper. I got lots of cover and did it with a diaper service for three months. My first kid could pee through a diaper in about five minutes. I was changing him all the time. I gave up after three months and went disposable. In Toronto disposable diapers are included in the city compost bins, so it doesn’t even contribute to landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/30 "2011-02-15T02:19:59Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Might work on mothers who also have their first kid. Parents on kid 2 or higher will just smug “oh, it must be your first.” right back at you. That was supposed to be a joke… Anyway, thanks for all the tips guys. I found a site that will rent out newborn diapers for 3 months for a really reasonable price, so I think I’ll try that out and see how it goes. Of course, first I have to actually have a baby, so cart before the horse and all that… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/31 "2011-02-15T02:22:28Z")
My daughter peed through them by five weeks old. I toughed it out for another week, then switched her to disposables. No more leaks, and she immediately started sleeping through the night. That was the end of my experiment with cloth. ---
**Author:** ![Trubie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@Trubie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trubie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/32 "2011-02-15T02:29:09Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > IANAP but I have to wonder at some of the claims about eco-friendliness when, in the interest of hygiene, diapers have to be washed in the hottest water possible. That’s a lot of a) energy to heat the water, and b) a lot of clean water that now has human feces in it. > > I know disposables make a friggin’ _mountain_ of trash, OTOH. I may not be a parent, but I do know that! 🙂 > > - forehead slap \* Oh, yeah .. duh. _Slate_ covered this a while ago. [Here ya go.](http://www.slate.com/id/2187278/) Not a parent, but deal with young children due to profession. It doesn’t seem hygenic to keep putting something on someone they’ve pissed/shit on when you have the option of giving them a new one. So, gross for the baby and you have to wash shit and piss. I wonder what there’s to be smug about. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/33 "2011-02-15T02:29:14Z")
I used cloth on both mine, and loved it. I was a poor student living out in the country so running to town to buy more disposables was out of the question. Every day I washed 2 or 3 dozen diapers and hung them on the line before going to class. Easy-peasy. One tip I got from the kids’ granny: save your bread wrappers and use them to put soiled diapers in when you are out and about. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/34 "2011-02-15T02:32:30Z")
> [@Trubie](#): > > Not a parent, but deal with young children due to profession. It doesn’t seem hygenic to keep putting something on someone they’ve pissed/shit on when you have the option of giving them a new one. > > So, gross for the baby and you have to wash shit and piss. I wonder what there’s to be smug about. The same thing happens to their clothes. Do you think people should throw away baby’s outfit every time? Or do you think that modern washing machines can’t clean soiled diapers/clothes ? My husband is a mechanic and he often gets hazardous stuff like diesel fuel, antifreeze, brake fluid etc. on his clothes. Do you think it’s okay that I wash them, and let him wear them again? ---
**Author:** ![Trubie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@Trubie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trubie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/35 "2011-02-15T02:36:45Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > The same thing happens to their clothes. Do you think people should throw away baby’s outfit every time? Or do you think that modern washing machines can’t clean soiled diapers/clothes ? > > My husband is a mechanic and he often gets hazardous stuff like diesel fuel, antifreeze, brake fluid etc. on his clothes. Do you think it’s okay that I wash them, and let him wear them again? You can do what you wish, but I come from a family where if a baby pees/poops all over their clothes it gets thrown out. I’m just funny like that. I also have an irrational, yes I know it’s borderline crazy, fear of hepatitis. Hazardous stuff, I would never put in my own washing machine. However, if you want to keep them it’s your choice. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/36 "2011-02-15T02:39:34Z")
I don’t mean to be rude but that seems incredibly wasteful. People have been washing cloth diapers (and women’s menstrual cloths) for centuries without a problem. I agree, if you want to throw them out it’s your choice. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/37 "2011-02-15T02:49:24Z")
> [@Trubie](#): > > You can do what you wish, but I come from a family where if a baby pees/poops all over their clothes it gets thrown out. I’m just funny like that. I also have an irrational, yes I know it’s borderline crazy, fear of hepatitis. > > Hazardous stuff, I would never put in my own washing machine. However, if you want to keep them it’s your choice. Babies get pee on their clothes daily. Throwing them out is not the norm. You can’t get hepatitis from a baby unless that baby has hepatitis, you know. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/38 "2011-02-15T02:51:07Z")
> [@Little\_Bird](#): > > So of course all the mommy blogs and message boards I’ve read are all “Yay Cloth!”, but I don’t trust most of those **bitches**. (my bolding) I like your sense of humor. We’ll see if it survives the first 6 months. 😉 Our daycare offers a cloth service but they would still use as many disposals 😕 so we stopped and just went with the throwaways. It didn’t matter that much to us. Japanese laundry is more of a pain in the \*ss, so I wouldn’t consider cloth for us, but would possibly if we lived in the States. ---
**Author:** ![Trubie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@Trubie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trubie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/39 "2011-02-15T02:51:11Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Babies get pee on their clothes daily. Throwing them out is not the norm. > > You can’t get hepatitis from a baby unless that baby has hepatitis, you know. You can get hepatitis is you’re not disposing of waste properly. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365/40 "2011-02-15T02:55:10Z")
> [@Trubie](#): > > You can get hepatitis is you’re not disposing of waste properly. Not unless the waste contains hepatitis, ie the person who made the waste was an infected individual. I’m sure no one can convince you of this fact, but hepatitis doesn’t just magically spring from poop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloth-diapering/571365.md?page=3)