Cloth Diapers

Yes, we use cloth diapers. No, we’re not insane. My wife and I both agreed to this approach before Andrew was born. In the past, both of our mothers used a diaper service that was available but they often use harsh chemicals like bleach. So we decided to do it ourselves. We got a new high efficiency washer that has a “sanitary” cycle. Basically it has an internal water heater so that it can use very hot water no matter what your t-stat is set to on your hot water heater. The diapers are really not that bad to use. The covers have velcro and cool designs on them. You don’t have to use pins.

Another great reason we use them is that disposable diapers are just so expensive compared to cloth. We bought two sampler packs of cloths and covers that cost around $160 total.  We haven’t needed more since and our washer only costs about 44 cents a load. Compare that to disposables that go for around  $50 for jumbo pack that might last a month. That’s still $600 a year. Not to mention the environmental cost of having a plastic ( remember plastic is a petroleum product made from oil. Why are we in Iraq again?) diaper rotting in a landfill for 500 years.

I know cloth is not for everyone. People think they are too busy or that it would be too gross. And it does take a lot of work. My wife is awesome in that respect. But they have already paid off in many ways. We’ve only had one minor diaper rash (that was using up the newborn disposables we got) and potty training will be easier because cloth actually feels wet and uncomfortable instead of that gel stuff that sucks it away ( and may or may not be carcinogenic) Well that’s just a few thoughts on why we use cloth diapers and why I think other parents should too.