Moms Talk: Would You Use Cloth Diapers?

Each week the Mentor Patch Moms Council answers a question on parenthood posed to them by readers or another member of council.

This week's question: I recently went to an event where a lot of parents were talking about how they used cloth diapers. Did you use cloth diapers with your kids/grandkids? If so, what did you think? If not, would you hypothetically ever use them? Why or why not?

Melanie Majikas:

I used cloth diapers for about six months with my first child through a diaper service out of Lakewood.

It was great and I was very disappointed when they stopped delivering to Lake County.

I thought briefly about starting my own cloth diaper service for our area but I was working part-time and just didn't have a chance to put any effort into it.

I used disposables for my second child and wasn't thrilled about it. If I had to do it over again, I would do cloth.

Mary Jo Stack:

I used cloth diapers with my oldest many -- many moons ago.

Although, I really wanted to use cloth with my two younger, I resorted to disposable. It was just too convenient.

With the two younger ones being so close in age, I found it too time consuming to use cloth.

I never used a diaper service. I cleaned diapers myself. Perhaps if I had even thought of using a service, I would have used cloth with the younger kids.

Donna Milnes:

Back in the olden days, I used cloth diapers with my girls. (My fingers still have the scars from the diaper pins).

Disposables were just starting to be available and they leaked around the legs and there were no velcro tabs so you had to keep masking tape to reseal if the diaper became loose. (Yeah, lots of convenience.)

Now, with my grandkids, the disposables are so much better and it is so easy to pack and go. Also the pull ups are great for potty training and sure saves on mopping the floor.

Gloria Kilfoyle:

I was lucky with my three boys because DiDee Wash from Shaker Heights came out to deliver cloth diapers. But with my daughter, disposable diapers were in and the diaper service closed.

So disposables were wonderful, especially with raising so many kids. I would never had time to keep track of the boys and wash out diapers.

I think everyone should receive cloth diapers at  a baby shower. They are wonderful burp cloths and then make great housecleaning cloths. Yay for modern technology.

Jill Korsok:

I used cloth diapers for a brief period when my daughter - my oldest - was born while I was doing some freelance writing and marketing work for a diaper service on the west side.

It was an interesting and educational experience; but, in the long run, the amount of water and chemicals used to clean cloth diapers -- whether you do it at home or through a service -- isn't much better for the environment than using disposable diapers.

Ultimately, the convenience of disposable diapers won and I now try to make up for all the diapers I threw in the landfill by by recycling everything I can and teaching my kids to do the same!