Cloth Diapers, Helping Parents Go Green
Using Cloth or Biodegradable Diapers Help Reduce Waste
Aug 19, 2008
Going green is one of the most popular movements happening in today’s society. One way that parents can help the environment is to make the switch from disposable to cloth diapers. Not that many years ago, parents were primarily using cloth diapers. Today the United States alone goes through about 27 billion diapers every year.
Disposable diapers add an extra 3.4 million tons in waste. Plus it takes an estimated 500 years for each disposable diaper to break down. Cloth diapers can be reused and are not as inconvenient as people might think.
The New Generation of Cloth Diapers
Parents don’t necessarily have to use the prefold or flat diapers that have to be pinned with safety pins. If they are willing to spend more money, they can choose diapers that look just like disposable ones but are actually made from cloth. Instead of safety pins they have buttons to hold them on and snaps to adjust the size as the baby grows. They are priced anywhere from $5.99 to $32.99. Some diaper websites like Cottonbabies.com offer defective diapers for a discounted price.
Basic Tips to Clean Cloth Diapers
- Have a designated diaper pail to keep dirty diapers until laundry day.
- Keep the diaper pail half full of water and add baking soda to get rid of the smell.
- If using white diapers, not colors, add a couple of capfuls of bleach to keep the bacteria down.
- Wet diapers can be put directly into the diaper pail.
- If parents are brave enough, soiled diapers should first be cleaned in the toilet. Empty the waste off the diaper into the toilet and flush, making sure to hold onto the diaper. Then continually flush and swish diaper in the toilet, to get most of the waste off. The diaper can than be added to the diaper pail. Note: Make sure to keep a tight hold on the diaper while flushing in order to avoid accidentally clogging a toilet.
How to Save on Water and Electric when using Cloth
Although cloth diapers might be better for the environment because they help add less waste to landfills, they can cause parents to use more water and electricity within their households. The Green Living Tips website offers some excellent advice on how to make using cloth diapers better for every household:
- Stock up on cloth diapers and only wash once a there is a full load.
- Use the cold water cycle.
- Use earth friendly washing detergents.
- Air dry diapers instead of using the dryer, to save electricity.
- Reroute washing machine water runoff into gardens or install a greywater recycling system.
Can’t Handle Cleaning Cloth? There’s another Alternative
If cleaning cloth diapers just don’t seem like your cup of tea, but you still want to go green biodegradable gDiapers might be the answer. Whole Foods Market and sites like diapers.com sell these plastic-free diapers that degrade within 50 to 150 days. They can be flushed in the toilet, put in the trash or in a compost pile.
Parents buy reusable pants and disposable liners. After the diaper becomes soiled, parents just change out the liner, which is biodegradable. Less mess and easy cleanup for mom and dad; and they are better for the environment. The plastic-free refills are priced $0.36 to $0.45 a liner, a few cents more than regular disposable diapers.
Interested in Going Green in other parts of the house? Check out these other articles:
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