2nd Trimester
Options
Diaper Service
Anyone use or planning on using a diaper service? What are the pros and cons? TIA
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Diaper Service
I am!
Pros: benefits of CD, but not the extra laundry; services have the facilities to properly sterilize the diapers, reducing the probability of diaper rash and infection from remaining bacteria (you don't wanna chance it with poop); diaper services are actually "greener" than wash-at-homes (w-a-hs end up being about even with sposies on the carbon footprint scale), since there's not an additional rinse cycle for each load of diapers.
Cons: pricewise, I think that a service ends up being about even with disposables. In my area, it's $65 a month for the in-store pick-up service, and $72 a month for the delivery. Also, you will have to have dirty diapers around the house for a week, instead of washing them every other day or so.
ETA: I plan on doing the in-store service, while I'm running my weekly errands. It's near to a store that I frequent each week, so carbonwise, I think we're still going to be good.
I have no idea how much sposies cost a month! ... we're going to try the service, but if BFing doesn't work out (as it didn't for my mom, and our pregnancies have been so similar thus far), we will probably switch to disposables if they are less expensive, to offset any formula costs.
And as far as rinsing diapers in the toilet first, and then throwing them in with the rest of the laundry... no offense to your friends, but I think that's nasty. I know that this is probably first-timer naievate, but I just don't think that anything that is fouled with feces should be mixed in with anything else in the laundry. Ecoli and staph (which are feces-borne bacteria) are really tough bugs to kill, and I wouldn't want to risk contaminating the rest of my baby's clothes with those germs.
Most CD mommies I've talked to (that wash at home) rinse the solids off into the toilet, and then do an additional rinse cycle in the laundry, with a load devoted to diapers. But I wouldn't even want to risk that at home, since home water heaters don't get hot enough to properly sterilize diapers.
We're going to use Earth Baby diaper service. These diapers act just like a disposable, and are broken down with very little heat. They use way less energy to breakdown that CD.
Check out their site: earthbaby.com
The debate continues on the green factor of diaper services vs. wash at home, I think. I've heard that some services use harsh "non-green" chemicals in their laundering process and super high temperature wash, since diapers are shared among all customers. Whereas, at home, I use biodegradable detergent. At home, most people do a double rinse to ensure all the detergent is out of the diapers, so that uses more water, but that can be offset by using a HE washer, which we have. Also, we line dry when we can, so that significantly reduces energy consumption. Diaper services utilize trucks to transport to and from homes, so that increases carbon footprint.
So, I think it depends on how you wash at home, and whether or not you can find a "green" diaper service in your area (one that uses eco-friendly products). However, I'm pretty sure CD win over disposables hands down in eco-friendliness--not just because of disposables collecting in landfills, but also because of the huge carbon footprint factor of producing and transporting disposable diapers for retail sale.
On the cons for a service vs. laudering at home -- you typically just use the diaper service's prefolds and covers, so you don't have all of the fabulous options of cloth diapers available to you.