Cloth Diapers vs. Water Use Reduction

Talking with my mother the other day about our plans for cloth diapering baby Selene once she’s big enough to fit the bumGenius 3.0 diapers we have brought up a very good point.

Cloth diapers take a lot of water to wash.

Recent storms may change matters somewhat, but all the talk has been on water restrictions lately. I’m really hoping this doesn’t turn out to be a problem.

However, I do have things I would give up sooner than my cloth diapers, if it’s left up to me. I’d be quite delighted if my landlord would let us just kill the front lawn, and maybe add in some drought tolerant plants instead. The gopher seems to be leaving things alone at long last, thanks, I would imagine, due to the hunting prowess of the neighbor’s cats. I know they caught at least one gopher.

I’ve also been scolding my husband for some of the ways he wastes water already. I don’t think he’ll go for a bucket in the shower just yet, but if things get bad this year he might.

If the discussed water restrictions hold this year, things could get interesting. I hope to see enough rain, or rather enough snow in the mountains, to get us out of the drought, but if that doesn’t happen I have no doubt that restrictions will happen.

But I just can’t see giving up the cloth diapers. My mother is concerned that it might be a sensible solution, even though she agrees disposables are more of a waste overall. Going to have to keep on planning as the season goes on.

2 replies on “Cloth Diapers vs. Water Use Reduction”

  1. Deoxy says:

    I think some people also use more water than they actually need for washing cloth diapers. I let the washer fill up with water, stop it and let everything soak for half an hour, then let the cycle run as normal. I’ve never needed to run two washes or multiple rinses. No, my diapers not not gleamingly white after nearly two years of use, but they are clean.

  2. Stephanie says:

    Thanks for the tip. It’s great to hear a different opinion on what it takes to wash them. I’ll have to give that a try.

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