The advances in cloth diapering over the last few years, not only in availability of handy diaper services, but also the quality and simple use of the diapers themselves, have converted many a disposable diaper user to “greener” ways. But while many cloth diaper enthusiasts and flushable diaper users have strong opinions about which cloth diapers work the best, I’ve yet to see commentary on reusable swim diapers.
If you’re already a cloth diaper user, than the concept of using a resuable swim diaper is probably not a far stretch. But if you use disposables or ‘sposies, then you might be glad to know that reusable swim diapers are a fantastic budget conscious choice, particularly since disposable swim diapers are super expensive.
Truth be told, disposable swim diapers are more for easing our minds and less about containing bodily fluids and bowel movements. Basically, they just don’t contain all the chemicals that regular disposables do, therefore keeping them trim and less saggy when they hit water. But, they certainly don’t hold urine well. And, while they might hold a bowel movement for a good five minutes, you do not want your kid swimming around with a swim diaper full of poop.
So, a logical consideration would be a reusable swim diaper, particularly if you’ve got an older child with more predictable bowel movements. And quite frankly, you probably don’t want your newborn and infant in the pool for very long anyway, so it’s perfectly feasible to try reusables with them as well.
As far as choices go, you’ll be glad to know there are a plethora of reusable swim diaper options, all of which are generally under $15. Considering you’ll spend around $8-10 on a pack of regular disposable swim diapers, it’s a great deal. And if you frequent the pool or beach, like we do, it’s practically a must have. Here are some options that I’ve found (and used) that might work well for your kids:
– The Baby Swim Pack (pictured) from Konfidence USA (reviewed at Cool Mom Picks) includes a reusable diaper, changing pad, and an essential wet bag (which is great for the used diapers AND wet swim suits). ($29.99)
– The Imse Vimse Swim Diaper seems to be a popular recommendation on various Cloth Diaper and EC review sites and message boards ($14).
– Well-known cloth diaper maker Bummi also has a swim diaper called the “Swimmi” which uses velcro instead of the typical snaps. ($14).
You can also find a few different kinds at your local Whole Foods Market as well. I purchased one (pull-on style) and it works well!
Depending on the age of your child, make sure to snag a couple of diapers to last you for the season, and don’t forget to add a wet bag to your arsenal. You can find them in various places, or even make your own, but my personal favorites are the wet bags from Happy Tushies. Wash and care of reusable swim diapers is simple; for best results, follow the manufacturer’s directions, but know that nothing special need be done to keep them working the whole summer long.
It’s nice to know that even if you don’t feel able to cloth diaper full time, you can make a bit of greener difference this summer! Who knows? Maybe it will make the transition into regular cloth diapering a lot easier.
If you’re a cloth swim diaper user, share your favorites! Have a happy, healthy, and green Fourth of July!
[Photo via Konfidence-USA]
[This post was written by Kristen Chase.]
Now this I like! We use cloth diapers however I’ve never been able to find good reusable swim diapers. I’ll have to check out the ones listed.
We love our swim diaper from Miala’s Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5197722. We also have an Imse Vimse one. They’re both great.
We use cloth diapers and are testing out some various brands now for our Itsabelly product reviews. These swim diapers are great suggestions and I look forward to trying them out – perfect for summer fun, thanks!
I love etsy — I shouldn’t be surprised that there are some great ones there.
I actually really like the Whole Foods diaper, although I admit that my son really only pees in it. Haven’t had to deal with the poop. (He’s 18 months).
And for everyone who has already bought regular swim diapers for the summer, don’t despair – my good friend showed me that they actually survive SEVERAL washes in the washmachine and make it through the dryer as well – so far I have used the same pack of swim diapers for both of my sons all summer and still have 5 unused ones – though I wouldn’t do that with poopy ones!
I also bought a pair of swim trunks from Target (wee ones) a couple of years ago with built-in terry-lined rubber pants…
I would also bet that the g-diaper cover coupled with a pre-fold would make a good swim-diaper, too – perhaps with a rubber pant over to make the pool supervisor happy.
Just some thoughts b/c the last thing I want to do is go buy something “new” – even if it’s “eco-friendly” – the cheapest and most eco-friendly option is what you already have laying around.
I never found the need for a swim diaper. Pee is relatively benign, and since we swim mostly in the river, I have never worried about it. My kids swim in the buff!
I saw the review of the konfidence swim pack on cool mom picks and bought it. The reusable diaper is great, I had never heard of it before. What a great idea. http://www.konfidence-usa.com
LOL, I was laughing at the swim in the buff in the river! How cute…don’t sit on a crayfish! I don’t like the disposable ones, my green side coming out. I like the swim diapers I found at a local store here, Seedlings http://www.seedlings.com and http://www.babybecause.com . I got the bummis swimmi and they are pretty cute. Both carry an eco-friendly assortment of products. Seedings actually makes an organic assortment of baby food that my guy loves…ummm, pear puree.
I found disposable diapers to be not the most eco-friendly options out there. After using them for a little while, I found that I was first of all wasting a lot of money on them if you use them regularly, and secondly, the waste isn’t necessary. I found that suits with built in diapers are really the best and there are a lot of really cute ones. I have bought all my kids swim suits with built in diapers at rockymountainkid.com where they have both boys and girls suits. They are really effective, and for the price, you can buy one for each day of the week. We really need to start thinking about how we can make small differences in reducing our waste and this is definitely one of them.
My favorite so far is the Kushie reusable swim diaper. Check out my review on it here:
http://mamatested.blogspot.com/2010/07/reuseable-cloth-swim-diapers.html