In the '60s I used cloth diapers with my first two sons and they kept a diaper rash. When my third son came along later '60s, I used pampers and he never had diaper rash. And by then I was sick of washing out dirty diapers. I would hate to have to go back to cloth. I don't know how much disposable diapers cost today, but cloth diapers need presoaking, gentle detergent, water (washer) and electricity/gas (dryer), it all adds up. And the boys were potty trained in less than 18 months. Three years is a long time in diapers.

I've enjoyed reading the experiences of others and some of the comparisons they made for saving money such as breast feeding vs bottle feeding. Of course, the landfill problem is indeed a problem. But I just wouldn't go back to the negatives of cloth diapers. But thankfully we live in a free country and each person can choose for her/himself.

Wowser, what a difference!! My kids are grown now, but my first was in cloth to save money. We only used disposables when we left the house. But DD is a redhead, and her sensitive skin couldn't handle being damp all the time, so it was disposable for her. Yeah, that hurt.

Now they have such cute and convenient cloth diapers that they're trendy. It seems a lot of good old-fashined ideas are making a comeback, like quilting, canning, and even cloth diapers.

When my first was a baby "Pampers" broke him out when he worn them. I used a Diaper service. "Tiddy Diddy" Just set the pail on the front porch and they came by and picked the dirty up and left you clean ones. I do not think I could have kepted up with the laundry without them.

I used cloth diapers on my kids. At the time we were on a well so washing them myself was not an option. We used a diaper service. At the time we were told they try to make it as convenient as disposable. We didn't have to wash them out or rinse, just toss them in the hamper that they provided. Every week we'd put out the bag of dirty diapers and it would be replaced by beautiful, clean, folded diapers. I really liked that. I had a friend who didn't like the idea of "carrying" around dirty, wet diapers but my thought was if the baby made a mess on their clothes, you'd have to "carry" that around so what difference did it make? The only time we used disposable diaprs was when we were traveling. Another benefit was, no diaper rashes! Both of my kids only had 1 minor rash but I was one of those wierd moms who actually enjoyed diaper changing! Go figure! Seems like a lifetime ago. My baby just graduated from college!

Just in case you want the fabric that used to make up the diapers, or even some ready made cloth diapers, just go to onlinefabricstore.com and search for: diaper material. I bought a case of diapers and use them for cleaning cloths, and they're wonderful and almost indestructible! I also use the Bird's Eye diaper fabric for batting for lightweight summer quilts. I live in Nevada, and it's supposed to get up to 115 degrees already this week. Anyway, the diaper material is just enough to keep you from seeing the back through the top, and it gives the quilt "body" without weight. I'm sure I could think of other uses for this durable but cheap fabric if I tried. I lived in England for a while, and we used it for everything.​

When my grandchildren were born, my daughter wanted to go cloth. They are pretty pricey, but worth it. Lots of free cloth diaper patterns out there. I was able to make most of her diapers for the first and second grandchild.
There is a HUGE resale value on cloth diapers.

I used cloth diapers and line dried them, when I see cloth diapers given as a gift for burp rags I can not keep my mouth shut and usually say wrong end!! It is so much more economical and only one of my children had diaper rash and it was because of what I was eating! He was breastfed. I also started with a wringer washer and no dryer.

One of my favorite topics is cloth diapers. Besides the great savings over disposables, there is the trash issue. I hate the thought of all those diapers filling the landfills. I hate the stench of a garbage can of disposables on a hot summer day. I made my own diapers out of diaper flannel. Size was easily adjusted and 27 years later I am still cleaning with some of those diapers.
Can you imagine the 'welfare' savings if instead of supplying the money for diapers 'they' supplied cloth? The price of a basic washer/dryer, cloth diapers and laundry soap VS Boxes and boxes of disposables over the years. If the mother really hated them, she may look harder for a job or stop having baby after baby. I realize that may not be possible in this economy, but have witnessed so much welfare abuse over the years. Where I live, people seem to have babies for a living. Disposable diapers are considered a necessity.
My sister runs a day care from her home. She has accepted babies with cloth diapers, she doesn't like it much. It's interesting to see how it's the better educated professionals who seem to use cloth. They sure have some complicated fancy cloth diapers out there. By the time garbage day arrives, my sister will have 8 or more full trash cans that smell horrid.
Walmart still sells diaper flannel and I have also seen it at Joanns. I routinely give a dozen diapers for a baby shower and tell the mom they are for 'just in case'. For all the focus on ecology and being green, this issue sure is ignored.
brenda in MI

Someone mentioned earlier that the cost of detergent, electricity, etc, made cloth diapers expensive. BUT as I stated on the first post, ALL those costs were figured in. Of course they had to do an average (elec. expenses are 1/2 the cost of where my folks live, for example)......No matter what anyone says -- cloth is LESS expensive. More convenient, without a doubt, but LESS expensive.