cloth diaper myth:I spend a lot of time washing

I have a question for you, do you have to scrap the stuff out of the diapers? I think I would be sick, some of those diapers are nasty with little "surprises" (if you know what I mean). I don't think it would be hard to wash them, and I think they are better for the environment, but I just couldn't imagine scrapping the surprises out of those diapers :X. Have a nice day. Pablo

I think cloth diapering is great! We don't do it at our house, though. A lot of it is the washing, but not because of the time issue. It's about actually doing the washing. Since it's a two step process in the washer, that alone is enough to make it something not practical for us. Our washer and dryer are down in the basement, and the baby isn't allowed to go down there right now. That means that even if I felt like I could do the extra laundry, I wouldn't have the time. Another issue is just that I don't do laundry. I've got some back problems that make it hard for me to bend over and stand back up multiple times in a row like when you do laundry. When I do laundry, it usually ends up with me not being able to pick up my son because of the back strain. SO I skip it. The only time my husband has time to do laundry is on weekends (he works a lot of 13-14 hour shifts). It wouldn't be practical at all for us to have enough cloth diapers to last a week! One myth that I've run across the other way, is how much money you save by buying cloth. Most people that say that, quote that the average child goes through 6000 diapers before they potty train. And that cloth diapers cost between $500-1000 for a set to last the whole time. So you save $2000-5000 by buying cloth instead. I'm not sure where these people shop, but I don't spend anywhere near $1 on each disposable diaper. :) In fact we watch for sales and use coupons, and never pay more than 15 cents each, and that's even with him wearing a bigger size (we only use brand names, too). When he was in newborns and 1's, we spent less than 9 cents on each, and can still do that sometimes with sales and coupons. So assuming that my average cost per diaper is 12 cents, I will spend $720 on 6000 diapers. I also don't buy detergent for them, which means that in that area I save a little bit more over cloth diapering. So I think that all in all, if you know how to shop, they equal out to being around the same price. The one advantage is that you can use the same cloth on future kids if you plan on having them. But, unless you can use those same diapers on 8 kids or more (and I'm under the impression taht they don't usuaully last THAT long?) you aren't saving anywhere near the $5000 that some people claim. I don't mean to be a cloth diaper critic or anything. Like I said, if I could do the laundry and still take good care of my son, I would use the cloth diapers. But the price is a myth that I've heard over and over.

Asside from all the common myths I get people, mostly family, assuming that i HAVE to use cloth. LOL They try to give my spossies all the time so that i won't "have to use cloth". As if i didn't have any choice in the matter! LOL

The one that bugs me is the idea that cloth is somehow less sanitary or gross. Diapers are pretty gross regardless of the type. We flush the solids (which by the way you are suppose to do with disposables too)and toss it all into a hot wash with detergent. There isn't really any difference in "gross" factor with cloths.

I really wish I had looked into cloth diapers more when I was pregnant. I have probably spent so much money in diapers it's not even funny. If you don't mind me asking how many diapers did you buy and how much did they cost? My daughter is 18 months old now and I'm not sure I want to switch to cloth this late in the game. But if it would save me some money I might be willing to do it.

I think people think it takes up a lot of time washing because we 'forget' to a certain point that there are washing machines that do the work. At least for me, the first thing that pops in my head when I hear cloth diapers is a woman in the back of her house washing by hand a HUGE stack of white clothes! It's one of those weird mental pictures.

Oh I had no idea that these still excisted. I learn something new everyday here on mylot. Thought that clothdiapers was in the past and that noone used them anymore. this discussions showed me otherwise =)

People always ask me how gross it is. It's not really that gross. Plus a lot of people still think that you need to boil them on the stove and they are the huge sheets of cloth that you have to fold. They also ask about the danger of pins. I have to explain the them about pocket diapers, all in ones, prefolds, and the wonderful invention of the Snappi. It's an extra load of laundry every couple of days and that is about the only difference. We drop the solids off in the toliet (and people still think you need to toilet dunk) and sometimes spray off not-so=solids. If you look on the side of a box of Pampers or whatever brand you have, it says you are supposed to drop the solids off in the toliet before tossing the disposable diaper anyway. I think it is great that you cloth diaper!

I must admit, I have never used cloth diapers. I have always thought that they will leak all over the place. Is this another myth of cloth diapers?

We raised all our kids in cloth diapers and it was a breeze wash the pail full every 2-4 days and were good to go we did use diposable s when we traveled or when they were starting to sleep thru the night but by the time they were 2 they were potty trained and we only ever had to get 3 bags of diposables cause 90% of the tiem they were still dry in the morning, and then we were done with diapers.

I hear the myth that cloth diapers don't keep your baby dry. People say, don't they just sit in their pee? I tll them about All in Ones or pocket diapers. There are so many differnt types out there to try. My dad said oh just wait until you stick her with a pin. I said what pins. We have snaps and velcro rarely do people use pins. I love my cloth diapers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One myth that I have come across is that water usage for cleaning actually makes cloth diapering the less enviornmentally friendly choice. Hogwash, lol! If that were the case then would it be more enviornmentally friendly for all of us to wear disposible clothing everyday rather than washing and reusing our pants and shirts? And dare I say our underwear too? Also, a lot of water is used to manufactur disposible diapers which can't be ignored. By the way, my son is super skinny with saggy shorts as well. We do mostly wool shorts now over fitteds. I have to size down. He is 20 months and today I bought him a pair of 6-9 months shorts just so that they would stay up. And that is even with a fluffy cloth bum!

I don't have any children in diapers and I didn't go for the cloth diapers when they were little. To be honest they didn't even have that option around here. I couldn't find cloth diapers even if I had wanted to. lol I just wanted to say that I think it is great that you are trying to do something good for the enviroment by using cloth diapers! Congratulations!

I must admit I have never used cloth, but I bought fuzzi bunz back before my third son was born in 2005, and the hemp liners, however everyone was giving me crap about using them, so I sold them all on ebay and went with disposables. Wish I would have looked more into them.

cloth diapering myths: 1) takes too much time 2) it's unsanitary 3) can't keep up with the laundry 4) it's hard 5) it's just gross 6) it stinks 7) baby will be wet 8) just as expensive as disposables 9) the energy expended in washing takes away from the environmental friendliness i'm sure i've missed a few. using cloth diapers we hear it all. such as oooh what do u do with the poop...well lets see, we wash it off our precious babies bottom then we wash it off their diaper..and what do you do with your babies poop. most disposable diaper users throw it in the trash!!!! what on earth is grosser or more unsanitary than that. hmmmm are we back in the ages of throwing human waste in the streets???? go to any walmart and i can guarantee that within a 24 hr period someone will leave a dirty disposable diaper either in the parking lot or in a shopping cart....now that's what i call gross!!! you never see that from a cloth diapering family. how hard is it really to throw a few diapers in a washing machine?? i say it's easier than running to the grocery store because i'm down to my last few diapers. it stinks: nope actually disposables stink more..the cloth diapers don't get that chemically smell when your baby pees. yes we need to change them more frequently but it's not because our babies pee more but rather because we are more conscious of them doing it and don't want them sitting in a pee diaper. when i watched a baby in disposables i changed him just as much...and if disposables users changed their babies whenever they peed, for sanitary purposes...they would go broke even if they are the most frugal sale shopper and coupon user.

I had to use cloth diapers as there were few alternatives way back when I was a mom but let me tellyou i would gladly have used pams or whatever brands are out there now if they had been available as I had two kids ten months apart and loads of diapers and I did not like washing them or the stench of dirty diaper pails as no matter how much you washed them out they stil had an odor if left over a few hours. I am now eighty andi still remember that stench. no i vote for the cleanness and odorlessness of paper diapers every time.

Cloth diapers should be handwashed. Is this a myth? I prefer to handwash my son's cloth diaper 'coz I want them cleaned very well. After its hang and dried I ironed them before use. Imagine, its taking me longer to have them washed and cleaned than use which is at most 1hr. LOL. Anyway, this is to make sure he's prevented from having diaper rash. At night, I use disposables 'coz I wanted him to sleep longer. Well, he hates being wet.