Are cloth diapers better?

Both cloth diapers and disposable diapers have their good points and bad points, and for me cloth diapers have always had more good points than bad.

In my opinion yes, cloth diapers are better than disposable diapers in regards to most things such as the environment, money and peace of mind from knowing you will never run out of diapers.

If you want to learn more about cloth diapers check out my article ” Should you choose cloth diapers? Cost & environmental impact”

What are the pros and cons of cloth diapers?

Everything has pros and everything has cons, most of what you see on the news or mainstream channels about cloth diapers seems to focus pretty heavily on the cons of cloth diapers.

Mentioning only how cloth diapers “take time to wash” and “the upfront cost is higher”.

But never pointing out the pros, like how cloth diapers can pay for themselves within a few months, or that cloth diapers tend to cause less rashes because they have less chemicals.

So, a brief list of the pros and cons.

Cloth diaper Pros

• You only have to buy cloth diapers once
• They save you money
• Cloth diapers produce less trash
• Cloth diapers don’t contain harsh chemicals
• Cloth diapers can be used on multiple babies
• You can resell cloth diapers when you are done with them
• You don’t have to remember to buy diapers weekly/monthly
• No emergency diapers runs to the store at midnight

Cloth diaper Cons

• You have to wash cloth diapers
• Cloth diapering does involve a learning curve
• You have to spray poop into the toilet before washing cloth diapers
• Cloth diapers have a larger upfront cost
• You can’t use just any diaper cream with cloth diapers
• Cloth diapers are harder to find than disposables

Now these aren’t every single pro and con that applies to cloth diapering, but you get the idea.

There are also many things about cloth diapers that one person would consider a pro while another person would consider it a con.

For instance, I LOVE all the adorable prints that cloth diapers come in, so I totally consider that a pro.

But someone else may think that the prints are a con because they are too busy, or loud, or because they make you want to buy all the diapers.

If you want to see more on some of the downsides to cloth diapers check out my article ” What are the disadvantages of cloth diapers?”

Money savings with using cloth diapers

The average baby will use 8,760 diapers in the period of time from birth to potty-training.

With the average disposable diaper costing about $0.23 each, that’s $2,014.80, not including your local and/or state tax or wipes.

Now, the average cloth diaper costs about $17.00, but you only need 24-36 so,

$17.00 x 36 = $612.00 without taxes, wipes and shipping.

So that’s a savings of $1,402.80.

And the savings only go up with each baby you cloth diaper.

If you want to know more about the cost involved in cloth diapering check out my article ” How does it cost to cloth diaper? Some numbers you should know”

When should I start cloth diapering?

Now, right now is when you should start cloth diapering.

You may be thinking “but I’m not 110% prepared right now” and while I totally get that, the truth is you will never, ever be 110% prepared.

When my first baby was 1 month old and our baby shower disposables were about to run out, I was SO not ready, or at least that’s how I felt.

I literally have no idea why I felt that way because I had all the stuff, the diaper sprayer had been hooked up for like 2 months, all the cloth diapers were folded and stuffed and ready to rock and roll.

I even had the ingredients ready for the spiffy homemade cloth wipe solution I was gonna use (that lasted like 3 months, using just water is way easier :)).

I had coconut oil and had done extensive research on all the cloth diaper safe rash creams.

So, in reality I was very ready to start cloth diapering, I had just built it up in my mind as this big scary life changing thing, when it really wasn’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, for me cloth diapering has been life changing, when money was tight with a mortgage, a dog, 3 cats, 2 goats, 3 rabbits and 2 1/2 little kids, we didn’t have to worry about diapers.

However, if you have a newborn and really, really, really want to wait to start cloth diapering until your baby fits into the one-size cloth diapers or if your baby isn’t even born yet then yeah, go ahead and wait a little while.

But just so you know, it’s never too late to start cloth diapering.

If you want to learn more about getting started with cloth diapering check out my article ” How to start cloth diapering”

If you want to know about cloth diapering a toddler, check out this article

And if you are wanting to know if cloth diapering a newborn is even worth it, check out my article ” Are newborn cloth diapers worth it? Cost & cheaper options”

Do babies in cloth diapers potty-train faster?

Many people believe that all cloth diapers feel wet when baby pees in them and therefore since baby can feel that they are wet they will potty-train faster.

I personally have not found that to be true, at least not for me.

My oldest is 3 years old and is still pretty sure that using the potty is dumb.

But the thing is only about half of her cloth diapers have a natural fiber lining and therefore feel wet, the other half are stay-dry because that’s what I preferred when she was younger, so that’s what I have the most of.

And contrary to popular belief, disposable diapers don’t feel 100% dry on baby’s skin.

So, to say that a cloth diapered baby will potty-train faster because they can feel the wetness only makes sense if you’re talking about cloth diapers that are made of 100% natural fibers.

And even then, there is no guaranty that your baby will potty-train faster.

If you want to learn more about cloth diapers and whether or not they feel wet check out my article ” Do cloth diapers feel wet?”

Resources

Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) from qualifying purchases made through those links. * Indicates an affiliate link

Link to SprayPal cloth diaper sprayer on clothdiapers.com *

Link to favorite natural fiber lined cloth diaper the Thirsties natural pocket diaper on greenmountaindiapers.com

Link to favorite stay-dry cloth diaper the Thirsties stay-dry pocket diaper on greenmountaindiapers.com