What the Experts Say

You can use soft cotton one diapers from BDS without pins! Just order velcro covers from our store.
How it Works

A diaper service is really quite simple. It is a company that provides its members with 100% cotton diapers. These diapers are professionally laundered and maintained by the company and provided to you weekly. Once a week we pick-up your child's soiled diapers and exchange them with soft, hygenic clean diapers. Relieving you, the parent, of the need to wash and maintain the diapers yourself. Our diaper service maintains a complete array of diapering accessories, eight sizes of diapers (premies through toddlers) and training pants. A diaper service should be your one-stop source for all of your cloth diapering products, as well as, diapering, potty training and skin care advisers.



Top 10 Reasons to Use Baby Diaper Service




1.) As a member of our service you join a supportive "community" of experts. Committed to your child's health, comfort and well-being. We are just a phone call or e-mail away if you have a question. Try to get that from a single-use diaper.



2.) The largest organ in the human body is the skin. Our cloth diapers protect your child's tender parts in ways that single-use diapers can't. Did you know that single-use diapers have upto 60 known chemicals in them? We are proud of what we take out of our diapers not what we put in them!



3.) The use of disposable diapers has been scientifically linked to male infertility with young men who wore disposable diapers as babies. (www.


4.) Your child will be doing great things for the earth from their very first day! Using cloth diapers saves trees, sensitive wildlife habitats, petroleum, landfill space and helps to reduce Global Warming!



FACT: Cloth diapers are the only SUSTAINABLE choice in diapering.


FACT: It takes 20 trees to diaper one child for 2.5 years.



FACT: It takes 2/3 cup of petroleum to produce just ONE single-use diaper!



FACT: It takes upto 200 years for a single-use diaper to decompose. That means every disposable diaper ever made is still in a landfill somewhere!



FACT: ALL of Seattle's solid waste goes to a landfill in Eastern Oregon.



FACT: The emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from landfills are major contributors to Global Warming.



FACT: Single-use diapers represent between 2% to 4% of solid waste in our nation's landfills!



FACT: David Suzuki of The Suzuki Foundation describes disposable, single-use diapers as; "In my view, . . . ("disposable" diapers) are an eco-obscenity - they have no real justification save profit (of corporations)." www.borntolove.com/truth.html



5. Baby Diaper Service keeps over 10 million diapers out of landfills each year. Saving thousands of gallons of petroleum, thousands of trees, and reducing Global Warming!




6. Studies show that a child in cloth diapers will potty train 6 months to one year earlier than a child in single-use diapers. Saving your family hundreds of dollars!



7. On average Baby Diaper Service is no more expensive than single-use diapers and frequently we are upto 25% less expensive. Not to mention the money you will save on diaper rash cremes and extra garbage service you will need to pay for with single-use diapers!



8. Baby Diaper Service is easy and convenient. We bring the diapers directly to you relieving you of the need to run to the store for diapers.



9. The use of professionally laundered cloth diapers reduces the occurance of diaper rash upto 90%. Studies have shown that prior to single-use diapers diaper rash was approximately 7%. Currently children in single-use diapers have a 78% rate of diaper rash. Children are much more comfortable in cloth diapers versus diapers made of plastic and paper.



10. Cloth diapering is easier than ever. Huge strides have been made in the past few years with cloth diapering accessories. These new accessories make cloth diapering easier and more fun then ever.



11. When you use Baby Diaper Service you not only benefit the global community by using a sustainable form of diapering; but, you also contribute to our local community. Since we are a local employer and use the maximum number of local suppliers your money stays in our local economy benefiting our communities and neighbors. Any other type of single-use diaper funnels money out of our state and does little to benefit our community.









I am stymied by the new-age-old question: cloth or disposable diapers? Some say that the water required to wash cloth diapers is more damaging to our planet than the waste associated with disposables. What do you think?
Alison
San Francisco, California

Cloth. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days, according to Mothering Magazine, �about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day.� �It takes 440 to 880 pounds of wood pulp and 286 pounds of plastic (including packaging) per year to supply one baby with disposable diapers,� according to Environment Canada. Dioxin, a chemical on the EPA�s list of most toxic cancer-linked chemicals, is a by-product of this manufacturing process. By contrast, less than 22 pounds of cotton is enough to supply one baby with reusable cotton diapers for two years. A study by the British Landbank Consultancy determined that, factoring in cotton growing, the manufacture and use of disposable diapers requires twice the water use and three times the energy of cloth diapers. (See www.realnappycompany.com/NappyFacts.htm.)

Disposables also pose risks during use. The wood pulp, plastic, sodium polyacrylate (which turns urine into gel), dyes, and fragrances in continual contact with a baby�s skin worry some of those who study infertility and hormone-mimicking chemicals. Several components of disposables (toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene), according to a report in the October 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health, are bronchial irritants associated with asthma.

Each year, 18 billion disposable diapers burden US landfills, combining plastic, wood pulp, fecal matter and urine, and biohazards, including live vaccines from immunizations. The bundled fecal matter requires 200-500 years to decompose and can contaminate ground water. In contrast, waste water from washing diapers is treated, at least in most municipalities.

Finally, Jane McConnell in Mothering Magazinein June 1998 notes that babies in cloth diapers are changed more frequently, a factor that reduces diaper rash. As a bonus, she says that a child in cloth diapers actually knows when he or she is wet, and hence, is toilet trained earlier. Given all this, I�d choose cloth as the bottom line.
�Anna McClain







How Does it Work?
Most people are not very familiar with what a diaper service is, or how it works. Beginning in the 1970's single-use diapers began to overtake cloth diapers as the most common form of diapering. However, despite the enormous budgets and efforts of some huge companies cloth diaper services have persisted and survived to this day. I guess a good idea is hard to conquere. But for this reason many people are unfamiliar with how a diaper service works. It is really quite simple.



Our most common new customer is an expectant parent registering about two (2) months or more prior to the baby's due date. Once the customer has registered for their service, a process that takes 2 to 3 minutes, we arrange for their Pre-Birth Delivery(PBD). This is in essence their starter kit. It consists of their first week's worth of diapers (typically 70 newborns) a diaper hamper, hamper liner, deodorizer, a copy of our newspaper (Northwest Baby & Child) a Renter's Manual (which you can find on this website under the heading "New Customer Information") and any diapering accessories you would like to purchase. This PBD comes to your home about 1 to 2 weeks prior to your baby's due date and waits until your baby is born. Then when you come home with you new baby the diapers and everything neccessary to use the diapers are already waiting for your child. We suggest that you call us within the first 2 or 3 days of the birth to let us know that the baby is born and then we can determine the best time to begin your regular weekly service.



The next time we come out to your home represents the end of your first week of service and the beginning of week number 2. Like our first visit to your home we will bring you a full 70 newborn diapers again ( or in the case of children in other circumstances the full number of weekly diapers you have ordered in the size that is best suited for your child's size). At that time we will pick-up the bag of soiled diapers which you have left at your front door. These diapers will be counted and that number of clean diapers will be delivered to your home the following week. Using this rotation method allows us to manage the correct number of diapers in your home at the beginning of your diapering week in the most efficent way possible. Thus, if you return 50 soiled diapers on our second visit to your home you will have 20 clean diapers left over to suppliment the 50 diapers we will bring the next week - keeping you at 70 clean diapers for week number 3. Please note that although you used 50 diapers you still have 70 diapers in your home and will still be charged for 70 diapers. Think of a diaper service as a rental company. Since you have 70 in your home available for your child's use we do not have access to these diapers for other customers and so we need to charge for those diapers.



However, if you would like to change your diaper count it is very simple. Just call or e-mail us and we will arrange to drop the count of diapers in your home beginning with your next week's service. From that point on you will be charge at the lower amount. Conversely, if you would like to increase the count of diapers call or e-mail us (seattlediaper@yahoo.com) and we will arrange to increase the diaper count on your next delivery and you will be charge accordingly.



Usually, the most a customer will pay with our service is the charge for 70 diapers. Since all of our sizes (except toddlers) are charged the same the only thing that will alter your charges is the quantity of diapers you receive. Since most children need fewer diapers as they get older the weekly price will drop and you will be paying less!



Changing diaper sizes is simple too! Just call or e-mail us and we will provide your child with the diaper size that is best for them. Diapers sizes are determined by the child's weight not their age. For your convenience we have listed a diaper sizing table in our Renter's Manual section of this website. We have more diaper sizes then any other diaper service in the country! We have eight different sizes so we are guaranteed to have a size that is right for your baby.



Once we have settled in to a routine for weekly service we generally find that an account needs only minor maintainancing. This usually includes new accessories, changes to diaper count and/or size. Occasionally, a customer will interrupt service for a vacation. If this is the case for you we ask that you call us with a weeks notice so we can make arrangements. Usually we will pick-up the diapers and resume when you return and you will not incur any charges. If you would like to continue using cloth diapers while you are gone (and many people do) we can get you one of our "Travelpaks" and then the fees are lowered.



Our primary goal is to make cloth diapering as easy as possible for our members while providing you with the best value possible.



Your responsiblities are few. When your child uses a diaper you won't need to rinse or soak the diapers! All you will need to do is drop the diaper in the diaper hamper we provide and then put the bag out by your door on your morning of service. It's really very simple. We take away all of your headaches! Some people ask us about odors. Will we have a problem with odors? Generally speaking - NO! Cotton diapers are very different from single-use diapers because our diapers are pure, 100% cotton the odor is vanishingly low. However, if you have a single-use diaper around the odor is terrible. Probably because of the urine reacting with the SIXTY different chemicals contained within a single-use diaper.










Why is it the Best Choice?




Wash Process
The wash process Baby Diaper Services uses has taken many years to perfect. Our choice of cleansing agents and the very methods we use were all chosen with your child's well-being in mind - not to mention the environment.



For these reasons we have chosen the most mild and environmentally-sensitive soaps available.



Our wash process takes about an hour and 15 minutes to complete. It has 15 different steps and uses water tempertures high enough to sanitize iapers. We use an all-natural soap to launder the diapers and use no harsh man-made detergents. The soap we use is very free-rinsing and leaves no residual traces in the final product.



Next comes the bleach to sanitize and remove stains from the diapers. We are very careful to use the minimum amount of bleach necessary. As a matter of a fact we use only two cups of bleach per 200 lbs of diapers. The reason we can use such a small amount is that we get an economy of scale because our washers are so large plus the potency of bleach doubles for every 10 degree rise in water temperture. When the bleach cycle is complete the concentration of bleach is only 50 ppm. So the amount of chlorine that goes through the seage system is actually pre-treated for the sanitation department. If you are concerned about the use of Chlorine we can assure you that we only the minimum amount neseccary for our purposes and we are extremely careful to remove and residual bleach from our diapers before they arrive at your doorstep.



After a few more rinses we add Hydrogen Pyroxide to the diapers. This is a very safe substance that evaporates into water and oxygen. Howver, it has some interesting properties, namely it is excellent at removing bleach from the diapers. So we use it twice once after the bleach cyle and again in the last rinse. We put in a few ounces in the final rinse so that we can insure that the diapers you will receive from Baby Diaper Service have LESS RESIDUAL BLEACH IN THEM THAN THE SEATTLE CITY WATER SUPPLY - a fact we are very proud of.



Once the diapers have been de-chlorinated we need to balance the pH of the diapers to insure that the diapers match your baby's skin. This way we can reduce the occurance of diaper rash. In most cases to zero! To achieve this we use a citrus acid solution calibrated to bring the diapers into a neutral pH. Again this solution is very safe and environmentally-friendly.



The final step )besides the second application of hydrogen pyroxide) is the softener. In this case we use a highly concentrated laundry softener that leaves our diapers soft and absorbant.



Unlike our single-use diaper competitors we are most proud of what we take out of the diapers - not what we put in! Our wash process uses a minimal amount of chemicals and we have gone to great lengths to find those chemical that are the most gental for your baby and the environment.



But we don't stop there. Every month we take a diaper at random from our plant and send it to an independant laboratory for testing. This insures that you will only receive safe, hygenically santized diapers done to hospital standards!!!