Many people have chosen to get used diapers for their child in order to save money.  While this is an excellent idea, there are some things that need to be taken into consideration.  When buying anything used, you are taking a risk, but with cloth diapering, the risk also includes the health and comfort of your baby.  There are several things that need to be taken into account when buying used.

1.  You may be able to return a defective used item, but most of the time, companies wont allow it to be returned.  Therefore, if you receive a diaper that has been ruined, you may have simply wasted the money you spent on it.

2. When buying used, there will be major inspection going on before being able to use it on your child.

3.  The people who used it before may have had things in their house to which your child may have an allergic reaction.

4.  If the reason for selling the diaper is not “our child outgrew it” there may be something wrong with the diaper that the previous owner didn’t mention.  Whether they were being dishonest or simply ignorant, you may never know.

If you do decide to go with used diapers (and I will certainly be buying SOME used), the diaper needs to go through a thorough inspection before being placed on your child.

1. Check the smell and basic feel of the diaper.  I would always suggest stripping and rewashing a used diaper before putting it on your child, but if the diaper has a distinctive smell or feel, you may need to do something special.  I.e. putting lemon juice or vinegar in the load when you’re washing this diaper.  Or Stripping in an attempt to renew its absorbency.  If you’re a FTM or newbie to cloth diapering, get a couple of new ones just so you know how they’re supposed to feel.

2.  Check the stitching.  Some diapers may have been used for several years before being sold.  If the stitching has come loose in areas, you may be required to redo some of it in order for the diaper to work well for your child.  Also, there may be areas where the previous owner has modified the diaper to fit her child.  These may need to be re-adjusted.   Also, if they used cotton thread, this may lead to leaks, and will need to be removed and replaced by polyester.

3. Check the Elastic.  Again, if the diaper has been used for several years, you may need to replace the elastic.  While the diaper may have fit the previous child, the elastic may be too worn to fit snuggly on your child and would cause leaks.  Stretch the elastic to its full extent and see how much it pulls back.  It should be at least ¾  inch or so to provide the proper amount of elasticity for a good fit and the prevention of leaks.

4. Check for Holes or excessive wearing.  We all know babies get into the most interesting of places.  The diaper can get snagged or punctured by things around the baby.  While we all hope it never reaches the baby’s skin, having a tiny hole in the diaper doesn’t cause moms to freak.  However, having a hole in a diaper (depending on placement and type of fabric snagged) may cause leaks and problems with your new-to-you diaper.  Some small holes can be repaired, some just needed to be tossed before being sold.

5. STRIP!!!!  Seriously, you don’t know what the other person has used on the diapers.  Some people are uninformed about the dangers of using diaper-rash creams and other such things on the health of the diaper.  Also, there are many people who sell their cloth because they’ve become less absorbent.  Stripping will fix this problem if its fixable.

6. Finally, Don’t use a diaper that doesn’t pass inspection.  If you go over the diaper and it has problems, its probably not worth using!  Seriously, don’t put yourself through the crap of using a defective diaper.