Are used cloth diapers okay? Are they safe & Tips for buying

Used cloth diapers are a wonderful and affordable way to both further reduce both the waste and the cost of diapering your baby.

If you want to learn more about cloth diapers check out my article “Cloth diaper inserts: What are they & which are best?”

Are used cloth diapers safe to use?

Used cloth diapers are perfectly fine to use on your baby, as long as you strip the cloth diapers once you get them.

“Stripping” basically removes any mineral or detergent buildup that might be in the cloth diapers from either using too much detergent or not properly dealing with hard water.

Stripping cloth diapers also usually involves a bleach soak, which in this particular situation is necessary in order to kill any potential bacteria in the diapers.

If you are worried about STDs, you have little to nothing to worry about, since STDs cannot live very long outside the body.

Most STDs will die within 24 hours of being outside of the body, while others can live for 2-3 days.

Typically, when I buy used cloth diapers it takes 3-4 days for the diapers to ship to me, so by the time they get to me they are ready to strip and start being used.

If you want to learn more about stripping cloth diapers check out my article “What do you soak cloth diapers in? Options & reasons why”

Where to buy used cloth diapers?

Facebook cloth diaper buy/sell/trade groups

Facebook buy/sell/trade or b/s/t groups, are my personal favorite place to buy used cloth diapers.

Tips for buying used cloth diapers on Facebook b/s/t groups

• Read the diapers description thoroughly
• Look at all the pictures
• If there are things you can’t see, ask for more pictures
• Check if diapers are coming from a home with pets if you have allergies
• Check if the diapers are coming from a smoke-free home
• If you have questions, ask
• ALWAYS PAY WITH PAYPAL GOODS & SEVICES

Read the cloth diaper’s description thoroughly

When you are buying a used cloth diaper it is EXTREMELY important to read the description all the way through.

The seller may say that the cloth diaper has some snaps missing that may not be visible in the photos, or perhaps they always put their diapers through the dryer on high heat, which could mean the PUL/TPU won’t last as long.

This is also where you should be able to find out whether or not this diaper came from a home where they smoked/ have pets.

Look at ALL the pictures

Just looking at the pictures of the cloth diaper you are thinking of buying is a really good way to make sure there aren’t any stains or other surface issues that the seller may have forgotten to mention in the description.

If there are things you can’t see, ask for more pictures

Most Facebook b/s/t groups will also tell you this, and most people will recommend that if the seller is very difficult or refuses to send you the pictures you ask for, you should NOT buy that cloth diaper.

That is of course assuming that you are making reasonable requests.

For example, ” Could you show me a picture of the PUL/TPU of this pocket diaper?” is a reasonable since you can fairly easily access the PUL/TPU of a pocket diaper.

But “Could you send me a picture of the PUL/TPU of this all-in-one?” is probably not a reasonable request since most all-in-one cloth diapers have a layer of absorbency sewn overtop the PUL/TPU.

Therefore, the seller would have to either cut the diaper or undo the stitching to get the picture you want.

I personally feel that you should see the front, back and inside of the cloth diaper before you buy it.

Ask about pets & smoking

Cigarette smoke smell is very hard to get out of cloth diapers, and more importantly 3rd hand smoke (cigarette smoke residue left on surfaces) is known to be harmful, especially to children.

According to the Mayo clinic, 3rd hand smoke can be removed by washing contaminated items.

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Personally, I don’t really care if they have pets since I also have pets, but I do know that some people have allergies and pet hair would be a concern.

However, while removing pet hair from your cloth diapers does take a little more effort, it is not impossible.

Most pet hair will come out in a normal run through the washer and dryer, you can add white vinegar to the rinse cycle in your washing machine to help loosen the hair.

You will want to make sure that you wipe down the inside of your washing machine and dryer to get any hair that is stuck to the sides.

Now, all that being said, IF YOU ARE SEVERLY ALLERGIC TO PET HAIR DON’T RISK IT!!

There are plenty of other cloth diapers that come from pet free homes, don’t die over a poop catcher.

If you have questions, ask

Let’s say that someone is selling a Best Bottoms cover, and you love Best Bottoms covers, but it looks a little odd/ a little big.

Well, Best Bottoms has both a one-size cover and a Best Bottoms Bigger cover, typically it would say in the title or description which it is but if it looks a little off to you then you definitely want to ask specifically.

Unless of course it doesn’t matter to you, if your baby is about 6-8 months old both sizes should fit.

But if you have a 1-month-old the Bigger cover may not fit just yet.

Or let’s say that you or your baby are severely allergic to cats and the description doesn’t specifically say whether or not they have pets, or perhaps it does say they have pets but doesn’t say what kind of pets.

Personally, when I put a cloth diaper up for sale, I just say that I have pets, I don’t specify the species or breed, but I do so knowing that someone might need to ask for specifics and that’s okay.

Always pay with PAYPAL GOODS & SERVICES

As crazy as it may seem, there are scammers in cloth diapering groups.

Paying with PayPal gives both the buyer and the seller a lot of protection, but only when you pay through Goods & Services.

Goods & Services is specifically for buying and selling, it tells PayPal that this is a business transaction of some kind, so PayPal creates a “paper trail” of sorts.

So, once you pay for a cloth diaper the seller has 7 days to ship it, either through PayPal where the tracking number is automatically sent to you.

Or they can take your package to the post office and manually put the tracking number into PayPal.

If they do not ship in 7 days, you can file a claim with PayPal, I believe that PayPal will ask that you try and reach out to the seller once more before they will take over.

You can also file a claim if you get the cloth diaper and it is not what you were promised or has stains/damage that was purposely hidden.

However, if you don’t pay through Goods & Services, you are on your own since the other payment option is Friends & Family which is for sending money to ya know, friends & family.

Some cloth diaper shops

Some cloth diaper shops/brands sell gently used cloth diapers on their websites.

This is a great option if buying cloth diapers off Facebook groups makes you nervous.

Ebay

You can also buy used cloth diapers on Ebay!

On Ebay you can either pay a set price or bid on cloth diapers.

You can search by Brand or style of cloth diaper (all-in-one, pocket, etc.), you can also search specifically for cloth diapers that are brand-new and have never been used.

And while you can’t filter by print, you can filter by color.

Garage sales

Many people have found used cloth diapers at garage sales, for really good prices.

While I personally have never found cloth diapers at a garage sale, but I feel that it would be an awesome way to buy since you could actually touch and see the diapers in person before you decide to buy them.

How much should you pay for used cloth diapers?

For a used cloth diaper in good condition, paying 75% of the original price is usually pretty fair.

However, there are a lot of different factors, used cloth diaper prices are set based on

• Brand of cloth diaper
• How much wear & tear the diaper has
• Staining
• Availability of the print/color
• Material the diaper is made of
• If there are smokers in the home the diapers are coming from

Let’s say there is a Thirsties pocket diaper (with inserts) with no stains, no smells, elastics look good, and PUL seems to be all good I would totally pay $14.00-$16.00 (including shipping) for it.

Now for me there is an extra factor, and that is…….. how much I want that particular cloth diaper?

If I really want that particular cloth diaper for some reason (most likely the print) I will pay a little more (or a lot more ;)) however, I will not pay more than retail.

Can you buy all cloth diapering supplies used?

I have totally seen all the possible cloth diapering supplies for sale second hand.

Everything from cloth wipes and cloth wipe solution to diaper sprayers and diaper pails and everything in between.

And sometimes all of these things are brand new/ never used and still in the package!

Resources

Link to article on STDs that can live on fabric at prioritystdtesting.com

Link to cloth diapers for sale on Ebay.com

Link to 3rd hand smoke page at mayoclinic.org