Why Should You Use Cloth Diapers Over Disposable Ones?
Happy Heiny's Pocket Diaper
(Small, burgundy)
Grandma will also tell you that her kids didn't have diaper rash because the soft cloth wasn't irritating to their delicate skin and the cloth allows for air circulation. As for recycling, cloth diapers are washed, dried and reused for years.
One set of quality cloth diapers cost about the same as one package of plastic baby diapers and can be used for every baby you ever have if you want to pass them down like clothes. If you hate the idea of washing diapers, you can get a diaper service to pick them up and deliver clean diapers to your home.
The artificial fibers and scents in disposable diapers are responsible for skin rashes and allergic reactions in children as well as adults. Disposable diapers are even more harsh on the environment by requiring 10-20 times more raw materials and 60 times more energy to produce one disposable diaper than it takes to produce a cloth diaper.
Using cloth diapers saves money and reduces environmental waste. Those are benefits worth considering, so let's look at how you can make your own and how to take care of them!
Take the Cloth Diapering Poll:
How to Wash and Care for Your Baby's Cloth Diapers
Your cloth diaper washing task is easier if you start with the wet pail method. Add water with baking soda to the diaper pail. After flushing the child's waste down the toilet (hold tightly to one end of the diaper - plumbing bills for clogged toilets ruin the savings - add the diaper to the pail and close the lid.When you're ready for a diaper wash, drain the water into the toilet before adding diapers to the wash.
The soaking process is like a pre-wash, but if you only wash once a week, the presoak becomes stagnant water, which is disgusting. If you wash several times a week, this works well.
Avoid over-stuffing the washer. About 24 baby diapers or 15 adult diapers are enough for a wash load. Use two wash cycles, the shorter cold water wash and the second - a regular hot water wash.
Make sure you use unscented detergent that is hypoallergenic. You can add a half cup of distilled white vinegar to help with odor elimination. Remember to fasten the side closings so that you don't end up with a diaper chain where the closing create little pills on the fabric.
Use medium dryer heat, unless the cloth diapers are made from wool, and then follow the manufacturer's directions. When possible, hang diapers to dry in the sun. The sun's heat sanitizes even better than the dryer - plus, the cloth diapers get that clean, outdoors smell.If a cloth diaper has a lingering order after a wash and dry, that suggests the presence of bacteria. Soak that diaper in bleach, rinse several times, and then put it in the wash cycle again. Add a safety pin to that cloth diaper to remind you to check again for scent problems.
A Single Cloth Diapering Kit That Has It All!
Bummis Cotton Cloth Diapering Kit: 8-15 lbs
Amazon Price: $145.00 (as of 07/10/2009)
List Price: $145.00
"My son has not had a messy leak since we started using these. I put him in disposables one time after buying cloth and the diaper basically exploded as soon as he had a movement. I have only used a disposable once since then and it was for half an hour while his diaper covers were drying. These are fantastic."
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Avg. Customer Rating: 
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Want to Know How to Make Your Own Cloth Diapers?
It's Easy, Frugal, and Rewarding!
Making cloth diapers is easy - Grandma did it and so can you! You don't need great sewing skills. If you can sew a straight stitch or use a serger, then you can make cloth diapers for children or adults.Start with a diaper (cloth or disposable). Place it on paper and trace for a pattern. You can also search online for free diaper patterns. Flannel or cotton are good fabric choices for cloth diapers. You can also use cotton knit interlock, terry cloth, micro-fleece or organic cotton fabrics.
These fabrics come in a variety of colors and prints. Buy one yard (36", 45" or 54") and experiment with how to get the maximum number of diapers per yard. You may want to double or triple the layers depending on the fabric thickness.
Sew around the edges, and then apply Velcro for side closings and you're done! In an hour or two, you can sew a dozen diapers. You can also save money by making your own baby wipes. Use lightweight cotton fabric and cut into 8x8 squares (or any size you want).
Serge or zig zag stitch around the edges. Fold them and place inside a similar size plastic lidded box that disposable wipes come in. Make a solution of 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar, and 4 drops of Lavender Chamomile or tea tree oil.
Pour just enough over the wipes to keep them moist and save the rest in the refrigerator. You can also use 1 cup of water and 4 tablespoons of baby wash. Making your own cloth diapers is easy and saves money, but you can also buy some pre-made ones online to have as a back-up whenever you need them!
Cloth Diapers on YouTube
See cloth diapers in action through the power of video!
Celebrities Use Cloth Diapers!
It's not just invogue for Tinseltown to use cloth diapers - it's popular everywhere thanks to the green movement and more Moms and Dads being conscious about what they're doing to the environment.Look who uses cloth diapers in Hollywood:
1. Madonna
2. Maggie Gyllenhaal
3. Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams
4. Dave Matthews
5. Mariska Hargitay
6. Juila Roberts
7. Anna Belknap of CSI New York
Are You a Fan of Cloth Diapers?
TheGreenerMe wrote...
Excellent work! I think it's very important that everyone consider using cloth diapers. Welcome to A Million Ways to Go Green.
Posted February 08, 2009
dlcummings wrote...
Really nice lens, I have some cloth diapers just laying around, I haven't used them yet because they are the kind that require a safty pen, but I didn't find any safty pens at the store. 5 stars for you!
Posted November 17, 2008
BalterCatalogue wrote...
Check out the articles on cloth diapering at my natural baby lens!
Posted September 14, 2008
poutine wrote...
I used both for my children.
If I had to redo it, I would chose only cloth diapers as I am more aware now of the impact on the landfill and the budget.
Poutine
Posted September 09, 2008
donaldpant
Cloth diapers is the traditional way, my granny used to share her experience with her children when she was used to using cotton napkins - thick ones for diaper purpose. One advantage is - no rashes.
Donald
Skin Tag Removal
Posted June 22, 2008
riff999 wrote...
Am a big supporter of cloth diapers. All one has to do is look at the local landfill and you will see the benefits of cloth diapers. Great lens.
~Jane
Posted March 27, 2008
Pastiche wrote...
I'm a veteran of cloth diapers! I wore 'em, changed them on my siblings PLUS I used them for both my daughters (now grown). They're a bit more work than tossables, but they're a HUGE amount better for the planet and for baby's skin. 5*s - great lens!
Posted March 19, 2008
babynaturale wrote...
I love it. Great lense. Check ours out too! It is new and has a new You Tube video we made.
Posted March 16, 2008
StephenC wrote...
Good stuff! Cloth diapers may be coming back as a way to save money.
My wife is an RN and has a website on breastfeeding.
www.BreastMilkisBest.com
StephenC
Posted March 14, 2008
Creative Mommy wrote
I just started using cloth diapers after I found out that I was having another child. So I bought a bunch of cloth diapers for the new baby so we could save money! My son was 2 1/2 yrs old when I started and have already saved over $80.00, and I have only spent about $100 in cloth diapers, and I have over 20 of them! Now I am going to start making cloth diapers with the prefolds I have because I like the all in ones better! So I found a web site where I can turn my prefolds in all in ones! I am going to save so much money on not buying the brand new ones! They are like 25$ a diaper! But now all I am going to spend in making them is under $50!
Posted February 11, 2008
MamaWise wrote...
Hey, very nice lens. I lensrolled it and favorited it. Feel free to visit my cloth diapering lens Cloth Diapering Your Baby and do the same if you like it!
Posted February 08, 2008
safewell wrote...
Great lens here! So ,many people do not even know cloth diapers are available!
Posted December 01, 2007
cloth_diaper_diva wrote...
I see my husband has been here... great lens... Feel free to check out my cloth diaper lens and cloth diaper blog.">
Posted November 25, 2007
just_a_guy wrote...
Great lens. 5 stars! My wife is a WAHM that has a blog on cloth diapering. We've be at it a couple years and love it. You can check her out at www.clothdiaperdiva.net
Posted November 14, 2007
JackieLee wrote...
Great lens. I too use and love cloth diapers. Please lensroll my cloth diaper lens. :)
Jackie Lee
Shop,Save,Earn and Change the World
Posted October 20, 2007
trueprosperity wrote...
The information her is very resourceful. Good job !!
5 Stars. Please lensroll my lens it's abou diaper bags.
God Bless
Posted August 28, 2007
EverythingMouse wrote...
This is a great lens for raising awareness for cloth diapers. I use them for my youngest child and wish I had discovered them sooner! Fuzzi Bunz is the product I use.
Posted July 31, 2007
Gail_Faulkner wrote...
Great info here. I used Cloth diapers for all my children aswell. Thanks for visiting my diapering lens. Gail
Posted July 29, 2007
Graceonline wrote...
Excellent lens, and I'm voting for it on www.lensroll.com, too. I used 100 percent cotton diapers for my babies 35 years ago, cut some up for nursing pads. When the babies were out of diapers, I had the best cleaning rags ever!
Posted July 26, 2007
Minivan_Mama wrote...
This is a great lens and your Diaper Jungle site is wonderful! 5 stars, more if I could.
Alpha Omega Homeschool Curriculum Review
Posted July 19, 2007
nicoladoula wrote...
Thank-you for a fabulous resource! I needed a great Lens to point to for cloth diapering.
Posted July 17, 2007
Tiffany wrote...
That's great! I hope you like cloth diapering as much as I did.
Posted July 03, 2007
