Thinking of switching to cloth diapers for your kids? Here are 4 things you need to know

With Metro Manila under enhanced community quarantine, many parents worry about encountering a shortage of baby supplies, especially infant diapers.

However, the Cloth Diaper Advocates Philippines is offering a solution to this dilemma: switch from disposable diapers to cloth diapers.

Around 200 parents across the Philippines participated in the Grand Cloth Diaper Change 2020 on Saturday, during which they went online and simultaneously changed their kids' diapers into cloth diapers.

During the event, some parents spoke up on the advantages of making the switch. Here's what we learned:

1. It saves you money

During the online event, cloth diaper advocate Rani Cimafranca shared that parents change their babies' disposable diapers five to ten times a day which can accumulate to P100 per day. In a week, you would have spent P700 pesos already.

Since funds aren't coming in smoothly due to the quarantine, Cimafranca said "parents are finding out na mas practical ang cloth diaper."

"'Yung P75, I can stretch it, wash and wear, anytime," she added. "Di ako mamromroblema ng shortage."

^{Photo: Joepa Cachila Andres}

2. It helps the environment 

Using cloth diapers also promotes a zero waste lifestyle.

According to Cimafranca, disposables take an estimated 500 years to decompose.

"Disposable was just invented in the 1940s so the first disposable diaper is still out there somewhere, and that's what we want to keep from our oceans," Cimafranca shared.

She added that while it does take more energy to use cloth diapers, it can still be used over and over again.

"One cloth diaper is equivalent to hundreds or even thousands of disposables," Cimafranca added. "The more you use cloth diapers, the more hindi ka lang nakakatipid, you at least save thousands of disposables from our oceans."

By influencing more parents to use cloth diapers, Cimafranca shared that parents can both save up on their finances but also help out with the environment.

^{Photo: Jay Anne Tacbas}

3. It's easy to use

Although you'll have to wash your cloth diaper compared to simply throwing away disposable diapers, Cimafranca said that it's actually easy to use.

When you wash cloth diapers, it's the same process as washing any other clothes, she said, just with additional things to remember.

If the baby poops, all you have to do is pre-wash the cloth. Shake off the solid waste then wash it away. Afterwards, you can wash the cloth diaper with soap or put it in the washing machine.

Meanwhile, if the baby pees, it's better to pre-rinse the cloth diaper then proceed to wash it with soap or put it in the washing machine.

When drying the cloth diaper, simply hang it horizontal, since hanging it wrongly might pull on the elastics.

^{Photo: Aika Barcebal Bañares-Marbella}

4. You can use a set for all of your children since it's reusable

Many mothers revealed that the cloth diapers they used for their eldest children gets passed on even to their youngest.

J-Anne Tacbas, a mother of two, shared that she used cloth diapers for all of her children since 2015.

"'Yung cloth diaper ng eldest ko nagagamit ko sa youngest ko who is one years old now," she shared.

Meanwhile, Jamielyn Cruz-Naluman shared that her three-year old boy even wears the princess-designed cloth diaper she used for her eldest daughter who is now 10 years old.

However, no matter the kind of diaper parents use for their children, Cimafranca said that it's important to simply have fun with your journey as mothers and fathers especially since children move on from the toddler phase quickly.

—JCB, GMA News