cloth vs disposable and cost?

Hi
I am trying to decide between disposable and a cloth diaper service. I have little experience with cloth diapers except the old ones with pins. I know the current ones have velcro, but are they as absorbent as disposable and are they really any less money then disposables? I know cloth are more environmental but my priorities are ease of use and cost.

Ruth

 

I just did a google search on calculators.
Here is one http://www.cutietooties.com/calc.php

Here is another that lets you play with more values
http://www.wazoodle.com/templates/calc_diapercosts.html

This link shows some numbers and enviro factors
http://www.borntolove.com/e-concerns2.html

Hope those have some of what you are looking for! I'm so excited about my diapers it's almost scary!

 

We figured for us, disposable diapers would cost approx. $120-150 per month

Cloth diaper services aren't available where we live (at least, I couldn't find any on the web, in the phone book, or anywhere else) but from what I understand, they cost about $25 per week, so not much savings.

We spent about $320 on cloth diapers, a mix of prefolds and covers and pockets (bumgenius one size), so we'll break even within the first four months of their lives.

 

Thanks for the info. We live near Kitchener, Ontario and there is a cloth diaper service that cost about $24/week for one child and for the second child it would be an additional $16 per week so a total of about 40 per week plus that only provides one plastic cover per child. I would have to buy additional covers not sure how many. The cost of disposables for newborns around here seems to average about .30/diaper. If average 8 changes per day per child for a total of 112 diapers per week cost would be about $34. I guess I have my answer about $40/week for cloth diaper service or $34 per week for disposables. Not a significant cost difference either way I guess it will be a decision based on preference more than cost.


Ruth

 

My one year savings is $ 2675
I did get alot of my dipes for my oldest child which is nice because they are still in perfect shape. I also got prefolds on ebay for about 30 cents a diaper and covers from local moms.

 

But the thing is, you don't have to use a diaper service. You can wash your own diapers. I found the following link really helpful:
http://www.sunshinediapers.com/cloth-diape...ng-a-detergent/

PLUS, you can resell your old diapers. Yes - people buy used diapers... you can see what you can get at diaperswappers.com. My friend has bought and sold diapers through that community and the amount of money you save by doing that is a huge difference compared to disposables.

 

If you use Happy Heiny one-size pocket diapers (easy to use, quite absorbent, no dunking, velcro closures, on and off like a disposable, one size for XS - L, simple laundry rountine), you can break it down as follows:

30 diapers with microfiber inserts (a little over 1 day's worth for twin newborns, 2 days for older babies) = $568.50
20 small Happy Heiny (HH) hemp inserts = $125.00
10 medium hemp inserts = $62.50
10 large hemp inserts = $62.50
3 packs extra ovals for added absorbency = $22.50
10% off (most retailers will give you a deal with twins) = -$84.10
---------
Total = 756.90

That's probably about a middle of the road estimate into how much cloth diapering twins for 3 years would cost. Sized pocket diapers or all-in-one diapers would cost more; prefolds and covers would cost less.

Pocket diapers are a good medium between cost and ease of use. We use Happy Heinys which have a very easy care routine: just put the dirty diaper in our large waterproof bag until laundry day, run a cold rinse, a hot wash, then hot dry. Newborn poop comes off in the laundry during the cold rinse, older baby poop falls off the diaper when it is turned over the toilet. I had no problem cloth diapering my twins and and am now cloth diapering Dax. For me it is actually more of a health issue than an environmental or cost issue because I don't like putting all those chemicals that are found in disposables near my baby's sensitive areas.



Disposable diapering twins will break down as follows:

For the 1st year:
24 diapers per day for 30 days (1 month) = 720 diapers
20 diapers per day for 60 days (2 months) = 1200 diapers
16 diapers per day for 275 days (9 months) = 4400 diapers
Total - 1st year = 6320 diapers

For subsequent years:
14 diapers per day for 365 days (12 months) = 5110 diapers

So, if your babies potty train at 2 years (sorry but not very likely with twins ), that would be equal
6320 + 5110 = 11430 diapers

If your babies potty train at 3 years, that would equal
6320+5110+5110 = 16540 diapers

16540 diapers at .15-.25 a piece = $2481-$4135

 

QUOTE(pigsocks @ Dec 27 2007, 09:23 PM) [snapback]548255[/snapback]
Hi
I am trying to decide between disposable and a cloth diaper service. I have little experience with cloth diapers except the old ones with pins. I know the current ones have velcro, but are they as absorbent as disposable and are they really any less money then disposables? I know cloth are more environmental but my priorities are ease of use and cost.

Ruth



I love the Fuzzi Bunz that we use for Rachel .... and I only CD part time. I wanted something easy to use, otherwise, I knew I wouldn't fool with it. They are just as absorbent as disposables ... even at nighttime.

I've thought about starting a stash for the new babies, but the thought of washing cloth diapers for three children is daunting for me. If I can figure out a system before the babies get here, I may tackle it. Otherwise, I'll start at about 3 months or so.

If you want to try some diapers out ... look at Jillians Drawers. They offer a 'try it' program, with different types of pre-folds, all in ones, and pocket diapers.

Oh .. and I've bought used diapers, and had absolutely no problems with them. Just washed them, and went.

 

I had a very well-rounded diaper stash with pockets, all in ones, prefolds and a few odds and ends. I even had a few very sought after ("hyena") diapers. And I still spent SIGNIFICANTLY less on cloth than I would have on disposables. Doing the math using the generic diapers at our local grocery, we would have spent roughly $2400 on generic disposables if the boys potty trained at 2. In reality, they potty trained at about 2 years and 8 months, so it would have cost even more. I spent about $1200 on cloth diapers and earned about $400 when I sold a lot of that to other moms. I still have about $100 more that I will sell and I've donated a lot. so when I adjust for the diapers I have/will sell, I only actually spent ~$700!

And I don't know who mentioned it, but you definitely don't have to use a diaper service. We didn't. Cloth diapering fit in pretty simply with our laundry routine and was never as gross as people expect it to be.

And...if you have any interest, you can always MAKE your own diapers. You can make them as involved or as simple as you want them to be. I've seen some REALLY cute prefolds made from recycled fabrics, even from sports team sweatshirts so they have a cute logo on the bum! I have a dear friend who literally diapered her first child without spending a dime on diapers! She made some and traded services for some

 

Hi,

We wash them ourselves. They're aren't any diaper services around, but then I'd imagine cloth diapering wouldn't be as great of a savings anyway. Cloth diapering really does save money. This is the whole reason DH and I went to cloth. If we had only been expecting one baby we would never even considered cloth. We have prefolds and covers, along with a few all in ones. We've spent roughly $400, but would have spent between $100-$150 a month otherwise, depending on sales/deals. So, that's a minimum of $1,200 a year. We like to use disposables when out in public. We have gotten disposables from friends and family so we're set on what we would take on outings. Maybe you can get this for a shower too that way you're not spending that $$ yourself? A great place to get cloth is clothdiaper.com. The packages are great deals. Also, there are different forums to buy and sell cloth. So, you can reuse the diapers or even sell them and get some $$ back later. Feel free to PM me anytime if you want to talk cloth more .