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Why I Don’t Use Cloth Diapers


  • Eating fast food every single day.
  • Letting the water run unnecessarily the entire time you brush your teeth.
  • Always eating off of paper plates.

Those things just seem wrong.

In my opinion, using disposable diapers could also be added to that list, but I do it anyway.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I thought about using cloth diapers.  I had 3 close friends who were in love with cloth diapering.  I loved the idea of keeping disposable diapers out of landfills.  Plus with long term use, cloth can save you money over using disposables.  Don’t even mention the chemicals used in disposable diapers.  It makes me cringe to think about it.

Still I chose disposable diapers over cloth.

My 5 Excuses for Not Using Cloth Diapers:

1) The Laundry Situation – I used to hate to do laundry in our old apartment.  We were lucky to have a washing machine, but it was in the basement and we had to go outside and down the steps to get to it.  (Wow.  What a first world problem, huh?)  The idea of doing diaper laundry in that situation really turned me off.

2) Overwhelmed with Start Up Cost –  Yes, it can save you money.  Still, I was hesitant to dish out the necessary dough.

3) “Every diaper is disposable to me.” –  My husband said that to me once when I asked him what he thought of using cloth diapers.  Of course he was joking, but the message was still pretty clear.  His preference was to go with disposables and since I lacked the passion for using cloth, this was just one more thing that made saying “no” to cloth diapers easier.

4) My Daughter Poops A Lot –  I remember several occasions when I was thankful I didn’t have to wash her diapers.  It wasn’t because the poop grossed me out, but because she did it so often!  I didn’t see how I would have kept up with all the diaper laundry.  She still goes several times each day.

5) Discounted Disposable Diapers – This just might be my number one excuse for not using cloth diapers.  I can buy disposable diapers through a family member at a really good discount.  I’ve also found excellent prices on disposables through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program, which includes free shipping.  I’ve never had to pay full retail price for diapers.  I’m pretty sure that cloth would still be cheaper, especially when used with multiple children, but this certainly helped push me towards disposables.

Those are understandable reasons to be resistant to using cloth diapers, but really they are just excuses.

The real reason I don’t use cloth diapers: I simply don’t want to.

Everyone I know who uses cloth diapers seems to be in love with the process, so maybe if I tried it I would fall in love too.  Still, I just don’t have the desire.

There are hundreds of things we can do to improve the earth.  There are thousands of ways we can make positive choices for our children.  Yet, we can’t do it all.

Call me lazy, revoke my green blogging license, scorn me in the comments…  Cloth diapering seems right to me, but just not for me.

Are you a lover or hater of cloth diapers?  Is there anything in life you feel like you should do, but just don’t?

This post contains an affiliate link.  Thank you for supporting Simply Rebekah! 

Cloth Diaper Guide

44 Comments

  1. Hi Rebekah,
    I have four kids and with the birth of my third I felt a need to cloth diaper. I loved it. I loved the process, everything. It was WONDERFUL. THen my fourth was born. I still loved cloth diapering, but it ended up not working out well for us. Just yesterday I was at the consignment store and had picked up some diapers that I wanted to try…and then put them back. Right now cloth diapering is just not for me. I still love it. I still recommend it, but I completely understand your point of view.

    Loved this post.
    Kristina

    1. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that my first comment wasn’t one scorning me! haha! Thank you for sharing your experience and kind words, Kristina.

  2. I’m a big (edit: HUGE) fan of doing things that work for you. And of course, above all honor your husband. If my husband wasn’t a fan, I definitely wouldn’t force it. I used disposables and honestly always thought that cloth was a thing of the past. And then I got into the bloggy world and found out that sometimes it’s a hot button issue ;).

    1. Nate is pretty open minded. I’m sure that he would have gone along with cloth, but I just didn’t care that much. You are so right about this being a hot button issue! It seems like tons of the bloggers I know use cloth!

  3. Have you heard about the reusable diapers with disposable inserts? I was just on the gpants website and thought they looked pretty ingenious. They still have a pricey start-up cost, but you can actually flush the entire biodegradable insert down the toilet! It is a tough but very personal decision I guess.

    1. Julie, I have hear of them, but I haven’t researched them much. I guess I don’t understand the benefit. The inserts just get wet, right??? It is the covers that end up with all the mess, so that doesn’t seem much easier to me. I guess it would be less laundry, but unless you can flush the part that gets messy; why not just wash it all?

      Maybe someone can correct me on this. I might be all wrong!

      1. I looked into gpants a bit and don’t recommend it. The fit isn’t that great, you need to keep buying different sizes as baby grows, and if you use the disposable inserts only, it is much more expensive than using either regular cloth or premium disposables. There are all-in-two options that are much better that cost a good deal less (flip and grovia are two great options). The problem with the disposable inserts is that the breastfed baby poo often leaks out onto the inside of the cover. It still is contained quite well and doesn’t get on the clothes (it’s amazing how much less poo laundry I am doing now than before since there are hardly any “craptastrophes” and we’re still in the pooping 15 times a day stage), but the benefit of re-using the covers and just changing the inserts is pretty much gone.

        In the end, if it’s not for you, don’t do it! My hubby isn’t on board but is fine with me using them though he doesn’t understand my ability to deal with the poo. He uses disposables mostly and sets the dirty cloth up out of the dog’s reach per our agreement. It is still saving us money (with three in diapers). I will say that I LOVE the Amazon deals! That’s the only way we buy sposies now! (though we have spent nearly $50 on sposies for the new baby in less than a month thanks to the 15 poos a day….)

        Do what works for you! I know I should recycle more but with the way recycling is set up here, it just totally doesn’t work for me so I don’t.

        1. I suspected that g-diapers weren’t a good fit for me. Thanks for the information.

          Did you get an email about the changes to the Amazon Mom program?!?! Those fabulous discounts are going to be a whole lot less in a few days. I’m so sad. 🙁

      2. You’re confused with liners and inserts. What Julie is talking about are diaper liners. They lay on top of the diaper, right next to the baby’s skin. So they do hold the poop, and you just flush them down the toilet. Inserts go into a pocket in the diaper and do just get wet. There is so much to learn about cloth diapering!

  4. I can’t say that I blame you. Right now Kirk and I are discussing whether to start buying cloth diapers a little at a time or to start buying disposables a little at a time. I think Kirk has the same feeling that Nate does.

    1. It would be really hard for me to invest in cloth diapers if I thought I would only be buying them for one baby. The money saving just gets better and better when you use them with multiple kids. That is part of the reason why I’m not really reconsidering cloth diapering baby number two. This baby might be the last!

  5. When I had my son I bought a whole set of cloth diapers. I wanted to love them, use them and save the earth. I now use disposables. The cloth didn’t work for him {he leaked every diaper, every time no matter what we did} and he was horribly uncomfortable in them. I try to be green as much as I can but it worked for us {like it works for you} and I think that’s the most important thing.

    1. Becky, that is so interesting! I’ve only heard good things about cloth diapers and leaks. I thought they were suppose to be these magic diapers that never had blow outs! 🙂

  6. I used cloth diapers until my second son had a terrible diaper rash that would only go away just to come back the very next day. When we were at family’s for Christmas, he was in disposable diapers for 3-4 days straight. his diaper rash disappeared, and within hours of getting back home in a cloth diaper, it came right back. So we are now using disposables, too, but I HATE spending the money on them! I know I probably need to strip the cloth diapers or something but I haven’t gotten up the gumption to do that yet:)

    1. *sigh* Striping diapers… Why does that sound so complicated to me? I KNOW the washing process isn’t hard, but…. I get overwhelmed when I think about: what detergent I can & can’t use, soaking, multiple rinses, how to dry them, striping… Yeah, this is the lazy part of me coming out.

  7. We had that same discussion 15 years ago before my daughter was born, although my Hubby said “if you want me to help you change them, you will use disposables.” Fair enough – he wanted to be an equal partner in parenting, so the whole cloth/disposable thing seemed like a minor issue. Part of me wishes we had tried it, most of me is glad we didn’t.

    As the mom, you have to make what you feel are the best decisions for you and your family. Trust your gut. If it’s right for your family, it’s the right choice. If it’s not right, life has a great way of letting you know pretty quickly.

    And as for the “green” part of this: unless you buy organic, cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world. After the pesticide-laden crop is harvested and spun into cloth, it is then bleached with chlorine to within an inch of its life. At that point, it become almost 6 of one, half-dozen of the other.

    1. There’s a whole lot of chemicals going into disposables, too, though. And when you add up the environmental cost of even a large stash of cloth, it’s still less than the thousands of disposables you’d go through.

  8. At the time that I had my first child 10 years ago, it seemed like nobody cloth diapered anymore, there weren’t all these trendy diaper companies yet, so I went with disposables. Had I known I would have 3 more children and that there would be so many types of cloth out there, I probably would have tried cloth. At this point though, knowing this is our last baby, it doesn’t seem worth the investment. You do what’s right for you.

  9. I’ll be the one loving my cloth diapers to the end… 🙂 For every reason in the book… Everyone has to know what’s best for them! Cloth is definitely best for my family for its lesser environmental impact, cost savings, & lesser chemicals on my baby’s bum & reproductive organs!! It just makes sense for me and my probably-crunchier-than-I-am-but-doesn’t-call-it-that husband.
    It certainly needs to be a joint family decision, and one that you feel good about! But I made sure I did it right…you know? The ones with the best ratings that didn’t leak, that lasted the longest, etc. I didn’t want to be annoyed with my diapers or “skimp.” I bought what I needed to make it not only work, but work well! Its still saving me a ridiculous amount of money. So yeah, I love them… I mean, you didn’t think I wasn’t going to comment on this post, did you Rebekah? 🙂

  10. I decided several years before we had our daughter this fall that I wanted to cloth diaper. I thought they were cute and loved the money saved over time. When she was first born we ended up having a couple hospital stays for jaundice and had to use disposables then because they weighed her diapers. I wasn’t a fan. I love cloth diapers. They are what works best for us (my husband loves them too…he thinks her bubble butt is adorable). I’m not sure about the hassle of washing them because so far only my husband has washed them but he’s said it’s easy.

    I think it’s a personal choice. I didn’t like using the cloth diapers, they kinda creeped me out.

  11. We love our cloth diapers. It makes for a big butt but it makes for softer falls 🙂 My husband dosen’t love them and sometimes when he changes our daughter he “sneaks” her into a disposable and that’s ok with me. I’m just happy he’s taking part. Since I’ve become pregnant, he has to carry the full diaper bucket to the basement for laundry but he only complains a little and has even started them in the wash for me. The washing routine isn’t too severe. I just wash every 3rd day and line dry. It should be a joint decision but since I change 95% of the diapers my decision was heavier. I love the fact that there are less chemicals next to her skin. It helps to have friends that cloth diaper and you can talk to them about it, or go to classes to learn about it. Every diaper is different too, just like disposables. The ones we use everyday she dosen’t leak out of, but we bought a smaller profile kind and she does leak out of those. After you’ve done the research, it should be a family decision. I’m excited to be able to be using these cloth diapers for the 2nd baby to be. I’m also excited to see how it helps with potty training the 1st. Thanks for the blog 🙂

  12. I’ve got 3 kids in cloth right now and I love it, it’s a fraction of the cost, they have cute diapers to match every outfit, soft natural fibers against their skin, what’s not to love? You are right though- cloth isn’t for everyone and if you’ve made up your mind that it’s not for you, there really isn’t any convincing you otherwise. That poop explosion pic looks like my sisters daughter at least once a day- in disposables. She touches more poop in a day than I do in a month. I don’t remember the last time we had an incident like that in cloth.

  13. I cloth diaper. Not to save the world but because disposable diapers are just no match for breastmilk poop! I hate poop up the back explosions and having to soak onesies and clothes hoping the stains come out. Cloth diapers = no pooplosions. So worth it!

  14. Love the post! I will be doing a post on “reaching across the diapering fence” coming up soon and will be linking back here! I will say that right now, Scrunch is in sposies full time. He’s on antibiotics and is having the typical gastro-intestinal issues that go along with it and I just don’t want to deal with that much poo. Gotta do what works for you and your family!

  15. i cloth diapered babies 1 and2 and when number 3 came along (and the first two were STILL wearing diapers, at least part-time) I just.couldn’t.take.any.more. ! so i switched to disposables…they are better in pretty much everyway, except the chemicals…but the articles i read talked abotu chemicals used 20 yrs ago that have now been removed from disposables…so some current research on that topic would be good. Sometimes i would like to get the non-bleached disposables at the health food store, but those are killer expensive. I buy pampers on sale and any time i try an off brand i regret it, so i stick with my expensive diapers (i’m on baby number 4 now) and i am happy, b/c if it leaks, it’s like a little around the leg leak…and when cloth diapers leaked, it was like not only do i have to wash the diaper but the whole outfit and the bedding as well (nights were the worst) and i didn’t see (adding up a whole extra washload vs. 1 disposable) how that was really saving me money…and i always had a hard time keeping up with laundry anyways, so it kinda became a sanity issue, and on top of it , i could not longer fit enough cloth diapers for all three in a reasonable sized diaper bag for a days outing….

    once in a while i would get inspired and try cloth again, but after a day or so (and adding on an extra washload of dirty diapers) I would give up and go back to disposables.

    As for the washing…it really isn’t complicated…i used a dry bucket, so i tossed them in as is (dumping any “major” waist in the toilet) and had a netted bag in the bucket so i pulled it out like a garbage bag, put it in the washer put it on a hot cycle with prewash and extra rinse (so soap doesn’t irritate their skin) and voila.

    Seriously my main two reasons for disposables: less (almost never) leaks, and clothes fit better. that’s all 🙂

    1. The nice thing about investing in cloth diapers is that you can always take a break and come back to it later. I can’t imagine keeping up with all the laundry of having 3 in cloth diapers! I don’t blame you for taking a break (no matter how long it ends up being – haha!). Thanks for the encouragement, Jessica.

  16. We loved cloth diapers! I will say, though, that it would have been a lot harder if we had to go outside to get to the washing machine. I lived in an apartment with that arrangement for a summer once, and I wouldn’t have wanted to live with it through a winter even without a baby.

    To avoid that disgusting situation in your photo, what you need (can be used over a disposable diaper, too) are Dappi pull-on nylon pants. They are awesome leak-stoppers, they are comfortable for baby, they aren’t bulky or noisy or vinyl-smelly, and they cost only about $3 apiece!

    1. Thankfully, we don’t have those kinds of diaper blow outs anymore. It was much more common when Grace was exclusively breastfed. I’ll have to keep those diaper covers in mind with baby number two!

  17. Great post Rebekah.
    I used old fashion cloth nappies with my first. Second came along and I switched to disposables for both. Just too hard to keep up the washing and changing for two kids under 2! Baby three used disposable ’cause that was the track we were on. Baby four arrived and I discovered modern cloth nappies. I tried the Pea Pods brand and loved them. Switched both kids in nappies to cloth. Tried full time cloth but found the absorption was not great for overnight and cloth is so bulky for the nappy bag.
    So my compromise is cloth during the day at home and disposables for night and going out. I figure it is better than full time disposables, reduces my washing and is managable.
    Got to do the thing you are able to sustain. If you are thinking of cloth, but don’t know for sure yet, borrow some MC nappies or buy some second hand. In my experience the more used MC nappies absorb better anyhow.
    No point doing cloth full time for a couple of months and switching back, kicking yourself for the now wasted economic outlay, time and effort spent!!
    Pick what suits you and dont beat yourself up about your choices. There will always be more we ‘should’ do but this has to be balanced with what we are able to do.
    We cant do everything but we can do enough!

    1. “There will always be more we ‘should’ do but this has to be balanced with what we are able to do. We can’t do everything, but we can do enough!”

      I love that, Nona. That should be Simply Rebekah’s official motto. Thanks for the encouragement.

  18. Blow outs like pictured above are actually prevented with cloth most of the time. I’ve been cloth diapering my almost 16 month old since he was 6 weeks old. I do not love it or hate it. I use them to save money and to reduce the amount I chemical exposure his sensitive areas get. Using cloth is definitely more work but worth it for the savings. For those above talking about baby having a rash, it was likely a reaction to either the detergent or material inside the diaper. Some babies can’t have synthetic diapers against their skin.

    Ps. Sunbaby diapers are a very inexpensive but good brand. They come in 2 sizes but size 1 works fine for us and will through potty training. At $60 for 12 diaper with inserts, they are well worth trying. They have a great resell value as well.

  19. I used cloth with my first child and HATED it. I hated the soggy diapers, hated having to knock poop off the diapers, hated (and I mean H A T E D the extra laundry), so I went to disposables, and adored them. Don’t get me wrong, I hate the thought of increasing my footprint, but when my second was born 12 years after the first, we had tons of sporting events from baseball to football and, as our families both live nearby, we were out every single day of the week either for games or visiting or whatever. I also bottle fed due to my son having a lactose intolerance and it just wasn’t feasible to carry around a ginormous diaper bag with bottles and 4-8 hours of cloth diapering stuff. And, as I changed my child often, he never – NOT ONCE – got a diaper rash. But again, you do what is best for you and your child!

  20. Yup! I enjoy cloth diapering immensely and even work in the industry, but I’m also the leader of a postpartum moms support group that focuses on NOT mom-petitioning, on encouraging women to choose what they want for their families. The thing is, there’s no moral obligation to cloth diaper. It’s a good thing to do, but every family has to prioritize their good things, know what I mean? And we get to do what appeals to us–that gets to be a major factor in determining how we prioritize. 🙂 Anyone who says otherwise is really missing the mark and probably missing out on some fabulous friendships.

  21. Pingback: Why I cloth diaper |
  22. when my daughter was a baby,i used disposables on her.now she is 15 and a normal teenager but a bedwetter and i use only cloth diapers and plastic pants on her a bedtime due to the fact she broke out in rashes from all the disposables she tried!i use adult size plastic pants on her over the diapers.

  23. I’ve discovered your fabulous website and digging through your posts has been great fun & very informative. I’m a grandmother, and my daughter is now expecting, so I’m thinking all about babies again. When I mentioned cloth diapers, she said she would look into it. (I did, too and found so many resources out there these days!)
    I was diapering in the 1970’s and most people were still using cloth and it worked just fine. Over the years, I have been a caregiver, and then Preschool teacher and I’ve seen lots of disposable diapers!
    THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH DISPOSABLES, in my opinion, is THAT THE STANDARD PRACTICE IS TO THROW AWAY THE DIAPER WITH THE CONTENTS INTACT. This means that the landfills are not only full of non-biodegradable diapers, but also they are full of baby poop! Baby poop then contaminates the landfill and the rats eat it as well. Sometimes baby poop contains vaccines & antibiotics…and these can be spread into our environment via the rats.
    THE CORRECT PRACTICE IS TO RINSE THE POOPY DIAPERS (whether they are cloth or disposable) IN THE TOILET SO THAT THE WASTE GOES INTO THE CORRECT SYSTEM (AND NOT THE OPEN LANDFILL). This is the way it is supposed to be done, but I very rarely
    see diaper changers doing this! In fact, daycare settings virtually NEVER rinse the poop down the toilet!
    So my biggest gripe about disposable diapers is that most people think that you simply throw them away into the trash POOP AND ALL!

    1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone dump out a disposable diaper! It is crazy that the “correct” way of doing it is so unheard of. I’m certainly guilty of not doing it the right way.

      1. Wow, Rebekah, thanks for responding. I agree…. it is pretty crazy that no one realizes they are throwing poop into the garbage instead of into the septic system…pretty yucky!
        Thanks for such an interesting blog!

  24. I used cloth with our first.. He was born when neither of us had jobs and we wound up using cloth that was gifted to us by family. Any spare money we received went towards a few more diapers and covers. I respected that cloth saved us in this way, but at the same time I hated it. I had to hand wash diapers probably 5-6 times every day and hang to dry just to make sure we had enough and I felt like I never got to spend time with my son. So at the same time…I hated them. I felt happy and free when we had all the disposables from the hospital. Now I’m pregnant with our second, and though we have jobs now, cannot afford the upfront cost. Nor could I settle on a system that would work for everyone. So I went out and bought disposables and i am finally at peace again. I recognize the benefits of cloth, but its not gonna work for our family this time around.

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