If you’ve ever thought about cloth diapers for your baby but are concerned about the work involved, you’re not alone. But cloth diapering may be easier than you think.
First, let’s talk about some advantages of cloth diapers:
- fewer incidents of diaper rash
- no chemicals near baby’s sensitive skin
- baby won’t inhale chemicals that disposable diapers emit
- cost savings—disposable diapers are very expensive!
- as many as 8,000 fewer disposable diapers will end up in a landfill and you will help reduce the devastating climate impact of deforestation.
But what about all the work associated with cloth diapers?
Following are the main misunderstandings about cloth diapering we hear at Wonderwear, and why, after hearing how cloth diaper services in particular defy these “myths”, many parents choose to use a cloth diaper delivery service.
Myth #1: That’s a lot of diapers and a lot of work!
Well, it is a lot of diapers—whether you opt for cloth or disposables. The average baby soils 80 to 90 diapers per week for the first 6 months and then between 60 and 70 diapers weekly thereafter. And washing upwards of 15 diapers per day is a tremendous amount of work, particularly when you consider everything else that comes with having a newborn.
However, a cloth diaper service takes all the work out of cloth diapering. Just as you would with disposables, you simply toss the soiled cloth diaper in the odour-proof and waterproof wet bag provided each week until the service comes to whisk them away. Contrary to myth, with a diaper service, there is no need to dump or rinse diapers at all.
Myth #2: Cloth diapers won’t work as well as disposables.
Most cloth diapers today fit like disposables, are ultra-absorbent, and can even wick moisture away from baby’s skin like a disposable.
Ask if the service you are considering offers fitted cloth diapers—these have elasticized legs and back with snap or velcro closures.
In terms of absorbency, leak protection, and ease of use, they are light years ahead of the pre-folds or flat diapers with safety pins your mom or grandma would remember.
Myth #3: Cloth diapers won’t get totally clean.
It’s true that home-based washers cannot get hot enough to remove all bacteria in a cloth diaper. Cloth diaper forums are filled with complaints about diapers still having an odour after washing three times or having to use bleach or having to “strip” the diaper to get the stains out.
But most cloth diaper services, including GTA-based Wonderwear Modern Cloth Diaper Service, use commercial washers, which operate at much higher temperatures than home washers and essentially sterilize the diapers while eliminating all bacteria.
Due to the extremely high temperature water and super-fast soil separation rinse cycles, they guarantee like-new diapers for every change without using harmful chemicals like chlorine or bleach.
Myth #4: Cloth diapers cost too much money up front.
For DIY cloth diapering, the average family will spend between $600 and $800 in cloth diapers and accessories to get set up. That’s a serious up-front cost when you may or may not be in it for the long run. However, over time, it’s usually significantly less than the cost of disposable diapers.
With a cloth diaper delivery service, however, there is no up-front cost and no long-term commitment. (At Wonderwear, weekly home delivery for unlimited cloth diapers is just $19.95—cheaper than disposables!) You can cancel at any time, so you can try it out with no risk.
A cloth diaper service eliminates all the major issues families have with cloth diapering. You can enjoy the benefits of cloth diapers and the benefits of disposables—without the drawbacks of either choice. What’s not to like?
