www.incontinentsupport.org

Ok ... I know that this has been discussed before. However, I wanted to get an update from all the veterans that have tackled this before.

The Question: In Your Opinion, How are Cloth Diapers Better than Disposables? And what are the positives and negatives of either one?

My main question is related to cost. Yep, disposables can be a bit pricey. At present, I am in disposables. The Bambinos at night; Unique Wellness by day. The day ones seem pretty inexpensive to me. Thanks to ebay, I'm averaging $0.60/diaper with another $0.15/booster; so $0.75/day. Yeah, I may be soggy & heavy, but I can't beat the cost. However, my nighttime costs go up to $1.50/diaper (:shock:) since my daytime combo won't cut it for nighttime use. That's why I'm thinking about cloth. Reusable and cheaper in the long run (at least that's what I've read).

I tried cloth a while back ago, but had leaks. So I stayed with the disposables. But having read a number of posts, I want to see what you all have found as the latest and greatest in terms of cost, bulk vs no bulk and how to avoid the leaks!

Thanks in advance!

I switched to cloth at night several years ago. I use cloth and disposables during the day depending on the circumstances. Cloth diapers are most definately cheaper than disposables. I've also found that using single flat diapers rather than factory sewen diapers greatly increases the overall life of the diaper. I just layer the flats to the desired thickness. I guess the flats don't get beat up as much as the sewen diapers in the washer/dryer or something. Plus the flats dry much faster than already layered diapers. In any case I found cloth to be much more reliable at night than disposables. If you had leakage problems using cloth then you were either underdiapered and/or you did not use proper fitting plastic pants. I almost never get leaks at night wearing cloth.

Another thing about cloth is you don't feel as if you "have to get your money's worth" out of each and every diaper like you might with disposables. First of all it is not good for the skin to be stuck in a wet diaper for hours. This is true for both cloth and disposables. Sometimes you don't have the option to change right now but should when you get the opportunity. Changing a half-wet cloth diaper is far less pricy than changing a half-wet disposable diaper.

Both cloth and disposables have their selling points. As I mentioned I do also used some disposable diapers during the day when I travel, etc... but for the most part I use cloth.

LA Lover,
I'm an avid cloth user when I can use them. I use disposables during the day at work, but I do use cloth on weekends at home. At night, I have the exact opposite from you with leaks. My cloth diaper wicks all the urine as I wet as I sleep. The only problem I ever have is as I sleep on my side and I have a major flood while in a deep sleep, I will have a little leak. This was even more of as pronblem with disposables. At least with my cloth diaper, I can pad that area with a pull on brief diaper. But I use a pin-on gauze pre-fold from ACD. I just make sure I have my "you-know-what" ponted down in my diaper. That usually works.
I rwally think daytime use is best. The only major problem that a lot of people have is the washing. I've got my routine down, and it's no bother now. .......Paul Martin.

Paul, I too sleep on my side much of the time. I usually don't wet in large enough amounts to cause a leak. My bladder pretty much empties itself whenever a small amount of urine builds up which is usually every hour or so during the course of a night if I had to guess. If I am sufficiently diapered the diaper will wick the urine throughout the entire diaper during the night. Some mornings I am very wet but never seem to have many leaks. The various disposables I tried at night did not wick the urine throughout the entire diaper like cloth does. Once an area of a disposable is wet and turns to jel it will not absorb any additional urine so the urine tends to pool in the already wet area unless it can find it's way to a dry area to be absorbed. When I slept on my side wearing a disposable that pooling area was on the side of the diaper and would cause leaks. I would wake up in a wet bed with only part of the diaper wet. I purchased some terrycloth shorts to wear over the disposables and covered them with plastic pants. This helped with the leaks at night but I now had to wash the shorts and plastic pants plus I was paying for disposable diapers. This is when I visited this web site for the first time and read some of the testimonials from members who used cloth diapers.. It took a few years of trial and error finding a cloth diaper/waterproof pant combination that best worked for me but now I have complete confindence in what I use.

DDS,

That's exactly how it effects me also. I can live with the disposable during the day since I'm usually standing or sitting and the diaper will catch the urine in a way it generally will not leak. The wicking abillity of cloth is what works so well at night. You just can't get that with a disposable. .......Paul Martin

It should also be pointed out that besides the fact that cotton diapers not only absorb wetness better and more of it that they also are much more comfortable than paper diapers. You can also increase their capacity greatly simply by wearing two for nights or days when you think you need it. Over all cloth diapers are far superior, only their bulk is a drawback. But that is a non factor at night and with a little trial and effort it can be over come in the day. Papa

My two cents
Cloth is great at wicking even after it's wet. It's quiet also. Down side I don't like the feeling of a wet towel between my legs Bulk is another issue if your not use to dressing for it. also I hate the laundry

My two cents without change .........................Sandy

Well I am with the cloth side with this. Unless I sleep on my back - and I am not good at that - I am going to get wet at some stage. I use terry squares folded (british you see!) and it works well and doesn't leak.

For what it is worth, I use a pair of cotton pants and plastic pants over the top when using disposable nappies as small leaks get catch by the cotton pants and it just seem safer.

Ok ... Based on what I've read and what I am going through, I need to switch to cloth from my disposables. I thought I had my routine down, but I'm experiencing too many leaks for comfort. Now for some questions to the veterans:

1. Can you recommend a good "starting point" for cloth/plastic? I tried cloth several months ago when I was dealing with my newly "developed" incontinence issues. However, I wasn't satisfied and disposables worked quite well. So I went disposables. All was well. Things took a turn in the last month or so and I now leak more than before with less warning during the day. And even with the "best" disposables that I can find, I see myself having to change more frequently and dealing with leakages (which is also frustrating )!

So what is a "great" cloth? What do I look for? How much to get? And what about the plastic pants? Where to start there?

2. I'm looking for a good cloth for night time use (lots of fluid!) and good daytime use. I don't know if I need to use the same setup for both or if day vs. night requires different cloth or a different setup. Right now, I have a different regime for night time vs daytime with my disposables.

3. I hear that pins work better than velcro which is better than pull ups. But pins seem like a hassle. Perhaps I am wrong. Any suggestions or comments?

4. What can I do with cloth to eliminate leaks? Are there boosters? What kind? Etc.?

At this point, I don't care too much about bulk. I'd like to minimize the bulk, but I would rather get rid of leakages.

Sorry to dribble on (pun intended) ... I am just frustrated with my incontinence. I know that others have a worse situation that I do; nevertheless, I am getting really mad at my state of affairs.

Thanks in advance ... Now it's time to change (again!).

IluvLA,
I've been in cloth diapers mainly at night for a bunch of years. I've tried a lot of cloth diapers and plastic pants.
My favorite for night time use are flat gauze diapers sold by ADC(adult cloth diaper). I don't mind the pins in using these. Also, Babykins has a great flat diaper too. I also have used their(Babykins) velcro type for day time use. I also used both baby cloth diapers for a doubler, and also have used "flour sack" towels sold at Sam's. They are really cheap and work great. They are very thin and dry really fast.
As far as plastic pants, I've tried a bunch of different brands there too. I think LL Medico sells very high quality pants at a good price. Also, Babykins has a really good supply. I use their nylon pants during the day over my disposable since my diaper cream will not effect the material. Regular plastic pants will become brittle and crack really fast if you use a cream similar to Desitin. I'm sure other members on the forum has their favorites too. ........Paul Martin