Why Choose Cloth Diapers?
Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers
1. Your baby's well being.
Disposable diapers contain poisons. Parents should to avoid buying disposable diapers for their babies as they contain toxic chemicals and materials that may be risky to a baby's health. As babies are building their immune system and working to grow healthy organs and bodies to last them a lifetime, exposure to toxic materials can hinder their development and cause long-term problems to their health. Baby skin is also thinner and more prone to chemical injury as chemicals are more readily absorbed into their body.
Disposable diapers are made of a large number of artificial materials such as polyethylene film for the plastic shell of the diaper, polyester (for the porous top sheet of the diaper) polypropylene (for the diaper liner), pulp fluff from chlorine-treated wood pulp (which produces dioxin, a cancer-causing substance as by-product), sodium polyacrylate (toxic super absorbent gel), oil and potentially allergic resin, hazardous perfume, and other harmful chemicals like tributyltin. Some of these substances can cause extensive harm to baby - from painful rashes and asthma to infertility and cancer in adult life.
Manufactures of disposable diapers often claim that it can keep babies dry for hours. This quality is attributed to the use of sodium polyacrylate. This is a gel found in the centre of diapers which locks wetness away from baby's skin. It is added to diapers in a granular powdered form, which turns into gel when wet. Also known as polymer crystals, sodium polyacrylate can absorb 200-300 times its weight in water and hold it in a rubbery gel.
The use of sodium polyacrylate in disposable diapers will facilitate less diaper changing from parents - which leads to rashes because of babies' exposure to absorbent chemicals, bacterial growth and ammonia from accumulated urine in the diaper and at the same time "pulls" natural moisture (not just urine) from the baby skin which will encourage irritation. The substance has been reported to cause severe skin irritation, bleeding from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever and vomiting infections to baby. Baby will spend about 25,000 hours in diapers during the first years of life. This is an extremely long-time to expose babies to chemical present in the diapers.
Only 7% of babies using cloth diapers experience diaper rash as opposed to 60% using disposables.
2. Save the environment.
Leave a cleaner world behind for your baby, and your grandchildren. Disposables leave behind an average of 2.7 tons of non-biodegradable waste (not to mention the waste produced by manufacturing them alone) per child. Compare that to a few dozen cotton diapers, and the responsible choice also becomes an easy one.
3. Save money.
With disposables, my conservative estimate shows that you spend an average of P21,609.43 per year per child till they potty train. In 3 and a half years, one will spend a staggering amount of P 75,633.00 in disposable diapers.. (Please see computation below). This is if your child stops using disposables after 3 and a half years old. But a lot of kids wear disposables even at the age of 4 and beyond. Cloth compares at only an average of P 9,266.67 per child per year for all the diapering age (with the added but minimal cost of electricity and water to launder them), so a total of P 27,800.00 till the maximum weight of 35 lbs. What a great excuse to start a college fund for your baby now, and you can rest assure that your money is being well-spent and not going to "waste" in a land-fill!
Cost of using disposables (conservative estimate):
A newborn needs to be changed about 12 times a day.2 months (60 days) @ 12 diapers per day @ P 8.00 per diaper = P 5,760.00
An infant needs to be changed about 8 times a day.10 months (305 days) @ 6 diapers daytime per day @ P 8.00 per diaper = P 14,640.00
10 months (305 days) @ 2 diapers night time diapers per day @ P 11.00 per diaper = P 6,710.00
A toddler needs to be changed about 7 times a day.12 months (365 days) @ 5 diapers daytime per day @ P 9.00 per diaper = P 16,425.00
12 months (365 days) @ 2 diapers night time per day @ P 11.00 per diaper = P 8,030.00
A child who is potty-learning needs to be changed about 4 times a day.18 months (547 days) @ 4 diapers a day @ P 11.00 per diaper = P 24,068.00
Total spent on disposables = P 75,633.00
Cost of using BEST BOTTOM diapers (with washing machine):
BIRTH TO 14 LBS10 covers (used until potty training) @ P 850.00 each = P 8,500.00
24 stay dry inserts @ P 200.00 each = P 4,800.00
11 to 22 LBS
24 stay dry inserts @ P 200.00 each = P 4,800.00
6 overnight inserts @ P 350.00 each = P 2,100.00
16 to 35 LBS
24 stay dry inserts @ P 200.00 each = P 4,800.00
8 overnight inserts @ P 350.00 each = P 2,800.00
Total spent on cloth diapers = P 27,800.00
That's a savings of P 47,833.00! Best of all, you can keep the diapers for your next child! I didn't put electricity and detergent costing because I wash the best bottom diapers with my family's laundry using just champion detergent. Softeners, enzymes and bleach are not allowed because they destroy the efficiency of the cloth diapers. I do not see a difference in my detergent and electricity bill. These diapers are quite trim so they do not add much space in the washing machine.
4. Potty training is easier, and happens earlier.
It's a little-known fact that cloth diaper children potty train earlier, and with less effort on their parent's part. This has mostly to do with the fact that when a cloth diaper is wet, they can feel the sensation. Chemical laden disposables can feel so dry, your baby never gets a chance to understand what their body is doing.
5. Cotton diapers are gel free.
Polyacrylate gel in diapers is a relatively new phenomenon, and no one really knows what the long term effects are. It also leaches moisture from your babies skin. Additionally, disposables are full of dioxins. While non-organic cotton cloth diapers can also have dioxins, they typically are washed out within the first few pre-washes (before your baby will ever wear them), however one-use-only disposables are never rid of them. Additionally, and perhaps the most compelling reason to use cloth diapers, is that disposable diapers containing polyacrylate gel are suspected of exacerbating, and even causing, asthma.
6. Convenience.
Yes, convenience! You'll never have to worry about stacking disposables (which takes alot of space when you live in a condo) or making another late-night trip to your grocery store for a package of disposable diapers. You'll never have to hold your nose while emptying and re-bagging one of those plastics full of dirty diapers. And you'll have a bag less of garbage to get rid of everyday!
Washing Instructions It really is easy! |
A few things worth mentioning before we get to the washing...
- Always use the highest water level setting that your washer allows. Water is your friend when cleaning diapers!
- Use a laundry detergent that is free of dyes, perfumes, enzymes, brighteners, bleach and softeners. Laundry additives may prematurely break down elastic, hook & loop and waterproof material. Follow diaper manufacturer recommendations when considering these. (Recommended local detergent: Champion detergent free from bleach and softeners)
- DO NOT use Fabric Softeners - they will coat cloth diapers and decrease absorbency.
Okay, on to washing...
- Cold water rinse with no detergent. This will rinse any urine and solid residue.
- Hot water wash cycle with detergent using half the amount of detergent you would use for regular laundry. Do NOT use the sanitary cycle.
- Do a second rinse and you can optionally add 3-4 drops of lavender essential oil (this is a natural antiseptic).
- Toss in the dryer - adding a dry towel can lessen the dry time.
A couple more tips...
- Keep a dry cloth diaper pail or hanging wet bag (wet pails require soaking diapers and can be messy and unsanitary).
- Dump any solids (use flushable liners to make it even easier!) or spray with a diaper sprayer before putting in pail or wetbag. Breastfed newborn poop is water-soluble and can be put directly into the washer.
- For hook and loop closures, attach hook & loop closures to laundry tabs before washing to prevent snagging.
- Wash everyday for optimal stain removal for those who line dry the cloth diapers.
- Add a wet towel to your HE washer to "trick" it into adding more water.
- Sunlight gets stains out and sterilizes cloth diapers. (Do this periodically when time and weather allow.)
- Line/air drying diaper covers and pocket shells can help extend the life of the hook & loop closures as well as the elastic (bonus- saves energy!).
- Diapers made of natural materials (cotton, hemp. etc.) need to be washed and dried 5-6 times to prep them to become fully absorbent.
- Diapers made of synthetic materials (microfiber and covers) only need to be washed once before use.
