Cloth Diapers
vs.
Disposable Diapers

Using the sliders, set the importance of each aspect.
Choozza will then find the best product for you.

Cloth Diapers

2
Quick Potty Training
2
Convenience
2
Low Cost
2
Eco friendly
2
Sensitive Skin
2
Fit for Travel
2
Absorbing Level
2
No Accessories Required

Disposable Diapers

Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers are reusable diapers. When soiled, these diapers are washed and reused rather than being thrown away.

Disposable Diapers

Disposable diapers are the most widely used diapers in the western world. They are single-use, and are meant to be tossed away when you change them.

Quick Potty Training

Some believe that the discomfort of a very wet cloth diaper will encourage potty training of the child. This is not an issue with disposable diapers, which traps the moisture away from the body.
When using disposable diapers, children tend not to realize they are wet, because the diaper traps away the moisture from the body. This is believed to be one of the reasons that children wearing disposable diapers tend to become potty or toilet trained at a later stage than children who wear reusable cloth diapers. There is, however, little evidence to support this belief.

Convenience

Soiled cloth diapers need to be washed and dried so they can be re-used. Some designs have an outer shell and a snap on inner soaking layer, so you can re-use the outer shell a few times while only replacing the soaking material. You will need to wash or soak the diaper as soon as possible after changing your baby, which means that the changing process takes longer. This is a distinct disadvantage when you are in a hurry, on the road, or just want to get a few more hours of sleep before the night is over.
Disposable diapers require minimal care. The only thing you really need to do is keep clean diapers in a dry place before use, and dispose of the soiled diaper in the rubbish bin. No cleaning or washing of the diaper is required.

Low Cost

On a one to one basis, cloth diapers always cost more than the disposable ones. The exact amount you'll spend depends on the brand, but it is still considerably more expensive than the most expensive disposable diaper out there. The initial purchase cost shouldn't deter you. These diapers can be washed and reused over and over again (and they get better and more softer the more you wash them). You will also only need to buy a small number of diapers, which makes cloth diapers more economical in the long run, even when you add the ogoing costs of liners, water, power and powder for washing. As a perk, cloth diapers may also be used for subsequent siblings.
Disposable diapers are much more expensive than reusable cloth diapers, because each diaper is only used once and they need to be purchased regularly. The overall expenditure on disposable diapers, from birth until the child is potty or toilet trained, is quite considerable.

Eco friendly

Reusing the cloth diapers means putting less burden on landfills compared to disposable diapers. The cloth diapers do, however, require regular use of detergents, hot water and energy (assuming you use a washing machine and maybe also a dryer) to be properly cleaned, and this has an impact on the environment which the disposable diapers don't. In addition, most cloth diapers are made from cotton, which is a heavily fertilized crop which needs a lot of water, pesticides and herbicides. This also has a negative environmental effect. Some "greener" alternatives in use are organic cotton, hemp or bamboo. The general belief is that being reusable, cloth diapers are better for the environment, but some studies point that cloth diapers, depending on how they are washed and dried, may be more damaging to the environment compared to disposable ones.
Disposable diapers are discarded after a single use and using them means placing more stress on landfill sites. The disposable diapers are made from petroleum byproducts and tree products such as fluff pulp. Studies show that the manufacture and use of disposable diapers uses more raw materials, energy and water and generates much more waste then cloth diapers. Other studies have indicated that reusable cloth diapers may be more damaging to the environment than disposable diapers under some specific circumstances.

Sensitive Skin

There is no evidence that cloth diapers are better than disposable diapers, or vice versa. If a diaper is not changed soon enough after soiled, the wetness and acidity may contribute to the development of nappy rush. This is slightly more likely to happen with cloth diapers.
Disposable diapers have layers of special moisture trapping gels between them to wick the wetness away from the baby's skin, leaving the skin dry. Disposable diapers normally also have a cloth-like breathable layer that helps keep the skin dry. Some children have allergic reaction to the water absorbing gel in disposable diapers, but there is no evidence that disposable diapers are better than cloth diapers, or vice versa.

Fit for Travel

While the act of changing the diaper itself is pretty easy, you will still need to carry the dirty nappy with you until you can get it clean. Also, if you are going camping or away from washing facilities, you will need a considerable number of diapers, which is quite a big expense.
Getting out and about is very easy when you use disposable diapers, as you just dispose of the old one - in an appropriate manner of course. Getting away from stores where you can buy more diapers may pose a quanity problem that the cloth diapers do not have, so you may need to plan ahead and carry some extra.

Absorbing Level

In some designs you can adjust the absorbency by selecting different soaking layers. However, the cloth diapers almost always absorb less than the disposable ones.
Disposable diapers are generally more absorbent than cloth diapers, and keep the baby'ss skin drier. They are composed of layers containing special moisture-trapping gels to wick the wetness away from the baby's skin, thus leaving the skin dry. Moreover, disposable diapers suffer less leakage than cloth diapers, which also contributes to their higher level of absorbency.

No Accessories Required

Some designs of cloth diapers require fasteners (such as hooks, safety pins or snaps) to fasten the diaper and keep it in place. They also require a change of liners.
Disposable diapers are a complete product and don't require any extra pins, fasteners or liners. They have adhesive stripes for fastening the diaper onto itself.

Cloth Diapers

Disposable Diapers

Cloth Diapers

Average rating: 4.5 / 5
based on 165 customer reviews
Feel factor: 11


GOOD, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS 4.0's

(Score 4/5)

We bought 6- 3.0's before our little guy was born. These did not fit him until he was about 9-9.5 lbs but, they truly look fantastic on, have great elastic and will get a long life out of the (they fit our 2.5 year old 33lb daughter also). The inner lining is not as soft as other diapers we use (FuzziBunz and Knickernappies) but, they make up for it by offering an easier to stuff pocket and incredible microfiber inserts.

Nevertheless, a month and a half after we bought these we heard the 4.0's were coming out. These are even better-- which is hard to do. Same great pocket stuffer, easier to replace elastic-- I was worried about this from reviews- and they come in a beloved snap version which looks even better than the aplix. Likewise, they fit better then the 3.0's we used just a day earlier.

Best product for the price!

Posted on: 2010-07-27
By kmschu2



Best Reuseable Diapers on the Market!

(Score 5/5)

These are by far the best reuseable diapers on the market! We have tried MANY different brands and came back to fill our collection with only these! Little to no leaks, strong velcro tabs, easy to use, easy to wash!

Posted on: 2010-07-16
By Hyla Waldron



Easier to put on than a disposable

(Score 4/5)

These diapers have been great. My baby started wearing these when he was 6 weeks old. They fit him well and do not leak. My 4 star review is not a 5 star because after cleaning in cold, cleaning in hot, doing an extra rinse in hot, and completely drying which takes quite a while the diapers have a little bit of a musty odor. Overall these are great though.

Posted on: 2010-07-15
By APenName



Save trash and money in the long run.

(Score 4/5)

These work pretty good. The kid is 8 weeks old, and we starting using them a week ago. We've noticed that we're making less garbage, which is good because our town charges for trash pickup by the bag. And, the investment is worth the upfront cost because disposable diapers will cost more in the long run.

They leak once in a rare while at the top, and it may be because the baby is too small, but that's a little discouraging. Hopefully, as he grows, that problem will go away.

Posted on: 2010-07-03
By Matt



Great at first, but don't hold up to extended

(Score 3/5)

I was thrilled with these diapers for the first six months. At that point, I started noticing some serious pilling and lack of stickiness with the velcro. I thought it was just me, but a friend who bought at the exact same time had the same issue. Within three more months, the diapers were essentially useless unless my sons were wearing jeans over them to keep the frayed tabs from catching on their clothes and letting go.

Go with snaps. You'll be happier.

Posted on: 2010-06-30
By Homeschool Reviewer

Disposable Diapers

Average rating: 4.5 / 5
based on 454 customer reviews
Feel factor: 1


worst diapers

(Score 1/5)

These diapers are absolutely the worst. My 3 weeks old son was developing the rash on the third day on these daipers. We were initially thinking that it is not the diaper but some thing else, after trying several different things including religiously using the diaper rash creams we came to the conclusion that it is the diaper that is the culprit. I dont know what chemicals they are using in these diapers , but they are causing bad rash. And yes , we do change diapers very often. Hands down the worst diaper.

Posted on: 2010-07-12
By riz



Pampers Swaddlers Size1/2 234 pack

(Score 2/5)

Nice size, good for the money for pampers diapers, but just did not work well with my daughter. Does not have band around the back of the diaper so with my daughter the poop goes right up the back. I just use parentschoice diapers at walmart which do great with her and my money.

Posted on: 2010-05-28
By Aleisha Fritzen



Great While it lasted

(Score 2/5)

These pampers were the absolute best!!! Never leaked, no diaper rash, wetness indicator, very soft, and pleasant smell. BUYER BEWARE.... pampers has redesigned the entire line featuring drymax. The new diapers are such a decrease in quality, I can't figure why the are working backwards. I understand joining in with green movement by creating a less wasteful product, however they really need to go back to the drawing board on this one. My daughter got her first touch of diaper rash so now we are on the hunt for a better diaper. So sad.

Posted on: 2010-05-20
By Nikki
Helpful index: 100%



Baby Shower Gift

(Score 4/5)

My very good friend had this on her registry and I had it shipped to her home. She received it in good time. My only complaint would be that when she received the package it didn't have my name on it, so she had no idea who it was from.

Posted on: 2010-05-14
By Eliza K
Helpful index: 33.3333333333%



Swaddlers Caused Diaper Rash

(Score 1/5)

I have used Pampers Swaddlers (both the new Dry Max and the previous technology) and Pampers Baby-Dry Diapers, Size 3 (16-28 Lbs), Economy Plus Pack, 204 Diapers on my 5 week old. We started with the Dry Max Swaddlers and he started developing diaper rash. As new parents, we amped up our vigilance and started using copious amounts of diaper cream. After a few days, not only did it not get better, it was getting worse. At this point we needed more diapers and I picked up the Pampers Baby Dry (not intentionally, we didn't realize that there was a difference between Pampers models). After only a day and half in these, the diaper rash started going away and finally disappeared as we made it through that pack of diapers. We assumed our fast swoop and change with the diaper cream was finally doing the trick. Now needing a bigger size, we picked up a pack of Swaddlers (old technology, not Dry Max), because they definitely are less bulky than the Dry Max. By the end of the end of the first day in these, the diaper rash was back. I may be new to this parenting thing, but whatever is in the Swaddlers is causing diaper rash for us. This isn't a knock against Pampers in general (no leaks in any of the diapers we used) and I do like the Baby Dry, but if you start seeing diaper rash in Swaddlers it may be due to whatever the absorbent chemical is.

Posted on: 2010-05-13
By Chris DeFilippo
Helpful index: 100%

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