Pros & Cons of Cloth Diapers: Are Cloth Diapers Better?

Thinking of trying cloth diapers (AKA reusable diapers)? Consider these important pros and cons of using cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers – no bias, no BS. I’ve used both reusable and disposable diapers between my two kids, and I’m happy to share my “real life” take on the benefits and disadvantages of cloth diapering for the average busy mom.

Are cloth diapers worth it? The short answer is – it depends. By the time you’re done reading this, you’ll be armed with all the information you need to decide if cloth diapers are the right option for your family at this time.

Let’s start with the good stuff.

This website uses referral links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

Benefits of cloth diapers

Here are 9 unique benefits of cloth diapers and the reasons modern moms are switching to cloth.

#1 Cloth diapers are better for the environment

Using cloth diapers is the next best way aside from elimination communication to reduce your impact on the environment if you have a kiddo in diapers.

1) Less waste

While the elimination pattern of a newborn baby is vastly different from a 2.5-year-old, you can expect your child to go through an average of 6 diapers per day from birth to age 3, which adds up to 6,570 diaper changes during the first three years of your child’s life. Multiply that by the number of kids in diapers, and you’re left with a massive pile of dirty diapers headed for the landfill where the vast majority of used diapers end up.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 3.3 million tons of disposable diapers were deposited in landfills across the United States every year from 2010 to 2018. This number may be even higher now.

We consider water and electricity as valuable resources worth conserving, but land often isn’t seen in that way although it’s a finite resource we’re bound to run out of some day.

Furthermore, landfills contribute to environmental pollution. All landfills eventually leak – some sooner than others, releasing toxic chemicals and a slew of pathogens and contaminants to the surrounding land and ground water. Even more so with disposable diapers added to the mix since soiled diapers are considered a biohazard due their human waste contents. Landfills also generate methane, which is considered one of the top contributors to global warming. According to the EPA, municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States (following gas and petroleum industry and agriculture).

And while it’s estimated to take a staggering hundreds of years for disposable diapers to decompose when exposed to natural elements, nobody knows how long the decomposition process of diapers will take in a landfill since modern landfills are designed to seal the contents from these elements. It could be thousands of years.

2) Fewer resources

Disposable diapers require a hefty amount of resources from obtaining raw materials to manufacture. The fluff pulp in the absorbent core comes from wood. The inner and outer layers are typically plastic-based and derived from crude oil (petroleum), just like the superabsorbent polymer in the diaper’s core that makes disposable diapers so wonderfully absorbent. Water and electricity are used virtually every step of the way to produce all of the different components. Add to that packaging and distribution, not to mention the resources used to make all those extra garbage bags or diaper genie liners and hauling dirty diapers to the landfill.

The environmental toll of producing cloth diapers can also be significant, namely with cotton reusable diapers since cotton is a water-intensive crop and tends to be heavily chemically treated (unless certified organic). Some components of reusable diapers like the closing system and leakproof liner are derived from oil. Furthermore, cloth diapers need to be regularly washed, consuming water, energy, and laundry detergent.

Some insist the increased use of water and electricity (plus laundry detergent) cancels out any of the environmental benefits of cloth diapers. But since water and electricity (and various industrial chemicals) are used to manufacture each and every disposable diaper as well and reusable diapers don’t add to the landfill waste, the environmental toll of reusing cloth diapers is much lower compared with each new disposable diaper having to be made and distributed instead.

There are ways to further minimize the environmental impact by using HE (high efficiency) appliances. You can line-dry your cloth diapers to conserve electricity. The amount of detergent needed to wash a load of cloth diapers is miniscule compared with standard loads, and there are plenty of eco-friendly cloth-diaper-safe detergents to choose from.

#2 Reduce – reuse – recycle

Cloth diapers can be used over and over again. With cloth diapers you’re using fewer diapers to begin with, and they should last through more than one child if you take good care of them. Prefold inserts in particular can easily cover at least two kids.

You can repurpose cloth diapers when they’re no longer needed, donate them, or sell them to recuperate some of the cost back. (Believe it or not, even used cloth diapers can sell like hotcakes!)

#3 Cloth diapers are healthier for your baby

Modern cloth diapers allow for better airflow and contain significantly fewer chemicals commonly found in disposable diapers.

Diaper rashes and skin irritation are typically much less frequent when using cloth diapers. Comfort for baby is a very obvious tipping point for many parents weighing the pros and cons of cloth diapers.

#4 Cloth diapers can be much cheaper than disposables

One of the major benefits of using cloth diapers besides the fact that they’re healthier for babies is that unless you have a serious cloth addiction problem (it definitely does happen! LOL) or choose one of the pricier options, cloth diapering tends to be much cheaper than using disposables. Who doesn’t love saving money?!

Although the initial cost is higher with cloth vs. disposable diapers, you can typically recoup the initial cloth diaper investment within the first year, or even in as little as few months, depending on the type of diaper you choose.

We LOVED using prefolds (this company is my absolute favorite for cotton prefolds) in combination with gDiaper pants, and by keeping a realistically modest stash (around 6-8 covers in 3 sizes and 5.5 dozen prefolds altogether from birth to potty trained to cover all three sizes of covers), our savings were SIGNIFICANT within just a few short months.

One of the great benefits of gDiapers was that they were hybrid diapers, so we could use disposable inserts when we traveled and didn’t have access to a washer. We could re-use the pants many times before they needed to be washed, compared with pocket diapers that have to be replaced with every diaper change. We truly loved the gDiaper system, but sadly, gDiapers stopped production a couple of years ago. If they were still in business, I would recommend this combo in a heartbeat! (I still hope they change their mind.)

We also saved a TON of money on cloth wipes. There are many options from budget to luxury, but we settled on good-old plain-white inexpensive Gerber baby washcloths. The size was just right, and because they are smooth on one side and textured on the other, they did the job perfectly. They also washed well and held up surprisingly well through the years of use between two kids.

The best part?

If you have more kids later on and keep your diaper stash, you’ll be diapering them just for the cost of running the washer/dryer and the price of laundry detergent. That’s dirt-cheap, compared with the cost of disposable diapers.

#5 Versatility of cloth diapers

Another benefit to consider when weighing the pros and cons of cloth diapers is that with cloth diapers you have way more options that you just don’t get with disposable diapers.

• Need more absorbency? Double up on the cloth insert, or use a thin super absorbent hemp doubler.
• On the go and can’t check baby’s diaper often? Use a fleece liner to help keep baby’s skin dry.
• At home, soft natural fibers can be all there is next to your baby’s skin.
• A cloth diaper cover (no insert) can double up as a swim diaper, too. (It actually works much better than mainstream disposable swim diapers.)

#6 Easier and earlier potty training

This is another major benefit of cloth diapers over disposables that seems to be working for most kids.

Cloth-diapered kids often potty train earlier because they’re aware of the discomfort as wetness happens. Unlike disposable diapers where moisture is wicked and locked away, the immediate feedback of wetness helps kids connect the dots faster.

(This cloth diaper benefit can ultimately save you even more money down the road.)

#7 Solid waste goes where it’s supposed to

Here’s the thing: the solid content of ANY diaper – cloth or disposable – is supposed to be flushed down the toilet. There is even a small print addressing that on the packaging of disposable diapers. In reality, this hardly ever happens with disposable diapers. How many people do you know that actually dump the poop from a disposable diaper into the toilet?

When cloth diapers are used, there is no way around it and the vast majority of solid waste gets properly treated – unlike disposable diapers that sit in a landfill with untreated fecal matter where they can contaminate groundwater and spread disease.

#8 Reliability

You know the annoying blowouts that happen way too often in disposable diapers? Maybe you don’t yet. It’s the kind that comes up the neck and ruins the cutest outfits and never really washes out from anything it ever touches.

Hands down, cloth diapers win over disposables in their ability to contain poop. This is another major benefit of cloth diapers that I noticed immediately with my exclusively breastfed babies who were poopsplosions extraordinaires.

#9 Using cloth diapers helps spread the word

I can’t even recall the number of times I’d been asked, “Is that a cloth diaper?” Cloth diapers are stinkin’ cute. People will notice.

Ultimately you will run into two camps of folks. One side will genuinely be all ears about the ups and downs of using cloth diapers in the modern times. The other will only ask enough questions to pick your brain on just how gross it is to coexist with poop.

The bottom line is, when you use cloth diapers, you ultimately help promote awareness and conversation on this topic. It’s easier for parents to give cloth diapering a try if they see others happily using cloth.

Disadvantages of cloth diapers

As you can see, using cloth diapers has many benefits for your baby, your wallet, and the environment. But because we’re discussing both pros and cons of cloth diapering in this article, let’s talk about the disadvantages of cloth diapers as well as there are a few obstacles you may run into if you decide to go with cloth that you should definitely be aware of.

#1 Convenience (the lack of)

Let’s be real – cloth diapers aren’t very convenient. In fact, cloth diapers might be the most inconvenient product in modern parenthood. Here are some of the adjustments you’ll need to make if you decide to try cloth diapers:

• Learning to use cloth diapers may take some practice.
• Most daycares don’t accept babies in cloth diapers.
• When you change a cloth diaper outside of your home, soaked or soiled, it’s coming home with you. (Always keep extra plastic bags in your diaper bag.)
• You’re dealing with poop. On the daily.
• Keeping up with laundry so that you have enough clean diapers…

This is the cold hard truth about using cloth diapers. They ARE more work, and there is no denying it.

#2 Cloth diapers aren’t as absorbent

Cloth diapers need to be changed more frequently than disposables.

Unless you use a liner that wicks moisture away from baby’s skin, you’ll need to check and change cloth diapers much more often than you would with a disposable diaper.

Even WITH a fleece liner (which does an excellent job helping keep baby’s skin dry), cloth diapers still need to be changed more often than disposable diapers because they’re simply not as absorbent as disposable diapers which are stuffed with chemical superabsorbers.

#3 Washing diapers

Arguably the single biggest disadvantage of cloth diapers. We all have better things to do than create MORE laundry, and let’s be honest: soiled diapers are gross. But, cloth diapers need to be washed, so let’s talk about it.

If you have your own washer, you’re off to a great start. If you don’t, I would highly recommend looking into portable washers. You don’t need any hookups for those – they connect to your kitchen or bathroom faucet on an as-needed basis (this one has excellent reviews). We used a portable washer when we lived in an apartment without hookups, and it made our lives exponentially easier. (We just had to be careful with the hose connection as it did detach from the faucet a few times during a wash and flooded the bathroom floor.)

!! Shared washers aren’t ideal for cloth diapering, especially coin operated ones. Shared washers can introduce harsh chemicals or even ruin your diapers with the chemical residues they tend to contain, and coin operated washers take away the ability to adjust the wash cycle or easily run an extra rinse cycle.

As for washing cloth diapers, it usually goes something like this: prewash – hot wash – extra rinse optional. (I ran an extra rinse often, but the key was warm water. We have very hard water, and cold water wasn’t getting all the detergent out in our HE washer.) In all honesty, washing cloth diapers is not a huge deal these days because the washing machine does all the work for you.

Tumble drying isn’t absolutely needed but helps keep the diapers soft and fluffy.

How often you have to do diaper laundry will depend on the amount of diapers you have. If you have two dozen (24), count on washing them about every 2-3 days. (FYI: You DON’T NEED a “wet bag” to store dirty diapers – I found a dry bucket to work the best. No stink + easy to empty).

What CAN be tricky is keeping cloth diapers clean and soft and smelling nice long-term. Even when you have your wash routine down to a T, your diapers may suddenly become stinky or stiff (or both – oy!) and you’ll need to figure out whether you should:

• change your wash routine
• use more detergent
• use less detergent
• get a different detergent
• strip your diapers (running a few hot cycles with no detergent)

Which reminds me, you’ll want to use a laundry detergent compatible with cloth diapers (most mainstream laundry detergents aren’t).

#4 Diaper rash creams

Once you start using cloth diapers, you can no longer smear just about anything on your baby’s bottom. Oily or tacky creams (= any typical diaper rash cream) can build up on the diaper which can lead to reduced absorbency and stink issues. I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a cloth diaper disadvantage, but it’s something to be aware of.

Related: #MomHacks: Using Sunscreen for Diaper Rash

You’ll probably be able to get away with using tiny amounts of a diaper rash cream with your cloth diapers sparingly, but it’s recommended to use (inexpensive) thin disposable liners (like these) if you need to apply any sort of cream.

Realistically, though, you’re much less likely to need a diaper rash cream when using cloth diapers to begin with because skin irritation is less common with cloth. Most parents who switch to cloth notice fewer diaper rashes overall.

#5 The size of that thing! (But it depends…)

Cloth diapers can be quite bulky. Some types more than others; it all depends on which reusable diaper system you’ll decide to go with. But I can tell you right now that I had to be very careful with the type of pants and shorts my babies could wear. There just had to be enough room for all that fluff.

On the plus side, a wet diaper won’t swell up like a disposable diaper can.

Quality cotton prefolds in particular create bulk. (But in my opinion they are the most practical to wash and dry and maintain clean overall.)

For the record, there is no health issue associated with wearing bulky cloth diapers for the baby. If anything, some will argue that cloth diapers are beneficial for baby’s developing hips. After all, you know how infant hip issues were treated when I was a baby myself? By adding more layers to our cloth diapers.

Pros & cons of cloth diapers

Although I never saw myself as a future cloth diapering mom when our first baby was born (never ever in a million years, hard pass, what is this – the cave ages?), once I went down the rabbit hole on the effects of disposable diapers on my baby’s health and the environment (my wake-up call was a certain brand of diapers giving babies chemical burns), I knew I had to at least give cloth diapers a try. She was in disposables for the first 7 months of her life, and then cloth diapered from then on. Our second never used disposables other than the first few days after birth.

I never expected to fall in love with cloth diapers the way I did. The savings we made were just a really nice bonus!

That said, while I’m a huge fan of cloth diapers, they’re obviously not the right option for everyone.

Making the right decision about cloth diapering means to carefully weigh both pros and cons of cloth diapers while taking your own circumstances and priorities into consideration.

The truth is, when the benefits of cloth diapering outnumber the negatives, the extra work is barely noticeable. On the other hand, if using cloth diapers becomes a burden in your life and makes you miserable, it’s not worth it despite the many benefits of cloth diapering or wanting to use natural materials against your baby’s skin.

There is no right or wrong answer here. My only advice is – do what feels right and what works for YOU and YOUR FAMILY. The decision you make is the right decision for you.

Not sold about using cloth diapers but still want something safer for your baby? Take a look at the list of the best non-toxic disposable diapers and best natural baby wipes – my gift to you! 🙂

I hope you have found value in this article whether you’re a new parent or a seasoned one.

Have a question about the benefits and disadvantages of reusable cloth diapers that hasn’t been covered? Please do reach out!

Related:

• Natural & Non-Toxic Baby Products Made Easy: The Ultimate List
• 23 Popular Baby Products to Stay Away From
• Best Natural Baby Toys
• Sugar in Breast Milk VS. Baby Formula
• Glass Baby Bottles VS. Plastic Bottles (Pros/Cons)