I grabbed a document from Tidee Didee Diapers about choosing cloth diapers. I wanted to share some of the info with you.
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The battle between reusable cloth diaper sand single-use diapers is heating up once again. In 1955 virtually every baby in the United States was diapered using cloth diapers. In 1961, Proctor and Gamble introduced a single use diaper. In 1991, approximately 90% of babies in the United States were diapered using single use diapers. Coincidentally, the occurrence of diaper rash as increased from 7% in 1955 to 78% in 1991.
Many parents are taking a hard look at the many health and developmental, environmental and economic advantages cloth diapering has over single use diapers.
Dry does not mean clean. The multinational corporations who manufacture single use diapers have misled the American consumer to believe that as long as a baby is dry that they are clean. The urine in a wet diaper breaks down into ammonia and is a breeding ground for harmful bacterial regardless of how dry it feels.
What ever kind of diaper you use, cotton or disposable, babies should be changed often about every 2 hours. Bacteria begin to form as soon as a child wets or soils and leaving a diaper on a baby for prolonged periods can not only produce irritation and rash but may compromise the skin to the point of serious infection. The chemical dryness of single use diaps has produced a great lowering of stands in baby care because parents are led to believe that as long as the diaper feels dry it is alright to leave it on. It isn't. Dry does not mean clean.
Another area of concern are the toxic chemical present in most single use diapers. Nearly all single use diaps use sodium polyacrylate to absorb moisture. Sodium polyacrylate is the same sort of substance that was used in Rely tampons in the mid 1980's. Many consumers notice clear beads of gel on their baby's genitals after a diaper change (I did!). This material is sodium polyacrylate. An additional serious concern is the risk that dioxin, a by-product of the paper bleaching process, may exist in single use diapers. Dioxin in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage and skin disease.
Harsh perfume and chemical emissions have long been known to induce asthma-like symptoms in children and adults. Now, researchers have found that disposable diaps may be a trigger for asthma. A study published in the October 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers suffered increased eye, nose and throat irritation, including symptoms similar to that of an asthma attack. Six leading cotton and disposable diaper brands were tested: cloth diapers were not found to cause respiratory problems among lab mice.
An estimated 1 billion single use diapers are thrown into landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose and commonly contain raw, untreated sewage. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers. It takes upwards of 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp or a quarter-million trees to manufacture the disposable diapers that cover the bottoms of 90% of babies born in the US.
Single use diaps are, as their name implies, used once, then discarded. They are almost always sent to landfills or incinerators, never reused and almost never recycled. In contrast, the average cloth diaper is used between 100 and 150 times as a diaper and then retired. Retired cloth diapers are in high demand and have a second life cycle as rags for detailing shops, window washing services, janitorial services, piano retailers, and assorted other businesses where soft, lint-free rags are needed.
Whether using cloth or single use diapers, a baby should be immediately changed after it wets or soils a diaper. Based on this fact, the average infant should be changed approximately 70-80 per week.
If you changed a baby 70 times a week with disposable diapers you'll be spending approximately $39.90 a week on diapers, compared to $18.00 a week IF you use a cloth diaper service.
Many parents who use single use diapers think nothing of spending $15 or $20 on diapers when they shop for groceries, which quickly gets hidden in the total grocery bill. When this hidden cost is revealed it becomes immediately apparent that cloth diapering is far less costly than the cost of single use diapers.
24 months of single use diapers: $4149.60
24 months of a cloth diaper service: $1820.00
36 months of single use diapers: $6224.40
36 months of a cloth diaper service: $2730.00
48 months of single use diapers: $8299.20
48 months of a cloth diaper service: $3640.00
There is a noticeable increased awareness and interest in cloth diapering as a viable alternative to the short-sighted and wasteful practice of using single-use diapers. This document demonstrates that cloth diapering holds a clear and significant health and developmental, environmental and economic advantages over single use diapering. Additionally, the convenience of modern cloth diapering rivals the convenience of single use diapers.
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This document caught my attention because just today I mentioned to my hubby how nice it was to never have to "go grab diapers" because we just ran out or constantly take out the garbage b/c it was full of diapers. We are on week 4 of cloth diapering and I love it. We do it 24/7 now. I was using disposables at night, but about 5 days ago started using cloth at night and it is simple. Piper hasn't had a single bout of diaper rash, she had it all the time before, and her rear end is super cute in all of her sweet little diaper covers! I love the switch for 1007 reasons! It's not for everyone, I get that, I never thought it would be something I would do, but man do we love it...even Tris cloth diapers his bears! There is a great sight to check out if you're looking to start cloth diapering: Nicki's Diapers
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