5 Important Reasons Why Millennial Moms Choose to Use Cloth Diapers

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Thinking about using cloth diapers for your new babe coming?

Wondering why so many moms are choosing to use cloth diapers as opposed to disposable ones?

In this article, I will explain 5 key reasons to use cloth diapers.

5 Reasons to Consider Using Cloth Diapers

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1. Cloth Diapers Will Save You Lots of Money

Perhaps the greatest factor in determining whether or not to use cloth diapers with my son was the thousands of dollars I would save when compared to buying disposable diapers.

Here, I’ll break it down for you:

Let’s say the average baby will have a diaper change 6-10 times a day. Multiply that by 352 days in a year. 3520 sposies (at most).

Then lets say the average toddler is potty trained at 2 years old. Multiply 3520 by 2 = 7,040 diapers they will use until being potty trained.

You with me?

Now, 26-36 diapers usually come in a jumbo pack which runs anywhere from $7-10 depending on the brand and sale.

So let’s use 31 as the amount of diapers in a pack as an average. 7,040/31=228 packs of diapers over 2 years.

Now lets use $8.50 as the average purchase of sposies. 228×8.5= $1,938.

So, over the course of 2 years, you will have spent almost $2,000 on disposable diapers.

You may spend more or less depending on how often your little one goes, which brands you use and whether or not you use coupons.  It will also depend on how long it takes for your little one to potty train but, it will still be a hefty hunk of change.

On the other side of the price comparison:

Cloth diapers range anywhere from $5-25 per diaper on average. Some go even as high as $40 per diaper. In fact, I just saw one auctioned off for over $100!! Those are the fancy ones that are hard to get.

Anyway, let’s say your baby uses 10 diapers per day. You need to wash diapers at least every 1-3 days to avoid mildew, mold, and absorbency issues.

So let’s take the average of washing every 2 days. That means, you’ll need at least 20 diapers to last until wash day. Let’s add 2 to that so that your little one has something to wear while all the diapers are in the wash.

Now, take the average price of $15 per diaper. 22x$15= $330.

(p.s there are ways you can save on buying cloth diapers as well, even $15 is a bit hefty)

Now, let’s add in some other accessories that you’ll need: a diaper pail liner ($10 avg), a diaper sprayer ($30), and a medium wet bag ($10, for travel).

There are a ton of other accessories that are out there but in my opinion, I don’t NEED them so I won’t include those in the total which comes out to be $380 for all 2 years of diapering and more.

Plus if you don’t end up potty training by 2 years of age, then the savings will rack up even more.

So, $1938-$380=$1,558 in savings over the course of 2 years!

I did not include the cost of water because it varies widely by where you live, what kind of machine you have, and how often you wash.

But, I will tell you that I’ve noticed an increase in my water bill by about $3 per month once I started using cloth diapers. I wash every 3 days, own an HE washer, use Purex and Tide, and live in Arizona.

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2. Cloth Diapers Are Safe and Non-Toxic

Most cloth diapers are completely natural, free of any toxins. These diapers are made from organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp material. They feel soft and rashes are non-existent when used the right way.

This is especially attractive to moms with babies who seem to have allergies and reactions to all the disposable diapers out there.

Disposable diapers contain the chemical called polyacrylic acid. This is the chemical responsible for the absorption aspect of the diaper. It starts off as a powder but becomes gel-like when wet.

You may notice these gel-like beads if your little one has an extra full diaper and they begin to leak out. When your baby’s skin comes in contact with this substance, it may begin to cause rash and even lesions.

The next chemical in a disposable diaper is dioxin. This chemical is the by-product (result) of the bleaching process in production of the diaper. When it comes in contact with baby’s skin, it also causes rash and lesions.

There are a TON more chemicals in disposables so it is important to do your own research if reducing chemicals on your baby’s skin is important to you.

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3. Eco-Friendly

Remember that amount of disposable diapers used in a total of 2 years?

7,040.

That is how many disposable, non-biodegradable diapers are filling up our landfills per baby while they are diapered. They will sit there leaching into our ground soil for approximately 5 years.

Let that sink in.

I never knew this until I began to use cloth diapers, but did you know that it is illegal to dump human waste into landfills? Yes, you still have to dump the stool contents into toilet before throwing in the trash. I don’t know anyone who does this but I was surprised to hear this fact.

Just think, the more disposables people use, the more dirty diapers are getting absorbed into our soil, eventually contaminating our ground water.

With cloth diapers, you dump the stool into the toilet or spray the stool off before throwing it the wash.

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4. No blow-outs!

Yes. I have cloth diapered my younger 2 children and they have not had any type of blowouts while wearing cloth diapers. 

As soon as my husband puts a disposable on, there’s poo everywhere!

It has to do with the elastic that cloth diapers have. It makes it much easier for me knowing that I don’t have to worry about having blow-out issues when out and about.

5. So darn cute

I mean, really? If you just Google “cloth diapers” under images, you’ll soon notice why some people become addicted.

There are tons of cute prints for both boys and girls. There are solids, patters, prints, sports, WAHM diapers which offer customization.

If you want a Harry Potter diaper, you’ll get a Harry Potter diaper! It’s that awesome.

Of course, that will depend on how big your budget is.

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