I Asked Folks To Tell Me Why They Would Not Cloth Diaper

This post is part of the Real Diaper Facts carnival hosted by Real Diaper Events, the official blog of the Real Diaper Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to cloth diaper education. Participants were asked to write about diaper lies and real diaper facts. See the list at the bottom of this post to read the rest of the carnival entries.

Reasons why people don't cloth diaper, followed by my response, of course:)

Daycares won’t take them

Some will take them with a little persuasion, mine did. The Read Diaper Industry Association is working to provide guidance to parents looking for daycares who accept their cloth diapers, and educating daycare providers about reusable diapers. There is a proposal in the Real Diaper Industry Association to organize a volunteer-driven project that will make a real difference to a lot of families.

They take too long to clean

It literally takes about 30 seconds to throw a load of diapers in the machine.

They cost too much initially

While that can be true, the average baby will use about $2000 worth of disposables in a two to three year period, whereas a baby using cloth diapers can start on cloth diapering for as little as $328 for the basic needs. They are more cost-effective in the long run. LolliDoo™ diapers are durable and will last through hundreds of washes so you can use them for all of your children, imagine the savings over the years. LolliDoo™ Flat Innies ™ ($10 for a 2 pack) and LolliDoo™ Recycled Outties™ ($28-$30). A two day supply should cost around $328. Additionally, LolliDoo™ diapers are a great registry item.

They smell bad

LolliDoo™ diapers do not have polyurethane laminate, commonly known as PUL. As a result they do not hold in odors as other cloth diapers do.

One mom said, “So I'm folding diapers and I realize something- LolliDoos are the only diapers not staining. I also haven't had issues with them retaining smell like I have the others. Bravo! ♥ Maggie”

Poop in the washer - Patrick thought that they would ruin the washing machine and the bacterium from the baby’s poop was making his underwear ITCH.

The washing machine will not leave residues of baby poo on your clothing; as long as the diapers are clean then the washing machine is clean. If your baby is exclusively breast fed, you don’t have to even rinse the diaper. Just throw it in the wash as is.

People think they needs pins

LolliDoo™ diapers are all fastened with stainless steel snaps – absolutely no pins.

My husband won't be able to do it and if anyone watches my baby they may not want to deal with the cloth diapers.

If your husband can use a disposable diaper then he can use a LolliDoo™, they are so simple that even teenage babysitters can do it.

The water to wash is just as bad as the waste of sposies

Actually washing your diapers 2-3 times per week uses the same amount of water as someone flushing the toilet 5-6 times a day. The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.

Armstrong, Liz and Adrienne Scott Whitewash: Exposing the Health and Environmental Dangers of Women's Sanitary Products and Disposable Diapers, What You Can Do About It. 1993. HarperCollins.

All the options are too confusing

Let me try to make it simple:

LolliDoo™ Recycled Outties™ are a modern version of the old plastic pants.

LolliDoo™ Organic Innies™ are diapers that go inside an Outtie™.

Organic Fitted Innies™ are like the old diapers that you used to pin – we updated them with snaps.

Organic Flat Innies™ are flat diapers that can be folded in a myriad of ways inside of an Outtie™.

Organic Absorbency Innies™ can be used with an Outtie™ (if the baby is small) and are primarily used in eco-pockets™.

LolliDoo™ eco-pockets™ are a handy diaper commonly referred to as a “pocket diaper”. This means that the water proof outer layer is sewn to the skin layer with an opening at the top – forming a pocket. Most babies will need an Organic Absorbency Innie™ stuffed in the pocket for added wetness protection.

It's to much extra work.

It may seem like it, but we disagree. Instead of throwing a soiled diaper into the trash you throw it into a pail. The additional washing is minimal – I would wager that an average person spends less then a half an hour a week washing diapers.

The time it takes to strip them and sun them and stuff them and fold them

We certainly encourage you to line dry your LolliDoo™ diapers to reduce your carbon footprint, BUT it’s not required. There is rarely, if ever, a need to strip LolliDoo™ diapers. If you choose to fold them, then yes there is that extra time.

The utter grossness of washing baby poop off a diaper. There's just nothing anyone can say to make this ok to me.

Newborn poop doesn’t need to be washed off- just throw it in the wash poop and all. While more solid poo does need to be dumped into the toilet, it doesn’t need dunking. This is exactly the same as disposable diapers – it is illegal to put human feces in the landfill.

The extra time investment as opposed to grabbing a box of disposables while out shopping and tossing it away when you're done with it.

I wholeheartedly disagree. How convenient is it to run out of disposable diapers and have to run to the store in the middle of the night?

I don't have a washer so my cloth ends up making my hall way smell like poo

Try using a pail with a lid. Sprinkle baking soda on the diapers. I am assuming there aren’t LolliDoo™ diapers that are stinky.

When I lived in the Bronx, I didn't have my own washing machine and at $3 a load I didn't see how it could be cost effective and was worried what other people put in the washers.

Ok let’s do some laundry calculations using the average of 3 loads a week:

Detergent - $1.43/load x 3 = $4.29/week

Washing -$3/load x 3 = $9/week

Disposable diapers cost anywhere from .21 -.44 cents each. For arguments sake, we’ll go with the .21 cent figure.

If an average baby uses approximately 8 diapers per day then you will spend a minimum of $11.76 a week on diapers and $1 per week on wipes.

Totals:

Washing diapers at a Laundromat - $13.29/week

Using disposable diapers - $12.76

Close call folks…

As far as laundromats are concerned - the temperature & volume of water cleans the machine.

Once they are wet they are wet. Nothing to keep the baby from getting diaper rash from WET!

LolliDoo™ diapers wick moisture away from baby’s skin. While they will be wet at the time of urine output, it will soak down to the middle of the diaper leaving baby’s skin barely damp if anything.

The most common reason for diaper rash is excessive moisture against the skin.¹⁹

Newborns should be changed every hour and older babies every 3-4 hours, no matter what kind of diaper they are wearing.²⁰

At least half of all babies will exhibit rash at least once during their diapering years.²⁰

Diaper rash was almost unheard of before the use of rubber or plastic pants in the 1940s.²¹

There is no significant difference between cloth and disposables when it comes to diaper rash.²²

There are many reasons for rash, such as food allergies, yeast infections, skin sensitivity, chafing, and chemical irritation. Diaper rash can result from the introduction of new foods in older babies. Some foods raise the frequency of bowel movements which also can irritate. Changes in a breastfeeding mother's diet may alter the baby's stool, causing rash.¹⁹

¹⁹ Boiko, S. 1997. Diapers and diaper rashes. February 1, 1997. Dermatology Nursing.

²⁰ Shin, H.T. 2005. Diaper dermatitis that does not quit. Dermatologic Therapy, 18: 124-135.

²¹ Weiner, F. 1979. The relationship of diapers to diaper rashes in the one-month-old infant. The Journal of Pediatrics, 95: 422-424.

²² Stein, H. 1982. Incidence of diaper rash when using cloth and disposable diapers The Journal of Pediatrics, 101: 721-723.

It’s easier for older babies to get off; you can’t duct tape a cloth closed like you can a sposie.

That’s true, you can’t duct tape fabric, however, LolliDoo™ diapers now have new stainless steel snaps that stay closed. I’m not saying it’s impossible for a baby to take a LolliDoo™ off, but, it will sure keep them busy trying for a while.

My kids always poop right out of them, because they leak.

The only reason that your LolliDoo™ diaper will leak is due to improper sizing. Since our eco-fleece™ is super-stretchy you can pull it snug. Make sure the elastic cinch sizing is as small as possible for your baby’s size. We will have a video tutorial on www.lollidoo.com very shortly.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…