G Diapers Vs. Cloth Vs. Disposables

Hi M.,
Count me among the people who use cloth and love it! We use BumGenius, but also used gDiapers when my son (now 14 months) was little, and also a few FuzziBunz. One thing that helps a lot is using flushable rice paper liners-- when they have a dirty diaper, you can just carry the whole thing to the toilet and dump it out. (If the diaper is just wet, you can wash the liner and get a few uses out of it.) I'd definitely recommend joining the local cloth diapering group on Yahoogroups (DCCDers). Let me know if you have any other questions-- a lot of people will tell you why it's so hard and won't work, but most of them haven't actually done it!
Kim

I use cloth diapers at home and disposables when I know I am going to be out for a long time. That is a way to at least cut down on disposables.

Are you planning on breastfeeding? Breastfed poops virtually disintigrate in the wash. After they start eating food, just dump the poo in the potty.

Good Luck!

Hi Have you considered diaper service? it is probably around the same cost as paper diapers and much more eco friendly --if you do have to wash diapers in the machine rinse it with a little clorox in hot water after each load and it will kill anything..
All the best
D.

I had a friend who did the G diapers and swears by them. She felt like it was a great compromise between disposibles and cloth. No mess. If i recall, you can get a sample or starter kit from to try it out.

I have a friend who likes to be very eco-friendly. She uses diapers that are very plain, so I assume they're nice to Mother N, but I don't know what kind or where to get them. (Maybe trader Joe's?) I've written to her to ask about them...stay tuned!

Meanwhile, S. M is right about the poop out the legs, it just happens. Moms call them blowouts.

Here's my friend's reply;
"I LOVE G-diapers! I just switched from Seventh Generation and they are great for all ecological reasons and are VERY easy to use. I recommend them. When I'm not out and about, I use cloth diapers - primarily All-in-ones like Green Earth or Bumkins. I've even figured out how to make my own all-in-ones since buying Bumkins new can be expensive (I got all mine off Ebay - saved loads).

I don't worry about bacteria in the wash, never thought about it. I use an essential oil blend I've made for diaper rash that will likely kill anything left that the hot water wash doesn't kill. You can also run bleach through with your diapers if you aren't big on ecological detergent (I am so I have very few chemicals in my home - we tend to get sick less since I've switch to organic living) and that should clean your machine with the wash. Just make sure you run a rinse through before running another load or you can use my method: I usually prewash my diaper load in hot water (add bleach then) and let them soak for an hour or so. Then I run a double rinse wash in hot water with detergent. I have no problems with smells and the diapers are plenty clean.Another thought is that any bacteria or germs in your house are kind of like part of your household and you and your family will build up immunities to them. Trying to kill all germs and bacteria can actually weaken your immune system and you'll catch more bugs when you go outside your home. Just a thought."

good luck and congratulations! -S. Kav

I do a little of both. Check out Seventh Generation disposable diapers. They are chlorine free and biodegradable and actually work very well. You can even print off coupons from their website so they end up costing about the same as huggies. My girlfriend is also a fan of diaper.com or diapers.com. I cannot remember.

On the cloth side...we use these at home only. It is just too messy to go out with cloth diapers. My husband hates using them, too. So, it is mainly me. I like the Fuzzi buns.

Good luck!

Hi M.,

I'm a gdiaper user or "gmum" as they call them. We love our gdiapers. I love them as I feel they're the greatest compromise between cloth and disposable. I didn't want to fill up landfills with disposable diapers. I also hate doing laundry, so I love the fact that I don't have to wash the gdiaper cover at every changing like you do with most AIO or pocket cloth diapers. The downside is that the flushable inserts for gdiapers are more expensive to buy than disposables, but many gmums get around the expense by using cloth inserts in the gdiapers. So they use cloth inserts either all the time or only use them at home and use the flushies when out and about for convienence. I haven't used cloth inserts yet, but I do want to try it sometime. Right now I use the flushable inserts solely and I think they're great. Like someone mentioned, you can buy a starter pack which contains 2 gdiaper covers, 3 waterproof liners, and 10 flushable inserts. This way you can try it out and see how you like it. You can buy the starter back from gdiaper's website, diapers.com, or at some retailers like Whole Foods, My Organic Market, and Dave's Natural Market. Gdiapers do take some getting used to at first and you probably will have some leaks until you figure out how to put them on correctly. There's a learning curve to them, but for help there's lots of tips on their website www.gdiapers.com and there is also a yahoo gdiaper group you can join. The ladies on the yahoo group have some awesome tips and ideas and you can always ask questions and get many responses.

Anyhow, good luck trying out gdiapers!
M.

I too used Modern Diapers when my last child was born, and I loved them! I would use disposable for roadtrips, days when I knew we'd be gone from home more than a few hours, etc., but the rest of the time, the cloth diapers were great! Modern Diaper (at that time, at least) didn't even WANT you to rinse them out -- just put them in the special pail provided, and they'd take away everything, lock, stock and barrel. As my daughter got older, I'd dump out the poop into the toilet first, but other than that, it was simply a matter of taking the diaper off the kid, dumping it in the pail, and you were DONE with the dirty one -- quick and easy!

Sorry I am late too.... I used disposable with my first as well. And chose to use cloth for this one. I dont use prefolds since Ive found them more difficult. Prefolds are what our parents used. I use All in Ones and pockets. If you google cloth diapers you can see all the different kinds. There are some hints to make it easier. First a cloth diapering service is more expensive then disposables. You can buy these bags called wet bags, they have an inner liner thats waterproof. So you through all your dirty dipes in it and when its full you can through the whole thing in the wash. its not a big deal especially if your a stay at home mom. You can also buy barely used dipes on Diaperswappers.com to save money. There are lots of other tips I can give you if your interested. Plus my friend has a natural baby company here and if your interested and she comes to peoples houses to give you the run down of clothe diapers and carriers. That doesn't mean you have to buy anything. She just does it to help people receive the info they need.

I used cloth diapers at home, and found the ones with built-in cloth covers the easiest to use. They were stinky! but not so bad during the first months.

I had to use so much bleach, I wonder how environmetally correct it was. My son never had bad diaper rash, and maybe only one or two instances of soreness.

i liked the "all in one" diapers. bumpkins for when my daughter was crawling and before and haute pockets for when she was walking (and running). many stores offer sampler packs so you can find the best fit for your child. i used softclothbunz.i liked the "all in one" diapers. bumpkins for when my daughter was crawling and before and haute pockets for when she was walking (and running). many stores offer sampler packs so you can find the best fit for your child. i used softclothbunz.com good luck!

We use g-diapers and 7th generation chlorine free diapers, they are disposable. Love the g-diapers but they don't work as well on boys as they do on girls. There tend to be more leaks. Same with the cloth diapers. We use 7th generation disposables most of the time now because my son is on the move and we are out of the house alot. Cloth diapers and gdiapers just weren't as convenient for us when we were going out. Good Luck.

Here's what I did to get over the overwhelming prospect of diaper laundry. I bought a mixed lot of cloth diapers second hand that had a little bit of everything. Then I used them at home to supplement disposables to sort of stretch my disposables because money was tight and sposies are spendy. If you breastfeed exclusively the poop isn't an issue until you start adding a lot of solids. Washing with hot water gets rid of the bacteria anyway. If you want to do a wet pail, which I don't, you can add white vinegar to the soaking water. When poop gets chunky or thick, you can use flushable liners so you don't have to spray or swish (ick!)

I've used g-diapers and found that they are great if you put a prefold or folded flat diaper in the sling instead of the flushable inserts. The inserts are a pain to flush and I usually just toss them in the trash. The disposable inserts leak and my baby gets uncomfortable before the whole insert is soaked, so I feel like I've wasted the insert. I'd recommend these with cloth inserts.

For leak coverage you can use lanolized wool soakers. Fleece works well too.

Personally, I like a mixture of pocket diapers (FuzziBunz and Swaddlebees) and fitted diapers with wool or fleece covers that I make myself. Pins are a thing of the past. When I use prefolds or flats I use a clip called a Snappi or a PUL cover that I can lay a prefold into and velcro or snap closed. If you can get a service, they usually use prefolds and PUL wrap covers.

You can find out more about cloth diapering than you ever thought there was to know on diaperswappers.com or in the cloth diapering forum at mothering.com

I hope this helps.

I started with g diapers, then I started using infant sized prefolds as inserts instead of the flushables and then switched to cloth all together.

I did like the g diapers but I would never use them full time. I LOVE my cloth diapers.

There is no problem with washing your diapers at home. I have a diaper sprayer that attaches to my toilet. I used that to clean off messy poops and the rest goes in the diaper pail. I would wash about every 2-3 days (it depends on how many diapers you have).

This is how I washed...

Cold Rinse (no detergent)- helps prevent stains
Hot wash (with detergent- Diaper Jungle.com has a chart that tells you the best detergents to use. You only need to use a tiny bit of detergent with diapers. Too much causes build up!!
Then one or two extra warm or hot rinses!! This just makes sure to get out any extra detergent. Detergent can cause build up in the diapers and make them absorb less or get the stinkies.

My favorite diapers are pocket diapers. I like that I can vary the absorbancy.

The best ones in my opinion are the BG 3.0 (Bum Genious). They are pretty trim, hold A LOT and are a ONE size diaper.

I have also used FB (Fuzzi Bunz). I just prefer the velcro on the BG's and think they are much more trim.

If you go the prefold route, I suggest Indian prefolds. They are much softer then the Chinese prefolds. I love the Thirsties covers, but I haven't tried any other ones. Snappis are a life saver too....NO PINS :-)

If you have any other questions please feel free to message me. I would be happy to help!

Mel

Hi there! First of all, I have to disagree with the one of the previous posters who stated that cloth diapers do as much damage as disposables. If you look on the internet you will find sources that say this, however if you research a bit beyond the internet you will find that unless you live in a severely water-depleted area cloth diapers are much more enviro-friendly. I believe the Sierra Club rates the disposable diaper as one of the top environmental catastrophes of the 20th century. Every disposable diaper ever used is still in existence today! Anyway- on to your question: I use a combo of cloth and disposable. I use cloth the majority of the time and absolutely love, love, love them! When my daughter was very young I did use Modern Diaper Service (just like the previous poster said, they are wonderful) but quickly decided that I could do it by myself. I have used the following brands with great success: Kissaluvs, Happy Heinys and Fuzzi Bunz. These brands of cloth diapers are not hard to use on the go because they go on just like disposables. You just have to bring along a plastic bag for the dirty diaper. I would recommend two websites- the first is diaperpin.com, which has lots of cloth diaper reviews. The second is nickisdiapers.com, a site that sells top cloth brands. Nicki is wonderful and if you call she will help you make decisions and give advice on what might work best for your situation. She also has a page devoted to washing instructions and those may set your husband's mind at ease.

Don't get me wrong- I am no saint, and I do think disposables are wonderful for long trips, babysitters and the like. I also would recommend using disposables for a week or so after the baby is born- you have enough going on at that time and it also motivated us to get going on the cloth diapers once we saw how much trash we were creating. I think another poster recommended the seventh generation diapers and I also really like them. Good luck to you! Feel free to message me individually if you have more questions.

A few things to add to the posts.

I agree that Jillians drawers is a great web site to learn about cloth and their trial program lets you test several kinds.

Seventh Generation disposables are chlorine free but they are not much better than other sposies in terms of being biodegradable.

The only biodegradable diapers on the market that I know of are the g-diaper inserts and Nature Baby Care diapers, which you can order from diapers.com. If you spend $50 on diapers.com the shipping is free and they come the next day. I find it really convenient.

Also - I have 3 or 4 new born size blue berry brand cloth diapers if you would like to buy them. Contact me if you are interested.

M.:

Hello and CONGRATULATIONS!

Here's my take - cloth diapers do as much damage to the environment as disposable diapers. How? Think of all of the energy (water, gas, electricity) cloth diapers use.

Keeping cloth diapers until the service is scheduled to pick them up tends to create more germs in the house as well - you have to rinse them out prior to putting them in a bin - so again, more water being utilized then the chance of mold growth while they are sitting in the bin awaiting service pick up.

While disposable diapers may/will be in landfills forever, some landfills are actually generating viable electricity and energy (Johnson & Johnson runs a complete factory off a local landfill).

I would suggest disposable diapers - not just for the convenience of them but because cloth diapers use more energy than one would normally utilize in washing clothes.

Hope this information helps.

Take care and CONGRATULATIONS!

I have twins and though I wanted to do cloth diapers, my area didn't have a service and I was frankly overwhelmed. I used disposable diapers for the first year. Yes they were convienient, but I was always worried about the landfill thing. I switched at one year and I LOVE my cloth diapers as does my somewhat hard to convince husband. A big selling point to him was the cost as well as the hope that they would help us diaper train earlier.

If I had it to do again, I would have still used disposables until around 3 months. After that, babies go to the bathroom alot less often and you have more time to do laundry.

I understand that your husband is worried about residual bacteria, but frankly after a couple of months he will be so used to baby poop that nothing will phase him. Also I have a background in microbiology and I can tell you that it is very very unlikely that any bacteria would remain in the machine. Even if it did, it can't live on your skin and is even more likely to get into a mucous membrane. This is not dangerous at all. You could try convincing him that you will rinse the washer with tea tree oil, which will disinfect it (you'll have to do this without clothes in the washer so it will waste some water).

I have a friend who uses G-diapers, but after a couple of months she just started using pre-folds in the holders instead of the disposable pads.

One thing about diaper services is that even though you don't have to do the laundry, you are typically using prefolds and covers - this was way too intimidating for me and my husband, we used pocket diapers instead.

As for using them on the go, initially I didn't think that we would wear cloth diapers when we went out, but I do use them for short trips with a wet bag(not more than one or two changes). I just unzip the wet bag(which also prevents smell) and dump the whole thing in the washer.

We use and LOVE bumGenius v.3 One Size diapers. I decided on them after doing a trial program with www.jilliansdrawers.com. It was awesome, just a few dollars and I got to try several different types of diapers for 21 days. They velcro on just like disposable diapers, fit kids from 9-35 lbs, and are super easy to use and take care of. Not having to buy more sizes makes them more economical than they originally seem.

I hope all of these things help, good luck finding the right thing for your family.

A. Guethler
Independent Consultant for Usborne Books at Home
www.snuggleandread.com
Earn free books through an online e-show! We are looking for more consultants - personal message me if you would like to start your own rewarding business for $35.00.

I started out with dispsable diapers because I didnt like the thought of dealing with the poop. My son is now 4 months old and I have a much better understanding of the mountains of trash that will be sitting in a landfill, so I just switched to cloth diapers. I use bumGenius one size diapers. A couple of my friends do to. They are really convenient because they look like dispsables and are the all in ones that have the absorbant diaper and the water-proof cover so they are dad and babysitter friendly. Anyway as far as the washing machine, your child will have blow out poops with any diaper and you will be washing baby clothes and car seat covers and all kinds of things covered in poop. It happens when you are a first time parent and getting used to diapering and with new borns that just seem to explode poop. After the first couple times I got over it. But regardless you will be washing clothes in your washer that have had poop in them and getting the bacteria in there. One thing you can do is do a vinegar rinse with either the cloth diapers depending on what you use or like a load of towels to kill stuff. Or put in some bleach every now and then when you wash the diapers.

We used cloth diapers from the time my son was born. I had/have no complaints. I decided that a diapers service was best for our family, since I didn't want to do extra laundry. We also used moderndiaper. They are great. They give you the diaper pail,bags and even sell covers. I used other covers as well. When we traveled short distances, we used the cloth, and carried plastic bags, and had no problems. On longer trips, we used disposables, I think Seventh Generation at that time.
G diapers weren't on the market when my son was in diapers.
L.

Hi, I switched to cloth at about 6 months with my second child and have been doing this for about a month and a half. I had tried a diaper service with tri-folds with my first daughter and hated it!!! But then I was introduced to this whole new world of cloth diapering. My approach was to buy an assortment of diaper styles and brands - all-in-ones, fitteds, and pocket diapers. Google these terms to learn more as it can be quite confusing at first. Starting at 6 months ended up being a good idea because I am don't have to worrry about size - the ones I bought will fit from about 15-30 pounds give or take.

I have found that I love the "bum genius" all in one diapers - they are just like disposables that wash. Downside is extra dryer time. But if I were doing it again, I would buy all all-in-ones. I also like the "fuzzy bumz" one size pocket diaper. In terms of style, velcro is great and quick and snaps are a little tedious. However, the baby can pull open the velcro like on a disposable and the snapping diapers are trimmer. And no pins on these diapers.

Also, I use cloth wipes which ended up being easier than continuing to use paper wipes since you just toss it in the bag with the disposable. (Buy webags in large home and small travel sizes - again google this term - for disposing of your diapers.

I am taking a very laid back approach abnout this. My daughter wets so much when sleeping that I put a disposable on her for night and her longer nap. Occasionally, we use a disposable when going out and may have to delay a change.

Washing them is not difficult, but you have to be dilligent about doing it every couple of days. Occassionally, I get so busy that she spends the day in disposables. I do not think bacteria is a problem. I bet all our grown-up germs in the washer are more dangerous for the baby than her poop is for any of us. And actually, I don't really think very much if anything is left after a wash - or I wouldn't cloth diaper at all. I do a short cold detergent cyle, followed by a long hot detergent cycle with an extra rinse. It really is not nearly as gross as you anticipate it could be.

As I said, google, and also check out Green Mountain Diapers, Pinstripes and Polka Dots, and Lesile's Boutique. If you have any questions , feel free to send me an e-mail.

Sorry I am late answering . . .

I use cloth diapers. I did disposable with my first but rediscovered cloth and I really like using them. I don't find it much more trouble than disposables. I have only had poop on my babies clothing once with cloth diapers and I had it several times (blow outs) with my son who I used disposables with. Poop gets on the covers, but those are washed too and if you get velcro or snap covers it isn't a big deal. We use prefolds and velcro pul covers. They are the cheapest option, the easiest to wash, and with a snappi are super easy. My brother's girlfriend even put one on once and didn't have any trouble. I do use pins too though, because I don't mind using them.

I think using a mix of disposables and cloth is good compromise if all cloth seems daunting. We now only use cloth but when my daughter's poop starts getting super stinky when she eats more solid food we will probably use disposables when out of the house and cloth at home or for short trips. I am not sure.

Check out http://www.diaperpin.com for good tips and reviews of diapers. It is also a forum with lots of cloth diaper users that are very helpful and will answer any questions you can think of. Good luck!

We tried g-diapers and found that our daughter peed through them just as much as disposable diapers. We would have to double up the inserts all day plus the night which would become too costly. You can only buy them online (few stores sell them), so it wasn't worth the cost or time to rorder them It was a great idea but didn't work for us.

Hi M. and everyone,
I just opened a cloth diaper store out of my home in Pikesville. I'd be happy to run through all the options of cloth diapering with you. My current website is www.babylovestore.biz. Due to trademarking issues, I've changed my name and my new website (still under construction) is www.softandcozybaby.com.

Anyway, I used disposables for the first 2 weeks because I was overwhelmed! Then I used Modern Diaper Service for 4 weeks - they are great. But I really didnt like prefolds and felt I could do it myself for cheaper.

So then I invested in my own diapers. I say invested because it really is an investment! It's not that it was real expensive, but I will have these diapers for my baby and future babies! So I spent a little now but won't have to spend it again!

I fell in love with cloth diapering and was a little overwhelmed with all the websites and info online. I was amazed there isn't a local CD store so decided to start my own!

While I'm out or when my baby goes to a babysitter, I just take a plastic bag along and bring the diapers home to wash. Not any more difficult than disposables.

In term of your washing machine, if you wash with detergent, there shouldnt be residual bacteria. Newborn poop is water soluble and a cold pre-rinse in the washing machine gets rid of it. Once your baby starts eating solids, you just turn the diaper over the toilet to dump out the solids, or you can use a flushable liner that catches everything.

Visit my website for hours or call/email to make an appointment! Stop by and I can walk you through all the steps!

The local diaper service that I know of is http://moderndiaperservice.com/. I wanted to cloth diaper, but my daycare is disposable only.

I have heard good things about G-diapers, but they are on the expensive side. I am pregnant again and am considering them for baby #2.

Most people I know who cloth diaper still use disposables when travelling or away from home for extended periods.

I love cloth diapers. They are very easy and make no difference as far as extra laundry. Breastfed diapers are not messy and I just wash them on cold with an extra rinse and then hot with an extra rinse before throwing them in the dryer. The options are endless as far as type and style. The cheapest, which is what I use is just chinese pre-folds with a pro-wrap. When we go out I carry an extra cover and several diapers. i also pack a large ziploc bag and that is where I place dirty diapers until I can get home and put them in my diaper pail. It means a larger diaper bag which I also use as my purse but really no bigger than people carrying tons of formula and bottles. It is a green option in more ways than one. It is green for the environment and it saves some extra green for you to spend on other things.

I've been using G diapers on my daughter for about 5 months (we started a little late using alternative diapers). My daughter is now 21 months old and I've been very happy with G diapers. They have a cloth outside with snaps for a waterproof liner and flushable inserts. We've been happy with them and it does make me feel better about our environment. Hope this helps!

Hi M.!
When I was pregnant I signed up for the cloth diaper service (just like I signed on to give birth naturally). We used cloth diapers for the first couple of weeks. The problem was, either the diaper wasn't snug enough around the legs, (which led to poo in the rubber pants) or I was sticking myself with the pins (which if not careful leads to blood poisoning). The rubber pants left awful dents in my sons legs. So it didn't work for me. If you're worried about the bacteria from the diapers, the washer isn't hot enough to kill all the bacteria, but when they go into the drier, that will kill any left. Then every so often run the empty washer with hot water & bleach. I know we all want to be even a little green, but the extra time you save using disposables can be used in other ways.
Congrats on the new muchkin!!!
Good luck
Mary-Ann

Hi M.,
I know I'm a little late on the responses here but I just wanted to say that we love cloth. We used disposables in the hospital when my son was born but we were all ready with cloth when he came home. We used Modern Diaper Service for two months and then bought all of our diaper supplies from Green Mountain Diapers for $300, mostly pre-folds and covers - and haven't looked back. Washing at home is not a big deal at all. If you do it properly, there is no residual bacteria in the machine. I really encourage you to look at Green Mountain Diapers website for lots of helpful information and tips on washing. Also, we have a few all-in-one diapers that work just like disposables so they are easy and convenient for on the go. You can also buy some water-proof bags that hold 3 or 4 diapers that you can use to hold the dirty cloth diapers when you are out. You can feel great about choosing cloth. It has been a joyful, economical choice for our family.

I tried g diapers and while very eco friendly (and flushable!) they are quite expensive and rather bulky. Check out naturecare baby diapers (sold at some Target's and on diapers.com). They are more reasonably priced and with no chlorine or plastic they break down much faster than other diapers. Good luck!!

Hello and Congratulations!

I had a baby five months ago and although I had all the intentions to go green and get cloth diapers, at the end, I was glad that we didn't get around to do it. Here is why: As a first time mom I was so stressed out and had so much to learn and deal with, that messing with cloth diapers was the last thing I wanted to worry about. And newborns go through A LOT of dirty diapers in one day! Plus, I think disposables allow babies to sleep longer, which is a huge help.

I wanted to try the g diapers, I even have the kit at home, but they feel very uncomfortable to me.

My compromise is to use disposables now that my daughter is little and then when she is older, we'll switch to cloth ones. Baby genius are pretty comfy. She won't go through as many per day and it will help her to get potty trained. But that is just my plan.

I think going green is important, but as a first time parent, you are allowed to cut yourself some slack. Convenience is not a sin, if you work out a compromise.

you can use cloth at home and disposables on the go.

not sure there is residual bacteria on the machine when u wash them with warm water.... but I know Whole Foods carries some that are made of some material that is biodegradable and at the same time disposable... only downside is that they are a bit more expensive

Hi,
I have never heard of G-diapers unless you are talking green but I still haven't heard of them. My mom used cloth diapers on me when I was a baby. You rinse them in the toilet first and then wash them in the washer. So it wouldn't hurt to use them at all. It does save from adding to the landfill. Choose what is best for your child. Good Luck
S.

I used disposable simply because they were way less of a hassle. Not great for the environment but superb for my sanity. However, my mother used cloth diapers for some time and she said it wasn't that much of a pain once you get into the routine. She would rinse out the soiled diapers in hte bathtub and let them soak in a bucket. Before she put them into the machine she would rinse again. You just have to make sure you keep the bathtub or whatever clean. It is also much cheaper to use cloth diapers. They make covers that go over the cloth diapers to contain the mess (they are reusable) so I don't think it would make much of a difference when out and about. Just bring bags to store the soiled diapers in until you can return home to clean them. Best of luck to you.