6 Bold Reasons To Choose Cloth Diapers

The use of disposable diapers can be an expensive affair. Above that, they are bad for our environment.

Switching over to reusable diapers made of clothes can be a better option for you and our planet earth.

Here are the 6 reasons to encourage you to use reusable cloth diapers for your newborn.

6 Reason To Choose Cloth Diapers Over Disposable Diapers

#1. Reusable Diapers Costs Less

The cost of using disposable diapers for babies can be an expensive affair. On average, parents would need about 60 diapers per week. This number could be higher for newborn and young babies. If we make a rough calculation, that would cost about ₹3,000 per month just for disposable diapers. The cost can increase or decrease a bit depending on the brand and quantity you choose.

This cost of disposable diapers can add up to ₹36,000 per year. On the other hand costs of buying a set of 10 reusable diapers would be around ₹1,000 and they would be good to use for 2-3 years. Even if you buy 20 cloth diapers and use them only for one year, then also cost would be ₹2,000 for a year.

There are many options available in reusable diapers as well, from economically priced cloth diapers to expensive ones. Even if you buy an expensive variety of cloth diapers, you would save a ton of money overall.

#2. Less Environmental Impact

If you use reusable cloth diapers, you will drastically cut on the waste you produce daily. As you will reuse them and not send them out to landfills. And the concept of reusing is key to living an eco-friendly lifestyle.

You would decimate your carbon footprint by using the cloth reusable diapers as you would use only 20 cloth diapers against 720 disposable diapers in a year. The cloth diapers would use energy and water to wash and dry them. So, it is advisable to not use cloth diapers in place with water scarcity and in dire need of water conservation.

#3. Made Of Natural Materials

The inner lining of cloth reusable diapers is made up of cotton, bamboo, or some other natural fabric. These natural fabrics are smooth on the skin of the baby and less irritative on your little one’s sensitive skin. The disposable diapers often use plastics and other chemicals that cause irritation or redness on kids’ skin. There is a chance of developing rashes or infections on babies’ skin with regular use of disposable diapers.

The natural material used with cloth reusable diapers also makes sure that they are decomposable. This means even if the cloth diapers are thrown away, they will decompose with time. And don’t stay there forever in the environment like disposable diapers.

#4. Better For Baby’s Health

Reusable diapers are better for the skin of your baby. The presence of chemicals or other artificial material in disposable diapers can trigger allergies.

The cloth diapers use natural fabrics that don’t contain any chemicals that could be toxic for the baby. Above that, cloth diapers are more breathable than disposable diapers, which means they will prevent rashes from developing.

#5. Helps in Toilet Training

The disposable diapers are designed to stay dry for longer durations. That means that by wearing disposable diapers your baby would fail to get the necessary cues for toilet training.

The reusable diapers absorb fewer liquids compared to disposable diapers. So, if your baby wears a reusable diaper, the feeling of wetness will provide basic cues for toilet training. By the feeling of wetness, they will understand their body signals better and get trained for the toilet easily.

#6. Cloth Diapers Are More Adorable

Most of the disposable diapers are plain white with no design. While the reusable diapers come with plenty of design options that look adorable on your baby.

Types of Cloth Diapers

The cloth diapers have changed a lot from the times of your grandmother. Modern reusable diapers don’t need safety pins or extra plastic covers for protection. The modern-day reusable cloth diapers are available in a lot of designs and shapes, which are easy to use.

Check out: Best cloth diapers in India

Here are 6 types of cloth reusable diapers that are available nowadays.

#1. Flats and Prefolds

Prefold diapers are rectangular that you can fold and attach to the diaper clip. You would need to add a cover above prefolds as they are not waterproof. After the diaper gets soiled, you can replace the prefold inside and reuse the same cover if it is still clean.

#2. Fitted Cloth Diapers

The fitted cloth diapers are usually made of absorbent material with elastic on the leg and back to support diapers. Some fitted cloth diapers might have snaps or Velcro closures for easy use. The fitted cloth diapers are also not waterproof so you might need to use a waterproof cover for protection. And you can simply replace the cloth diaper if the cover is clean.

#3. Contour Diapers

The contour diapers are free-size diapers that can be fitted easily around the legs of your baby. But it might require you to add a pin or diaper clip to secure them. You would also need to add a waterproof cover for extra protection.

#4. Pocket Diapers

The pocket diapers come with a waterproof layer and mostly look like disposable diapers. These diapers have a pocket inside the waterproof lining. You can use this pocket for inserting the diaper or prefold for better absorption.

#5. All-in-Ones (AIOs)

AIOs are mostly more like disposable diapers made of cloth. These pocket diapers gave a waterproof layer on the outside and multiple absorbent layers inside the diaper.

#6. Hybrids/All-in-Twos (AI2s)

AI2 diapers have a detachable layer inside the diapers that can be used to customize the absorbing ability of the diaper. They offer you the ability to replace the soiled inserts with new ones, keeping the outer layer the same.

Cloth Diapers vs Disposable Pros And Cons

Cloth Diaper Vs Disposable Pros

1. Cloth Diapers being reusable diapers make the overall cost of diapers less as cloth reusable diapers can be washed and reused many times.
2. The environment impact of cloth reusable diapers is many times lower than disposable diapers.
3. The cloth reusable diapers are made using natural material that means they will decompose after its life cycle ends.
4. Cloth reusable diapers are made using breathable material that means they help avoid rashes on baby’s skin.
5. Cloth reusable diapers are of great help when it comes to potty train your little one.

Cloth Diaper Vs Disposable Cons

1. Cleaning the poop could be troubling initially, when you start using cloth reusable diapers.
2. You might need to more frequently do laundry for keeping the cloth reusable diapers clean and ready for use.
3. Cloth reusable diapers are less absorbent than the disposable diapers.
4. Huge upfront cost to buy the cloth diapers.

Pros And Cons Of Cloth Diapers

Pros of Cloth Diapers	Cons of Cloth Diapers
The overall cost of using cloth diapers is less compared to disposable diapers	Cleaning the poop could be troubling initially when you start using cloth reusable diapers.
The environmental impact of cloth reusable diapers is many times lower than disposable diapers.	You might need to more frequently do laundry for keeping the cloth reusable diapers clean and ready for use.
The cloth reusable diapers are made using natural material that means they will decompose after their life cycle ends.	Cloth reusable diapers are less absorbent than disposable diapers.
Cloth reusable diapers are made using breathable material that means they help avoid rashes on the baby’s skin.	The huge upfront cost to buy the cloth diapers.
Cloth reusable diapers are of great help when it comes to potty training your little one.

Conclusion

The disposable diapers are convenient to use, but the overall environmental impact of these can’t be denied. The presence of toxic chemicals in disposable diapers can also potentially harm the skin of your baby.

To save the environment and money you need to return to the age-old practice of using cloth diapers for babies. The cloth diapers available nowadays are far superior to those used by your grandparents. You get all sorts of diapers with Velcro and buttons to make it easy for you to use them.

You might feel the extra burden of laundry initially, but it would become part of your daily routine slowly. And at the end of that, you will be proud of the amount of waste you prevented from going into landfills.

Check here the list of best cloth diapers available out there.

You can find here the list of eco-friendly products that you can use in your daily routine to help you reduce your carbon footprint.  

Frequently Asked Questions On Cloth Diapers

#1. How to wash cloth diapers?

To fully understand how to wash cloth diapers follow the following steps.

Step 1: Pre-Clean Diapers Before Washing

Before getting started with washing the cloth diapers, you should pre-clean the cloth diapers from all the solid waste (poop) that is in the diaper. You can use a water sprayer of your toilet to rinse clean the diaper and reduce the mess that it might create otherwise.

Step 2: Wash Reusable diaper With Detergent

After removing all the residue in step 1, now you should wash it with regular laundry detergent. You can use the washing machine for this step or wash it by hand, whichever is more suitable for you.

Step 3: Dry the Cloth Diaper

Now you need to dry the cloth reusable diaper using the drier or on the cloth lines under the sun. As the sun will help remove stains and naturally sanitize the cloth reusable diapers.

With this, you are done with washing the cloth reusable diaper.

Tip: You should wash the new cloth diapers before starting to use them on your babies.

#2. Can I use cloth diapers for newborn?

Yes, you can use the cloth reusable diapers on your newborn, just make sure they are exactly of the size that fits your newborn.

Visit here to find out the cloth diapers suitable for newborns.

#3. How to fold a cloth diaper?

To easily understand how to fold a cloth diaper watch this very helpful video to assist you in this.

#4. How to use cloth diapers for newborns?

It is very easy to use cloth diapers for newborns. To help you better understand to do exactly that watch this video that explains it well.

#5. How to use snappi cloth diaper fasteners?

Snappi Cloth diaper fasteners are very helpful in putting cloth diapers on your baby with ease. To understand how to use snappi cloth diaper fasteners watch this video that explains the process.

To buy the snappi cloth diaper fasteners check here.

#6. How to use super bottom cloth diaper?

You can use super bottom cloth diapers just like any other cloth diaper. To better understand how to do that you can watch this video to provide you with clarity.

To check out the best super bottom cloth diaper you can visit here.

#7. How to wash cloth diapers for the first time?

The process of washing the cloth diapers for the first time is the same as you might wash any other laundry item.

To understand how to wash the cloth diapers you can read the first answer that explains it well.

#8. When to change cloth diaper?

Ideally, you can change the cloth diaper every 2 hours. But it will all depend entirely on how wet the cloth diaper is and the absorption ability of the diaper. You should check that in how much time does the cloth diaper gets wet and start replacing the cloth diapers accordingly.

#9. How many hours cloth diapers can be used?

Ideally, you should replace the cloth diaper every 2 hours but it will depend upon the diaper absorption ability. Check regularly for a few days and come up with time be it 2 hours or more set it yourself and replace it accordingly.