Kids in cloth diapers tend to be potty trained 6-12 months faster than kids in disposable diapers. Once you take that into consideration, it's a no brainer.

I recommend getting a service-- ours drives biodiesel trucks for the pickups and is able to get good washing efficiency by washing so many at once.

Agreed--our older daughter, who wore cloth, potty-trained herself by 2-1/2 because she didn't like feeling wet. And we used a service as well. For those folks like my wife and me who sometimes leave wet clothes in the washer for 4 days because we forgot to go down and throw them in the dryer, a service is the easiest thing in the world, and even better than cleaning the diapers yourself if the service uses generally green practices (as j.blomberg's did).

We tried cloth for awhile, but switched for several reasons (some good, some not!) - one thing you notice is that cloth diapers need to be changed every time the baby pees... not true with the ultra-absorbent huggies. When your baby pees a billion times a day, you'll be going through far more cloth diapers than plastic ones.

Once you factor transportation in you eliminate any environmental advantage cloth diapers had - at the very least, it's not a "no-brainer." Also, although it may be true that your child will use cloth diapers for a shorter period of time, it's also true that before your child is potty-trained you will use more cloth diapers per day than disposables.

The biggest disadvantage of disposables is that they take up space in landfills, but that's not nearly as much of a concern to me as the impact on energy and water resources that is caused by all the extra washing you do.

So the fact that you can leave your child in their own waste for a longer period in disposibles is a benefit? That is just gross!!! While they are sitting there the diaper is growing bacteria that is why 70% of sposie diapered babies have rash compared to 7% of cloth diapered babies (stats are from a Proctor and Gamble study, I think you can find it on http://www.thediaperhyena.com just do a little search)

amym72:

So the fact that you can leave your child in their own waste for a longer period in disposibles is a benefit? That is just gross!!! While they are sitting there the diaper is growing bacteria that is why 70% of sposie diapered babies have rash compared to 7% of cloth diapered babies (stats are from a Proctor and Gamble study, I think you can find it on http://www.thediaperhyena.com just do a little search)

I'm not talking about leaving her in the same diaper all day. The amount of pee coming out of a tiny child is minimal... they just do it with more frequency. With cloth, I had to change every pee, with disposable I could go 2 without having to worry. My daughter never once had a diaper rash. She potty trained about 2 months before her 3rd birthday with no problems.

I'm not talking about leaving her in the same diaper all day. The amount of pee coming out of a tiny child is minimal... they just do it with more frequency. With cloth, I had to change every pee, with disposable I could go 2 without having to worry. My daughter never once had a diaper rash. She potty trained about 2 months before her 3rd birthday with no problems.

What kind of cloth were you using? My son has been in cloth from day one and has never had a leak we mainly use pockets. I changed about every two hours or as soon as he has a BM. (which is how often a sposie diapered child should be changed too) I don't know of any diapers that soak through with one pee unless they are the gerber prefolds from Walmart that are useless for anything but burp rags. Also my daughter was in cloth and was out of diapers during the day by 20 months and at night before she was 2. The majority of cloth diapered kids train earlier than disposible diapered ones. I just know too many peope that use sposies and leave them on the child for hours apon hours and don't take it off till it's sagging to the childs knees when they walk, and that is just disgusting.

Good for you! I was really surprised Green Boy didn't mention a service - that would have solved the sleep-deprived brain trying to do laundry argument. Good to know there are services running bio trucks to deliver too!

I'd have to disagree, it all depends on what you use really. I use a fleece liner with with every diaper change. The fleece wicks the moisture away from the skin, into the diaper and keeps it away. My son's skin stays dry no matter how wet his cloth diaper gets

Actually it has been shown that disposable diapers are better for you babies skin than a cloth. Your statement of 70% rash for disposable vs 7% for cloth is incorrect.