http://www.diaperjungle.com/Cloth-Diapers-Exposed.html

 

Cloth Diapers Exposed! The Facts and the Fiction!

 When parents considers using cloth diapers, they inevitably must wade through the mass of misinformation that abounds wherever cloth diaper discussions occur. No doubt these inexperienced parents hear that cloth diapers are unsanitary, that they perpetuate unpleasant odors, leak profusely, and require a lot of back breaking work. But these parents can take comfort in the fact that these are all cloth diaper myths. You can get the facts here ...

Myth #1 - Cloth Diapers Are Expensive
It is estimated that using disposable diapers can cost you between two and three thousand dollars per child, from birth to potty training. That is an astounding amount of money to spend on what is essentially garbage. Cloth diapers, however, are much cheaper in the long run, even if the initial investment is more. Assuming that you will not be sewing your own diapers, it is entirely possible to cloth diaper a child for 3 years for $100-300 dollars. These diapers will likely last for one or more subsequent children as well. Do the math…the numbers don’t lie.

Myth #2 - Cloth Diapers Smell
Cloth diapers do not smell any more then a disposable diaper does. The smell that emanates from a cloth diaper thrown in a diaper pail can not be more offensive then a soiled disposable diaper thrown in a garbage can. Innovative new diaper pails and odor controlling accoutrements in a variety of sweet smelling fragrances have eliminated this problem entirely. Odors are also held at bay by using a dry pail method for storing soiled diapers so that the diapers are not left to sit in stagnant and possibly malodorous water. With these new advances, there are no reasons why cloth diapers need to "smell".

Myth #3 - Cloth Diapers Are Hard to Care For
Many cloth diapering parents have adopted a dry pail method of storage. This means that they simply remove a soiled diaper, dispose of any solid waste by dumping it in the toilet, and then toss the diaper in a diaper pail until laundry day. While some cloth diaper users may still rinse diapers in a toilet or sink before putting them in the pail, or even soak them in a wet pail before laundering, these methods are not necessary. A no rinse, dry pail method has been proven to be just as effective.

Using cloth diapers will usually only mean another 1-3 loads of laundry a week. This should not represent a significant difference in workload on laundry days. Putting cloth diapers outside on a line to dry will not only alleviate some of this work, but it will also help conserve energy and “sun” out any stains that washing did not get rid of. All things considered, it is no more difficult to clean cloth diapers then it is to clean any other clothing types.

Myth #4 - Cloth Diapers Are Not Sanitary
Cloth diapers need to be clean, plain and simple. They do not need to be absolutely sterile. Most adults probably do not find it necessary to sterilize their underpants, so laundering cloth diapers should be sufficient to ensure that they are clean and ready for use. Diapers should be washed with hot water and then dried in a dryer or on the line outside. Both of these drying mechanisms, providing either heat from the dryer or heat from the sun, will actually help to sterilize the diapers and kill any lingering bacteria that may be present. They should be sufficiently clean and acceptable to diaper your baby with.

Myth #5 - Washing Cloth Diapers Wastes Electricity and Water
This argument is truly baffling. Washing cloth diapers does require water and energy usage. However, advancing technology in washing machines and dryers has helped tremendously to keep the energy and water usage to a minimum. Even if you are washing cloth diapers with the oldest and most archaic washing and drying machines, the water and energy output in washing a few loads of diapers a week is infinitesimal compared to the energy wasted on disposable diapers.

Just consider the energy and fossil fuels used to cut down and transport thousands of trees to make the paper pulp used in a disposable diaper, not to mention the devastation this causes to our national forests. Water and energy are then used to create this paper pulp and bleach it. Even more energy is used to make the outer plastic shells and then assemble the diaper. These diapers are then packaged in plastic wrappings and put in cardboard boxes, which also had to be specially made for transporting these diapers. It doesn’t end there, however; these diapers are then transported from the factory all over the country and all over the world using trains, trucks, and cargo planes, so that they can be delivered to the stores that sell them to the public. No doubt, more energy is wasted by the consumer who must drive to and from these stores to make their purchase. To make matters worse, these consumers use these diapers and throw them away, essentially throwing their money in the garbage as well. The garbage must then be transported to a landfill using even more energy and fuel. This energy consumption is never ending. Cloth diaper users reduce, reuse, and recycle. Can any disposable diaper users claim that?

Myth #6 - Cloth Diapers Leak
Cloth diapers today come in many different styles, and are made with a wondrous array of fabric and absorbency levels. Even parents of children who are very heavy wetters are sure to find a diaper that works for them if they search hard enough. Parents must consider though, that disposable diapers are made with chemicals that allow them to be super absorbent and act as a high-volume portable toilet. Yes, disposable diapers may hold in more urine, but is that really a good thing? The holding capacity of disposable diapers seems to be breeding laziness and unrealistic expectations in many parents. We should not be lulled into the thinking that a diaper should last through several urinations before it is changed, simply because it is inconvenient to change diapers every 2-3 hours or less. When a diaper is soiled or wet it needs to be changed ... end of story. If diapers are changed immediately after they become soiled or wet, then leaks are rarely a problem.

The Times claims to have seen an unpublished study claiming that cloth diapering is only greener if "parents... hang wet nappies out to dry all year round, keep them for years for use on younger children, and make sure the water in their washing machines does not exceed 60C"

While I'll readily concede that "an unpublished study" isn't the most reliable source, I suppose that you could argue that the manufacturing and transportation of disposable diapers is as efficient as it can be reasonably made to be, because the manufacturers and retailers have a economic incentive to make it so: keeping the energy bills low at the plant means more profit.

Addtionally, cloth diapers are frequently manufactured and transported using the exact same infrastructure.  You just don't have to buy quite as many.

There are a lot of factors in play, making an efficiency assessment difficult.  I'm honestly not convinced either way, at this point.

Many green alternatives don't really hold up to their quest at the end. Cloth diapers are just to minimalize landfill but on the other hand, all the water wasted and chemical cleaners to wash them and maintain them to me in unworthy. For me, I just try to use as least disposable diapers as I can on a daily basis(average of 3-4 in 24 hours) and plan to potty train very early. I also use smaller diapers than her size recommended, she should be wearing size 3-4 but I still use 2.

Actually, you are supposed to use non-chemical based, natural cleaners.  I use Country Save which is an all natural laundry detergent, safe for the environment.

countrysave.com/enviro.php

And as for the water, if you wash every other day as opposed to every day then you are not using that much more water.  Our water bill literally went up only $2.00 / month.  And air drying also saves on energy.

There are other reasons to do cloth as well, for one, it saves a ton of $$$ and also for health reasons too.  There is a chemical (dioxin) used in sposies that has been linked to cancer. 

www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php#clothdiapersarebetter

www.clothplanet.com/

Also my DD had a rash 24/7 when she was in sposies and since switching to cloth she has hardly had a rash except when experiencing an allergy to food or from teething.

There have been a few studies to come out and say that disposable diapers and cloth diapers have roughly the same environmental footprint.  But looking beyond that initial conclusion, it's interesting to note how many companies in the disposable diaper industry are behind those studies.  Mothering Magazine has an interesting article called the Politics of Diapers (A Timeline of Recovered History).  While I think the life cycle assessments are interesting, I certainly think they have to be taken with a grain of salt given who paid for the studies.  Even if they say they're "independent," it doesn't always mean they are.

Additionally, as Heather Sanders points out on the Cloth Diaper Blog and as discussed by the Real Diaper Association here, laundering choices have a huge impact on the environmental footprint of cloth diapers.  If you use a machine that has a high energy rating (such as a modified energy factor of 1.72 or higher) and a low water factor (lower than 8.0), you significantly reduce your energy and water consumption.

The Real Diaper Association lists these suggestions:

• Use Energy Star rated washing machines.
• Wash diapers at 140 degrees.
• Air dry.
• Use washable wipes and liners.
• Use low-impact detergent.
• Use organic products.
• Reuse diapers for the next child, then give them away or sell them to another.

read my reply in this thread that is directly above this post of yours.

I stayed away from cloth diapers originally because I thought they would be a pain to deal with.  When I finally looked into them, I was surprised to see how advanced they are since my grandmother's days.  Then I still didn't buy any because my son was already 18 months old and I figured it wouldn't really save me money.  So, I was spending around 50.00 a month on Nature Babycare (which are the only disposables I recommend because they are biodegradable).  I came across a brand exclusively on ebay and bought 12 diapers for 120.00.  He's been using them for 3 1/2 months now...in which time we would have spent 175.00 on diapers.  So they have already saved us money and I'm sure he still has a few months to go in them. 

On top of this, it's like Kay said...the chemicals in standard disposables are not good for baby's skin.  No chemicals in cloth.  And for washing, I use homemade detergent, so I'm not adding chemicals to the water supply.  I also wash right along with other loads, so no extra loads.  I guess for me, cloth diapering has become a no-brainer.

bumping this thread up because of recent talk about cd myths

First of all, sorry it's been so long since I was last on here.  I've had some enormous life changes and am just now getting to a point where I can back into the swing of things!  To answer your question, I use Sunbaby.  I found them on ebay, same thing as Bum Genius only with snaps instead of velcro...for half the price.  I also bought extra microfiber inserts because I didn't like the thin inserts that came with sunbaby, but even after buying the extra inserts it still cost less than buying Bum Genius by a long shot!