According to my highly scientific poll of six new parents in the Bay Area, half chose cloth, half chose disposable, and nobody wants to start the whenever/wherever evacuation revolution. Based on our research we found the following pros and cons for these waste disposal methods. Note that these are before we’re actually drowning in diapers.
Oh the sweet diaper changing naivete of first-time parents
Cloth Diapers – Pros
Based on my 3rd grade arithmetic skills, this is the 2nd cheapest waste disposal option. Let’s say you need 20 resizable cloth diapers at about $20 each to have enough available when they’re not soiled, being washed, or waiting to be dried. We’re looking at $400 for these resizable diapers. A high upfront cost, but we know how much we’re spending on the main diapers for the kid’s needs. It’s a cheaper option even with a few disposable diapers for emergencies and babysitter comfort.
Some claim that because a cloth diaper doesn’t absorb fluids as deep as a disposable diaper, the baby’s more likely to realize how uncomfortable a full diaper feels. And with a baby knowing a full diaper isn’t fun, you can (possibly) get the baby potty trained sooner than with disposable diapers. Oh how I dream of the day our kid is potty trained.
Smelly diapers are no trouble with a HAZMAT suit
If all diapers are going to smell, you might as well save money and help the environment while you’re at it. These diapers won’t end up in the landfill for three or four years and they take up cubic tons less space (again I’m bad at arithmetic) than years of disposables. While the diapers give off a glorious smell until washed, you can purchase an airtight container to hold the used diapers where the smell will stay; oh how you’ll pray that the smell stays there.
Today’s cloth diapers are much easier to work with than the last generation’s version. Back in the day, cloth diapers required having clothespins on hand for all diaper changes (good luck if you had none). Also, the pins could poke the baby. Today’s cloth diapers use velcro or buttons for closing and some models allow you to resize based on the baby’s leg size and torso. We read that velcro diapers are tough in the washing machine because they attach to everything so buttons would be the better choice.
Cloth Diapers – Cons
It can be a messy moneysaving exercise. You’ll get up close and personal to your baby’s offerings when you give the used diaper its initial cleaning before stashing it away for later washing machine sanitizing. Some cloth users have added a sprayer to their toilet piping which helps to clean the diaper and avoid getting your hands on the bad stuff. I’m not sure what my limit is on personal space and this messiness.
Can you place a price on diaper pre-washing convenience?
Using cloth diapers requires a strict washing cycle so diapers are always available. A cloth diaper is either waiting to be used, being worn, newly soiled, freshly washed, or air drying (diaper pads/linings may be dried in the dryer, but the actual diaper must be air dried). If you fall behind washing diapers you’ll breakout the emergency stash of disposable diapers. Also, there’s the small cost of water and electricity to wash them.
To appease grandparents or other caregivers who don’t want to get close to the baby’s scrumptious gifts you’ll want a few disposable diapers. It’s what they know, the disposables are easier to work with, and if it helps you get their help then it’s worth the cost. Also, disposables are good to have when going far from home so you don’t have to hold onto smelly cloth diapers, unless you find a good airtight container.
If a diaper smells in the forest, but your nose is behind plastic, does it make a stink?
Diaper rash can take place with any diaper, but using a cloth diaper runs the risk of the baby’s skin reacting to the cloth’s material, lining, or plastic. Once you find a brand that works for your baby’s skin you’re in the clear, but until then there’s a rash possibility. Still though, trying single cloth diapers before buying a larger amount is still much cheaper than going all-in with disposables.
Disposable Diapers – Pros
The baby makes a mess, you remove the diaper, toss it in the garbage, grab a new one that’s clean each and every time, and put it on. There’s no need to consider a cleaning schedule to ensure you have diapers available. You just need to make sure there’s another big box in the house by subscribing to weekly diaper deliveries.
Disposable diapers earn many more credit card points than cloth diapers
Everyone knows how to change a disposable diaper so it’s easier to get help with the baby. Changing a diaper is an easier sell when you can just wrap it up and throw it away. No need to prewash grossness down the toilet before really being done with the full changing process.
Disposable Diapers – Cons
Disposables cost hundreds of dollars more than cloth per year, even with subscription delivery services. Some couples have estimated they spent about $1,000/year on diapers meaning cloth diapers would’ve saved them $2,500 during their first three years.
Once thrown away, disposable don’t disintegrate for many decades (or more) in a landfill. Disposable diapers contribute a mountain of waste that could be avoided with cloth diapers that work just as well. Also, your baby may get too big for the shelves of diapers you bought rendering them unused and wasted. Resizable cloth diapers should last throughout the kid’s newborn to toddler years.
Whenever/Wherever Evacuation – Pros
It’s free! You don’t have to worry about having properly-sized disposables ready or paying a high upfront cost with cloth diapers. No additional, albeit small, costs for garbage bags for disposables or water and electricity to clean cloth diapers.
Don’t order on Amazon, live like you’re in the Amazon!
No worries about rashes and allergic reactions to cloth or plastic linings. This is the most organic, free range, farm fed, gluten free, PBA-free, rBST free, antioxidant rich, locally sourced way for your baby to live. Live and let live as they want! On top of that, if cow manure makes for a great fertilizer, then your baby’s bathroom treats will help plants wherever the baby aims its goods. I haven’t confirmed this to be true.
Whenever/Wherever Evacuation – Cons
If you’re far from dirt and can’t dig a hole, others will think it’s gross, unsanitary, and an easy vehicle to transmit diseases. You won’t be welcomed at a new parents group, you won’t keep your adult friends, and when you’re pushing your kid in a Target shopping cart you’ll set a record for death stares. If you don’t anticipate the movement in time, you’ll do massive amounts of disgusting laundry, all the while finding ways to hide the smell until the washing machine starts.
Our cloth diapers may never be this clean again
Our Choice – Cloth Diapers (with a few Disposables for Babysitters)
We bought 20 cloth diapers with buttons and will maintain a box of disposables for emergencies and babysitters. Cloth diapers require more work and can be messy, but the cost savings, environmental value, and possibility of earlier potty training makes them worth trying. Trying being the key word.
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