Will I really be saving money using cloth diapers?
This is the major question for most parents. Cloth diapers look to be more expensive than disposables since you pay for all the diapers at once, rather than spreading out the cost over 2-3 years. Here is the breakdown of the average costs in comparison with each other:
DISPOSABLE DIAPERS (all numbers approx.)
- average cost per bag: $18.oo
- average number of diapers per bag: 50
- average number of diapers used per day: 8
- average length of each bag of diapers: 6 days
- average bags needed per month: 5
- average monthly cost on disposable diapers: $90.oo
- average yearly cost on disposable diapers: $1080
- average length of time baby/toddler in diapers: 3 years
Average cost of disposable diapers for diapering lifetime: $3240 per child, $6480 to diaper two children, and $9720 to diaper three children.
That means that a family who plans on having three children would be looking at spending almost $10,000 on disposable diapers alone.
CLOTH DIAPERS
- average cost of diapers for diapering lifetime (using a purchase of approx. 15 kits in each size small and medium) $360.00. This number of diapers would provide you the ability to wash every day or day and a half.
- these diapers are sized and thus have an increased ability to be passed down (vs. one size diapers) allowing you no additional cost on diapers. However even if you wanted to buy all new diapers for each child the costs would only add up to $720 to buy all new cloth diapers to diaper your second child as well, and $1080 to buy all new cloth diapers for three children.
By cloth diapering you will be saving an average of $2880.oo for your first child, and by reusing the diapers on subsequest children, you will save as much as $6120.oo on your second child and up to $9360.oo on your third child!
What about wipes?
The benefit of cloth wipes are that you can just use them and throw them in the diaper pail along with the diapers to wash. They are soft on babies skin and you can either pre-wet them, and store in a bag or a wipe warmer or you can keep them dry and wet them when needed. Also, using cloth wipes will save you hundreds of dollars.
Here is a cost comparison:
DISPOSABLE WIPES
- average cost of a package of wipes: $7
- average lifespan of a package: 1 week
- average monthly cost on wipes: $28
- average yearly cost on wipes: $336
- Average cost to use disposable wipes for diapering lifetime: $1008.oo
CLOTH WIPES:
- cost for 4 dozen wipes: $20.oo
- Allowing two dozen extra in case you need replacements: $10.oo
- Average cost to use cloth wipes for diapering lifetime: $30.oo
Using cloth wipes vs. disposable will save you over $978.oo per child!
Add these savings to the savings from using cloth diapers and you end up saving over $3610.oo per child!
Are there any additional costs involved?
You will be buying laundry soap that is safe for diapers. You can get a box of Country Save - which is my favorite cloth diaper safe wash for around $10.00. Many people also have great luck with original powder Tide. Do your research and find what works for you. You will also be using your washer and dryer (water, wear and tear).
However, even with these additional costs combined, they do not even touch the cost of disposables. In fact, you could buy a brand new washer and dryer with the amount of money you will save!
