Tree Hugging Family - Living Green

8 opinions for Got Cloth Diapers?

• Julie F
  Jun 22, 2008 at 7:29 pm

  I know I’m going to get smacked for this, but I haaaate cloth diapers. I feel like they’re sort of the paper in the plastic vs paper bag argument.

  When you use cloth, you’re washing a lot more. More detergent, more water, more electricity, and just a lot of stink. Plus so many people use bleach on the darn things. I have a 33 gallon trash bag full of them along with another bag full of wash cloths just for bum-washing. It was a nightmare!

  Add in leaks…washing blankets, sheets, and even a pillow now and then. Yikes.

  But I must add that I had 3 in diapers at once. For someone who has only one poo’ing and pee’ing, then it might be ok.

• Summer
  Jun 22, 2008 at 8:18 pm

  Opposite of Julie I actually love my cloth diapers. It took a little bit to get a system, but now leaking isn’t a problem at all. Not much extra washing either for me, though I use eco-friendly washing methods rather than store bought detergents and such.

  I wrote an article on cloth diapers and the environment last year.

• Julie F
  Jun 22, 2008 at 8:44 pm

  My problem was not having a system. My older daughter had bladder issues and it took a very long time to get her out of diapers. That’s why I had 3 at once in them.

• Jennifer
  Jun 22, 2008 at 10:23 pm

  test comment

• Jennifer
  Jun 22, 2008 at 10:28 pm

  Sorry about that test comment, I’ve been banned again?! Grrrr. In any case, you do need a system with cloth, and three kids in cloth is quite a big deal. I don’t agree with the whole water/energy vs. landfill argument though. Everyone always says that, but water, though costly and important is not the same as using land space for diapers that won’t compose; water comes back, if we run out of energy we can heat it with fire, we run out of land we’re screwed. But I can’t imagine cloth (or disposable) diapering three at once, so…

• Julie F
  Jun 22, 2008 at 10:36 pm

  There is a company looking into recycling disposable diapers. Not sure how it would work, but I do hope they are able to do it. I might try it again this year, by the time the new one gets here I should have Little Man trained.

  Also, I didn’t have the new all in ones, just a few that have snaps, the rest flats, and they all needed covers. If you have the money to spend in the beggining to get the good cloths, I am sure they’re much better than what I have now.

• Rebecca
  Jun 23, 2008 at 12:34 am

  Thanks for the links to the Green Baby Guide! The post that started with a debate here on Treehugging Family was actually called “Green Breakthrough: Washing Cloth Diapers in Cold Water.”

  Also, Julie F, a British study in 2005 determined that the environmental impact of cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers was about equal . . . after looking into it further, I found out that this was because people were not using the most responsible methods for washing them. I think I said this over on the “Wash in Cold Water” debate here on THF. So, if you use eco-friendly detergents and don’t waste water and energy with extra rinses and hot water, using cloth diapers should wind up being MUCH better.

  I think it must be a challenge to have three in diapers no matter what kind you’re using!

• Save money by using cloth diapers | Pregnancy & Baby Blog
  Sep 22, 2008 at 9:10 pm

  […] Got Cloth Diapers? […]

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