The Great Cloth vs. Disposables Debate
When the topic of cloth diapers came up while I was pregnant with Madeline, I dismissed the idea almost immediately. When I thought of cloth diapers, I thought of pins poking small babies, complicated and leaky pieces of fabric that somehow had to be wrapped around a baby, and of course, lots of smelly laundry.
The smelly laundry factor may still be true (unless you can afford a diaper service)… But in the past year I’ve learned that cloth diapers have changed a lot since our mothers or grandmothers may have used them. While it might be exaggerating slightly to say they have moved into the 21st century, innovations in style like pocket diapers and “all in one” diapers, along with closures like velcro, snaps, and “snappis” to hold the diapers in place, certainly make the idea of cloth diapering a lot more palatable.
A couple of years ago, I don’t think I knew a single person who currently used cloth diapers. I now have a number of friends and acquaintances (both here in Minnesota and back in Iowa) who are either using cloth or are considering it. Cloth diapering is a growing trend among parents in general — between the money savings it brings during uncertain economic times, the environmental concerns presented by throwing diapers in landfills, and the health concerns that some parents have about the chemicals used to manufacture disposable diapers, more and more parents are making the switch.
So, what about us? Well, first off let me say that the soonest I would consider using cloth is when the new baby arrives. I am super sensitive to smells while I am pregnant, and I just don’t think I could stomach rinsing off Erik’s smelly diapers, even with a nice diaper sprayer.
It’s hard to argue with the cost savings of using cloth. We currently spend about as little as is possible to keep Erik in disposables. We usually buy generic at Target, and our monthly cost is probably only about $25-$30 per month for both diapers and wipes. However, that means we’ve already spent at least $450 on diapers for Erik, and we probably have at least another year left of diapering him. Once baby #3 arrives, we’ll most likely have two kids in diapers for at least 8 months (and that’s assuming Erik can be potty trained at age two-and-a-half, the same age at which we were able to start Madeline in the training process…but I’ve heard boys often train later than girls). So, that would be a monthly cost of at least $50 over that time period. Even with the added laundry cost, buying a decent stash of cloth diapers would definitely cost less over the long run.
I’m having a harder time being convinced about the environmental benefits in our situation. Here in Minneapolis, our garbage does not go to a landfill — it all gets burned. While this presents other possible environmental concerns, washing several extra loads of laundry each week causes more energy usage and water usage — which are also environmental negatives. So, it’s a wash (pun only semi-intended) in my mind environmentally.
Then what’s left are the practical concerns. These are more on the negative side of cloth diapering (or the positive side of continuing to use disposables). We currently live in a tri-plex where we share one washer and one dryer with three other people besides our family. The washer and dryer may not always be immediately available, and I would have to watch to make sure I wasn’t monopolizing the laundry facilities too much for myself. We are planning to move out of this place around May or June of 2009, but that would mean at least four months of diaper laundry here if we go with cloth.
I’m honestly worried about the smell of the poopy diapers, even when I am not pregnant. I am always at least a little sensitive to smells, and I fear that may still gag and feel queasy. I worry that I might be too lazy for cloth diapering. Now that Erik is a busy toddler, I can ignore his diaper for hours. That wouldn’t work so well with cloth. I could avoid those problems for a while by keeping Erik in disposables until he is potty trained, while still using cloth for the new baby…but I would have to deal with it down the road anyway as baby #3 gets older. There is also the extra work of doing more laundry at a time in life where I will have more work than ever taking care of three kids.
The question of cloth or disposables is not answered yet in my mind. I’m glad I still have at least three months or so to think about it!