In the summer time many moms might reach for those nifty disposable Swim Diapers so that our little ones can enjoy public pools, waterparks, and water play without worrying about accidents. Most public pools even require that kids who are not potty trained wear swim diapers. But did you know that you do not have to go the disposable route?
There are many swim diapers on the market that can be bought for about the same price or even less than a package of disposable swim diapers. Cloth swim diapers can be reused over and over again and even last for one or more subsequent years or be used for your other kids. They are a prime example of a product that allows us to avoid the wasteful and silly purchase of a product we will use for a few hours and then throw away.
Swim diapers are snug and they hold in solid waste effectively. They only difference between the two is comfort… since cloth swim diapers won’t sag or get waterlogged, AND they can be kept and reused. Both are big benefits in my estimation. Oh and they are way more adorable than paper disposable swim diapers! Just look at my cutie above in his pink swim diaper. ;)
Here are some cute swim diapers you may like:
The Swimmi! – I have used Bummis (diaper covers) and Swimmis for 5 years. They are a tried and true brand and they have several colors and styles.
Swim Diapers – Another brand I have used and loved for years.
Sun Smarties Adjustable Reusable Swim Diaper – So cute!!! I love the tie!
For pool days I have the found the best bags to carry wet suits, swim diapers, sandy flip flops, and pool toys are the Envirosax bags… so cute, the moisture doesn’t leak through and they are so easy to wash.
i play babywear is a great brand to check out since they make a variety of styles for boys and girls. In addition to the board shorts you see here there are also two piece sun protective outfits for boys and girls as well as one and two piece options for girls. The i play swim diapers have been around a long time, are completely dependable, and a great value!
we have always just used an empty pocket diaper. more often than not, a medium fuzzi bunz, lol! it hasn’t failed us in 7 years!
That’s what we do, too. Works just as well as disposable swim diapers, which don’t really hold in pee anyway.
ditto, works for us!
I would just like to throw something out there. I love the idea of reusable swim diapers and if I had one still needing them I might use them. As the Vice President of our Homeowners Association that owns a public swimming pool I have a few other comments :) We’ve had several people in the last few months (since the pool has opened for the season) not have their child in a swim diaper at all resulting in several fecal accidents costing us thousands of dollars to fix so now we are getting more strict about parents verifying that their child is wearing a swim diaper. Because we are dealing with the public and a variety of people, not all of them who are honest, I am not sure I would believe a stranger that what they have on their kid is a swim diaper if I don’t recognize it as such. Might I suggest that if you are going to use these in a public pool you might want to bring a receipt or something that shows what your kid is wearing qualifies as a swim diaper because I would hate for anyone to get to the pool and not be believed that what they are wearing is adequate.
I’m not trying to be all down on the reusable swim diaper, or cloth diapers or anything, I’m just saying we live in a world with all kinds of people, honest or not, and that’s just the reality of it.
Kitty I suggest you look at some of the studies done on swim diapers. In all cases they used the disposable brands and had leakage of soft fecal matter. To turn away patrons who are using cloth swim diapers under the guise that the branded disposables are somehow better would be wrong on so many levels. Here is one study:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3238225
A swim diaper needs to be fitted and snug and have gussets around the legs and elastic or ties at the waist. The material should also be sturdy and not prone to sag. This should be fairly easy to to see just by looking at the diaper… whether or not it qualifies.
My apologies, I must not have been very clear Tiffany, I think these are adorable, functional, ecofriendly options that I myself would use if had one in diapers still. I fully believe that these are just as effective if not more so than disposable swim diapers. I meant that when dealing with people in a public pool setting who are not as educated on the benefits of cloth swim diapers, it might behoove parents to bring along some evidence so they are not turned away by the uninformed. To someone uneducated on the modern cloth diaper this looks just like any other cloth diaper.
When I said they didn’t have their child in a swim diaper, I did not mean a disposable swim diaper, I meant they had their child with *nothing* on, cloth, disposable, or otherwise.
Hope that clears up what I meant better.
Ah I see… yes this is more understandable.
Just wanted to say that I have Imse Vimse and I Play Ultimate Swim Diapers on sale right now at my web-site!
http://www.ForYourBugABoo.com
Both brands are wonderful.
Tiffany, hope it is ok to post about the sale?
Cheri
You bet ;)
Our local pool just made it a rule that we have to have disposable swim diapers! I have several pairs of iplay swimsuits for my little ones that we now can only use at home in the kiddie pool! We have less leakage accidents with the iplay swim diapers too!
I have a Bummis for my littlest one and love it. Can’t see why anyone would spend the money on the disposables.
Annette, has anyone tried to ‘fight’ that. That seems ridiculous and ignorant on their part. Maybe the people in charge are needing a little cloth diaper 101.
Disposable swim diapers are a huge waste! I have always used a diaper service but had some swim diapers a friend had given me. One day, out of convenience, my husband put a swim diaper on our little girl at nap time. When she awoke, everything was soaked. He thought they worked like real diapers.
I used a reusable swim diaper like you have in the photo above for my first daughter, but was stopped once at a public pool and told she could not enter without a disposable diaper. People don’t understand that they only hold in solid waste (and sometimes not that well). If people were educated on this, we could take swim diapers off the market.
We’ve been using a re-usable swim diaper but the last two times it was used there were bad leakage accidents. Very, very embarrassing. I think it just isn’t fitting snugly enough, because it worked fine in the past.
It’s good to know (in a way!) that the same thing happens with disposables!
What I really want to know, though, is if there is fecal matter leaking from any type of swim diaper, how effective are pool chemicals in killing those germs?
And I know that in some countries at least (if not all first-world countries) public pools have to be emptied and professionally cleaned when there is a visible ‘accident’. But what about all the ‘invisible’ leaks happening?
Most of the time we swim in the ocean (I don’t really like the idea of public swimming pools) and I don’t care at all about baby poo mixing in with the octopus poo and fish poo.
And apart from the occasional super-bug, how dangerous are poo germs, really? What are the actual facts?
Hi Shawna,
You can try searching for ‘swim diaper’ on Etsy.com and if you can’t find one small enough, ask one of the sellers to make a swim diaper to fit your baby’s size.
Hi,
I know that this post was a few months ago, but I am hoping that someone will read this. I have a very small baby who LOVES the water. The only problem is is that I cannot find a swim diaper small enough for him (8-9 lbs.). Does anyone know of a company that makes an extra small one?
Shawna, a cloth diaper cover with leg elastic would work, it is really the same thing. A newborn size sounds like what you need.
wow, those are so cute diapers! It’s really important to find a good diaper without any unwanted leakage.