Sandy,
Since I wear pants all the time, I have no problem with a rub rash on my leg. I seldom ever get a diaper rash. My skin is not so susceptible, but I do have a strict regime on hygiene when I change.
You say you use several different brands of diapers in your post. I buy all my disposables on line with HDIS(home delivery). Based on their automated delivery, I get the Tena Ultra for about 73 cents per diaper. I have never checked on E-bay for any diapers or accessories. I use to use Attends diaper when I first became incontinent 7 years ago. Even though they are plastic backed, they were not too noisy. But even the Tena Ultra has some noise with it's plastic front for the tape tabs.
I've been using cloth diapers and plastic pants at night for over 4 years now. I started cloth for several reasons. One is that they don't leak like the diposables always did. Theyare much more comfortable to wear, I can go through the entire night in a cloth diaper and not have to get up in the middle of the night to change. I really don't think most cloth diapers users are men. I've read plenty of post on sites like this of women who use cloth diapers. You're right about a man having a different exit point as compared to a female. The best thing of a cloth diaper is the cloth material acts like a wick. All the urine completely spreads through the diaper where a disposable will not. When you wake up in the morning in a cloth diaper, the whole diaper is wet if you have a heavy night. A disposable will leak before it does that.
The only drawback is like you said, Sandy, and that's the laundry. It's something I accept as my chore. It only takes me about 10 minutes to get them in the washing machine. Later on, they're ready to take out if the dryer and fold. To me, it's worth the peace of mind I get to go through the trouble of washing. When ever I go on vacation with my wife, I dread having to wear disposables. And by the way, since I do laundry every day, I've switched to cloth diapers during the day on weekends. I use both pin on diapers and pull-on cloth diapers during the day. Typically I have 2 or 3 changes per day, depending on how bulky of a diaper I wear.
My favorite pin on diaper is the flat gauze type. You can add as many baby diapers as you need to allow for how often you want to change. I get these from AdultClothDiaper.com. I also use their pull up diaper they sell there. I've tried the "all-n-one" diaper that has the plastic panty already attached to the cloth diaper, but they will not last as long after many washings. The plastic panty tends to get stiff. I use a separate plastic pant when I wear cloth. I do not wash them in the washer ,though. They will last a lot longer if you wash them by hand. I usually just rinse them off with hot water when I shower in the morning. This same site also has very good plastic pants too. They have colors too, and I find that the colors last a little longer than the white ones. I use all colors and some prints. I'm not ashamed using different colors and prints. Most adults wear different color underwear and panties. No difference, right?
And finally, I've gone through several different types of detergent. I've settled in on Dreft. It's formulated to wash cloth diapers. Besides, I like the fragrance. The only thing I do,though,(that most cloth diaper suppliers say don't do) is the use of a fabric softner. The suppliers say don't use it because it will shorten the life of the diaper, and can effect the absorbancy of your diaper. But, I like the softness it provides. That is one thing that brought me to cloth diapers. They are soft and very comfortable against your skin. No rough disposable will give you that!
Just one more thing, Sandy. You will have to put up a sizable investment to buy all of this, but in the long run, it's a lot cheaper reusing a cloth diaper than buying all those disposables!..................Paul
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