The Worst Material For A Cloth Diaper To Be Made Out Of…

You’re probably scouring the internet looking for every resource for reusable cloth diapers. Don’t worry Mama, we’ll go over the best and the worst material for a cloth diaper to be made of…

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Let’s Start With What The Best Materials Are…

Because without providing a solution for the worst cloth diaper materials, you’re still stuck at square one.

Cotton

Cotton is incredibly absorbent and soft to the touch. This makes the material perfect for little baby’s skin. While you may have environmental and ethical reasons for debating its use, we should note that non-GMO cotton does exist.

Bamboo

Another popular material choice for cloth diapers/nappies. It’s super absorbent and easy to grow. It’s worth noting that bamboo material is actually processed rayon, which is done with chemicals. So if the use of chemicals to make your baby’s diapers is a hard no, you may not want to use “bamboo.” Unless there is evidence that the natural plant fibers still exist within the product.

Nevertheless, bamboo materials as the diaper itself, or inserts, are great for cloth diapering.

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Hemp

Hemp tends to be a very thin material but can still absorb a lot of liquid! Making this great for trimmer diapers, for those who don’t want a lot of bulk.

There are some downsides, however. Hemp will take a bit longer to absorb than cotton or bamboo, for instance. You may find yourself using other materials as a doubler when stuffing your pocket cloth diapers with hemp inserts.

Hemp itself does take some work to prepare before use. You will need to wash hemp diapers and inserts multiple times to prep the material. Luckily, hemp becomes more absorbent over time.

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The Worst Material For A Cloth Diaper Is…

Also, the cheapest material (surprise), but it does have its pros as well as cons. What is it, you ask?

Microfiber

Yes, microfiber is ultimately the worst material to use for a cloth diaper. Why?

While microfiber is the most popular kind of insert for cloth diapers, it’s despised by many. Made with polyester blends, microfiber is not as absorbent (but absorbs faster than the aforementioned materials), you never want it directly touching the skin! It’s been known to dry out the skin’s surface creating nasty rashes.

Some people have naturally dry skin and can issue after just a few minutes. Even touching these inserts while doing laundry can cause irritation for some people.

While microfiber is very cost-effective and safe to use inside pocket diapers (not directly against a baby’s delicate skin), its texture is enough to turn a lot of parents off from using them entirely.

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Notable Mention Of Bad Materials For Cloth Diapers

Minky is a super-soft polyester fabric that feels amazing on the skin! It’s is known to be stain-resistant, and affordable. The downside, it’s very slow to absorb and not a good option for inserts. You can use this fabric as a cover for other materials, like microfiber, to create a safe skin barrier. But it’s not wise to use only Minky as a diaper insert for liquid.

What Kind Of Diapers Should I Use?

The wonderful thing about cloth is the variety of options available! What you decide to use can depend on your desired cloth diaper wash routine, and materials.

You can use old-school flat diapers like generations before us (without safety pins, there are new fasteners for that now). You could go the all-in-one route where all inserts are sewn into the diaper. Or, my personal favorite, use pocket diapers which you can stuff with your own choice of inserts.

Bum Genius has many different styles of cloth diapers to choose from, and I have relied on them for years!

Whether you make your own diapers or choose to buy them already made, it’s your decision. Now you can be armed with more knowledge on the best and the worst materials for cloth diapers!