Cloth Diaper Overview

Cloth diapers may be made of absorbent layers of or terry towelling fabric.

Cloth diapers are reusable and often made with environmentally friendly or sustainable biodegradable material such as hemp. This places much less stress on landfills. However, they also require laundering and high-temperature water to be properly cleaned.

Cloth diapers can be made of industrial cotton. The fabric may be bleached white or now more commonly left a natural colour. Alternative materials which are becoming much more popular and more common are grown without pesticides, such as unbleached hemp, bamboo and organic cotton.

They have become more user friendly in recent years. Pre-formed cloth diapers with snaps or hook and loop fasteners and all-in-one diapers with waterproof exteriors are now available, in addition to the older pre-fold and pin variety.

Increasingly popular are “pocket” or “stuffable” diapers, which consist of a water-resistant outer shell sewn with an opening in the back for insertion of absorbent material. Some cities offer a cloth diapering service which delivers clean diapers and picks up soiled ones for a fee. Cloth diapers may be used in conjunction with elimination communication as a back-up in case of an accident.

To clean them, people use laundry detergent and water or send the soiled diapers to a cleaner. This can cause problem where water availability concerns exists. Cloth diaper-wearing children tend to toilet train earlier, because the cloth retains moisture, which allows the child to feel when he or she is wet and/or dirty and associate the feeling with elimination. This also increases the number of changes per day (approx 9.7 per day) versus 5.4 to 7.0 per day (disposables).

Cloth diaper-wearing children go through about 6,000 diaper changes. It is difficult to find high quality cloth diapers at brick and mortar stores, thus many people sew their own diapers or shop for cloth diapers on-line. One usually has to either visit an on-line service that sells them.

Length of use

While awake, most children no longer need diapers when past two to four years of age, depending on culture, diaper type, parental habits, and the child’s personality. However, some children have problems with daytime or more commonly nocturnal bladder control until eight years or older. This may occur for a variety of reasons, the most common being the as yet insufficient production of ADH in the young child’s body. Other reasons include the difficulty of managing a small bladder and emotional issues (but emotional issues are a less common reason than generally believed).

Some older children also need diapers while traveling. These children may use standard but larger size diapers or special diapers which mimic underwear and do not require complex fastening or adult assistance.

Changing

When to change a diaper is the decision of the caregiver. Some people believe that diapers should be changed at fixed times of the day for a routine, such as after naps and after meals. Other people believe that diapers should be changed when they feel a change is needed regardless of timing. Still others people believe a diaper should be changed immediately upon wetting or soiling. And, some believe that a diaper should be changed only when the wearer is uncomfortable, the diaper is full, the diaper is leaking, or the wearer has a bowel movement.

To avoid skin irritation, commonly referred to as diaper rash, the diaper of those prone to it should be changed as soon as possible after it is soiled (especially by fecal matter). The combination of urine and feces creates ammonia. Ammonia irritates skin and can cause painful redness. During the change, after the buttocks are cleaned and dried, some people use baby oil, barrier creme or baby powder to reduce the possibility of irritation. The most effective means to prevent and treat diaper rash is to expose the buttocks to air and sunshine as often as possible. There are also drying creams based on such ingredients as zinc oxide which can be used to treat diaper rash. Before disposing of a diaper, either in a diaper pail for washing, fecal matter should be removed as much as possible and placed in a toilet to avoid landfill and ground water contamination.

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