Is cloth diapering worth it for us?

[engineerjourney]

I am a little over 4 months pregnant and have been doing a ton of research on cloth diapering.  The more I read, the more I get discouraged!  It seems a lot of people use disposables overnight due to leaking when using cloth.  Plenty of people also do disposables while they are super newborn due to sizing issues.  Then pretty much every daycare requires disposables. 

I will be going back to work when baby is about 6 months old and he/she will be going to daycare.  It doesn't seem like cloth diapering will be worth while for us... anyone willing to try to convince me otherwise? 

Financial was the biggest selling point for cloth but the time of washing/drying/prepping is also worth $$ to me.  Environment is another factor but not a huge thing for me (I plan on putting the poop in the toilet even with disposables as that is a HUGE problem with the way mainstream America uses diapers). 

Would appreciate any MMM input.  Thanks!

[TabbyCat]

Have you tried asking the daycare(s) you like?  I think many will work with cloth but will throw them in the wet bag with no cleaning prep done for you like emptying into the toilet.

I am still deciding too (due in July). I think I may wait and pick up a few kinds of cloth used via ebay or consignment and try them out before investing. Cloth diapers do seem to hold value for resale pretty well too though, which hurts with buying used but helps with getting your money back when you are done.

[waltworks]

We found it to not be worth the savings. The amount of time that went into washing/drying/etc far exceeded the $100/mo or so of savings. And at night, disposables were just mandatory for us.

YMMV.

-W

[Gin1984]

We do disposables for overnight and for daycare.  But we bought used and made back the savings during the first eight weeks (we were not doing disposables at all then).  It has been worth it for us.  Our daughter is turning two at the end of the month and I would say we saved a few hundred dollar more than the cost of the cloth diapers.

[wearfannypacks]

I too spent waaaay to many hours researching cloth diapers when I was pregnant. I was really interested and wanted to try them. Totally get where you are coming from. We ended up doing disposable since initially we had to pay per load for laundry.

I went through our past budgets. Since you are asking on a MMM forum, I have a number to date of how much we spent on disposable diapers for our son. We are OCD about our money :)
-Including little emergency runs when we were traveling.
-Using target brand big ol boxes of diapers(least chemicals, never leaked, didn't cause a rash, also frequently on sale and I would buy $100+ at a time)
-He's 22 months - we have enough for at least 3 more months

Total: $510.44
~$21/month

So is it worth going cloth and having extra loads of laundry to save 21 bucks a month? Not including the water, heat, detergent, time, and hassle with cloth? I'm sure I could get those extra savings planning my meals better and not throwing out so much food.

If your budget is reeeeeally tight. Could be worth it. For me. I'm fine with disposable. I'll probably stick to target brand with the next kiddo.

[bogart]

I am a little over 4 months pregnant and have been doing a ton of research on cloth diapering. 

Personally, I'd recommend that you stop that, buy no fewer than 5 and no more than 10 decent quality cloth diapers of some type that strikes you as likely easy to use (or put them on your registry if you'll be having a shower or anticipate receiving gifts), and see if you use them once the baby arrives. 

There are  situations when it's obvious cloth diapers make sense before the baby arrives and others where it's clear they won't, but most of us (if we're willing to entertain the idea at all) fall somewhere in the middle, and some relevant variables aren't known until the kid arrives.  Some kids have rash problems with disposables but not with cloth.  Some babies poop multiple times every day, and some once, and there are qualitative as well as quantitative/frequency issues that may shape how manageable cloth diapering proves. 

(For reference:  I cloth diapered except at night once DS would sleep through the night, and for childcare  -- our state does not allow registered childcares to use cloth diapers -- but we made relatively little use (2 days/week) of paid daycare and had a grandma who provided care the other days and was happy to cloth diaper (and wash, and dry, and just generally manage all of what she took on, herself).)

[Ohio Teacher]

My wife and I have been cloth diapering our 6 month old son since his cord fell off and plan to do the same with our next child.  Your comment: "Financial was the biggest selling point for cloth but the time of washing/drying/prepping is also worth $$ to me.  Environment is another factor but not a huge thing for me" makes it easy to say: GO DISPOSABLE.

Honestly, the only reason we are doing cloth is because my wife is really into organic, sustainable, natural, etc. you get the picture.  Given that the time is worth money to you, unless you value your time at about 50 cents an hour, you will lose.  Plus, the extra wash cycles have really been taxing on our washer.  I recently had to replace a belt.  And don't even get me started on the "stripping" process. 

We use disposable at night, not due to leaking but in order to keep him asleep.  He pees so much overnight that he feels too wet in cloth and wakes up needing a change.  We also have to put disposables on him to use the childcare at the gym.   My wife is a SAHM so daycare is not a factor.

[feelingroovy]

My kids are 14 and 11 and a lot has changed since then in cloth diapers, but here is my experience.

I tried to do cloth with my first with the regular rectangular diapers and about a dozen different types of wipes.  Gave up after 6 months or so as we had so many leaks and just used disposables.

After I'd already given up, I was with a friend who had a baby slightly younger than mine.  She had these awesome cloth diapers with snaps in different places so they grew with the kid.  She said no leaks.  They're called Motherease.

So when I was pregnant with second, I just went ahead and ordered a full set of motherease.  It came with something like 20-24 along with 8 or 10 covers.  I think it cost me about $250 IIRC.

They were really great and we never use disposables with #2 unless we were traveling.

When she potty trained, I sold the whole set on craigslist for about half of what I paid for them.  So it really did save a lot.

I never found the whole washing thing difficult or time consuming.  It was about an extra load every 2 days or so and it's not like you need to fold them.

If cost is the biggest issue, cloth saves more money the more kids you have.  It's marginal savings for only one kid.

[Flyingkea]

My son is currently 5 months old and we use cloth nappies. We used disposables while in hospital, and while shifting interstate but that's it.
We use terry square nappies with a waterproof overnap, and they work fine. There will be the odd leak, but we found as we got more practiced with putting on nappies, and bubs stopped pooping EVERY 5 minutes that it became a lot more manageable.
I put them in a bucket to soak (in a reasonably well ventilated area) and do a load of washing every 1.5-2 days in a cold wash.
We bought 24 squares for $AU40 and that was a load of washing each day. We were then given about a dozen more, and its now every couple of days.

He is in cloth overnight too, he actually wakes up before he pees (don't ask how I know this...) , so doesn't matter if cloth or disposable. When he had both sides on the night feed I would change him in between breasts, now that he is going back to sleep on the first side I change him before feeding him.
We line dry them and while they are often yellowish, so long as they're clean stains will fade VERY quickly in the sun.
I can't speak to daycares as I'm SAHM atm, but what did they do before the rise of the disposable?

[engineerjourney]

Thanks for the input everyone!! Keep it coming!!  I am really interested in hearing from anyone cloth diapering with two working parents, daycare (that allows or does not allow cloth),  and how that works for you. 

My parents are planning on moving closer but not for at least another year or two so grandma daycare will not be possible with this baby but maybe the next one!

We plan on having at least two kids but my DH is really into having four.  We are going to take it one at a time.  We both make comparable amounts of money (I actually make more than him) so a stay at home parent is not in the cards for only one kid.. maybe if we have several all bunched together, we will see.   Thanks again!

[Winter's Tale]

My two cents: I really wanted to do cloth diapers and had a whole set of BumGenius diapers and liners (received as gifts from our shower).  Then my son was born.  He had colic and also pooped 10 - 12 times per day (not exaggerating).  We never even used the cloth diapers once.  Sold the diapers on Craigslist and have used Target brand diapers since then.  I think the suggestion to buy a few to test out is a good one. 

[justajane]

I agree with Ohio Teacher: if the environmental benefits do not factor into your decision, do generic disposables (like Target Up and Up). For me personally, every time I throw away a disposable diaper, it causes me pain to think about it being in a landfill. That is my primary motivation. The potential for savings is nice, but it's really the former that has driven me to use cloth with three kids.

Having said that, we have always used a hybrid system, and I always had/have disposables on hand. I never liked using cloth when we were out and about, so I've always put disposables on for that time.

In my opinion, the best time to use cloth is from 1 week (after the meconium stops) to about three months of age, especially if you are breastfeeding. This is when babies poop all the time and you are changing them every 2 hours or less round the clock. I calculate that I saved a ton during those months. Once they poop less and start sleeping better, I am much more lax about using disposables. I have never used cloth at night past three months.

One more question: do you live somewhere where either water or electricity is expensive? This should factor into your decision as well.

[MayDay]

I went back to work (as an engineer :) ) after my first.  Our daycare allowed cloth, but they had to be the easy to use kind- either an all in one or a pre stuffed pocket.  Then we provided a container for the dirties. 

The extra washing sucked on top of working.  I dried them on a rack when I had time, but frankly I had very little, so into the dryer they went.  But the thicker all in one and pockets take forever to dry- usually about twice as long as a load of normal clothes.  Plus if your water is at all hard, you will likely have stink issues and have to strip them, which is a massive pain (and expense in terms of hot water). 

When we could use flats and a cover at home it was better as they dry super fast and are easier to wash.  That worked better for once their poop was solid though.  With a newborn that poops liquid every 2 hours, you'd need tons of covers because they would get poopy every time. 

And I found that even if I was nursing at nit anyway, having to actually get out of bed and change a diaper was not something I wanted to do.  I nursed laying down in bed, and we always used disposables at night. 

Anyway, I give cloth diapers a neutral opinion overall.  Target diapers are cheap and work well.  Cloth can save a little, but probably only if you buy used diapers and/or have multiple kids. 

[Gin1984]

Thanks for the input everyone!! Keep it coming!!  I am really interested in hearing from anyone cloth diapering with two working parents, daycare (that allows or does not allow cloth),  and how that works for you. 

My parents are planning on moving closer but not for at least another year or two so grandma daycare will not be possible with this baby but maybe the next one!

We plan on having at least two kids but my DH is really into having four.  We are going to take it one at a time.  We both make comparable amounts of money (I actually make more than him) so a stay at home parent is not in the cards for only one kid.. maybe if we have several all bunched together, we will see.   Thanks again!

We are working parents with our daughter in daycare.  Honestly, my husband does the washing of the diapers and it takes him about 30 minutes twice a week.  It was more of a pain when I was home (first 8 weeks) and she was changed more and he was washing them every other day. 

[Fodder]

See if a local store has a cloth diaper lending program (a lot of them do).  The one local to me just asked for a $20 deposit, which could then be used toward the purchase of diapers. 

I do have friends who've used them (and still do), but we have a year of mat leave, so they are looking for care for such young children.  Some providers will be open to using cloth and some will not.

I hate laundry with every fibre of my being, so there was no way I was going to do cloth, but my friends have enjoyed it.

As well, if this doesn't gross you out (it did gross me out, but I seem to be in the minority), you can often find used diapers on your local buy and sell group (there was even someone giving some away in our local Buy Nothing group....and they were Bum Genius, which aren't cheap!).

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

We got started with some hand-me-downs from when my nephew was a baby. We've since acquired more, but as others have said, this only made sense because we plan on having multiple children.

[Le0]

So We have a 16 month old girl.

We did disposables at the beginning because we weren't organized enough. But we switched to cloth a couple of months in and she wears them all the time now. Have used a single disposable since.

We sorta have a preferred night diaper. I can't find the exact one but they are like this one,
http://www.kellyscloset.com/Sustainablebabyish-NEW-OVERNIGHT-Bamboo-Fleece-Fitteds_p_4961.html

However from time to time they aren't washed so we throw her in a prefold and a cover and change her in the morning. They tend not to poop when they are asleep, so if you have a good water proof cover your good to go. 

[ABC123]

My boys were both cloth diapered and in daycare full time.  Our daycare was totally fine with it.  They didn't clean them out, they just wrapped them up and threw them in our big dirty diaper bag.  I brought clean ones each morning, and took the dirty ones home at night.  It worked great for us.  We used Bottombumpers.  I bought most of them used.  By the time they got through two kiddos they were pretty torn up, so definitely no resale value for us.  My older son was mostly potty trained by 3, younger son was closer to 3 1/2 by the time we were done with diapers.  I kept track of all my costs, and I determined I just about broke even with the first kiddo, so other than water and detergent costs, they were basically free for kiddo 2.  Alot of the cloth diaper sites try to get you to buy their fancy "cloth diaper safe" detergents, but I found those to be totally unnecessary.  Check out diaperswappers.com for some great information and to ask any questions you might have.  It is also a good place to buy/sell diapers.  My suggestion is to not go out and buy a ton of one kind of diaper.  There are tons of different kinds of cloth diapers out there.  Some are good for chunky babies, so are better for slim babies.  You might want to try out a few different brands before committing to one.

[NeonPegasus]

I ended up deciding not to cloth diaper. It may have ended up making sense as I now have three children but that wasn't the plan at the start.

I am part of a community of crunchy women, many of whom cloth diaper. From a savings perspective, I think it will only work out if you're planning on having multiple children, preferably 3+. The ones that cloth diaper also are stay at home moms whose only way to contribute financially is by saving money, regardless of time involved.

Cloth diapers require an investment and it may take you buy several different kinds before you find one that works well. They take time and expense to maintain as well. I can't tell you how many threads I've seen from moms dissecting how to deal with this issue of smell and that issue of what butt cream they can use without ruining the diaper.

Though I never cloth diapered (beyond a few days with #1), I did work full time outside of the house with the first two. My evenings after work were planned in 15 min increments from the time I got home to when I got to bed. It was enough to continue pumping milk for my baby (and deal with all the pump parts cleaning). I can't imagine how I would have dealt with diaper laundry as well.

So, save yourself some time, money, effort and sanity - use sposies. After trying all the diaper brands under the sun, I prefer Target's Up and Up brand diapers. They happen to be the cheapest ones as well. Huggies tend to allow blowouts on the sides. Luvs smell horrible. Pampers can cause horrible chemical diaper rashes and also allow blowouts up the top.

[lizzie]

My kids are 14 and 11 and a lot has changed since then in cloth diapers, but here is my experience.

I tried to do cloth with my first with the regular rectangular diapers and about a dozen different types of wipes.  Gave up after 6 months or so as we had so many leaks and just used disposables.

After I'd already given up, I was with a friend who had a baby slightly younger than mine.  She had these awesome cloth diapers with snaps in different places so they grew with the kid.  She said no leaks.  They're called Motherease.

So when I was pregnant with second, I just went ahead and ordered a full set of motherease.  It came with something like 20-24 along with 8 or 10 covers.  I think it cost me about $250 IIRC.

They were really great and we never use disposables with #2 unless we were traveling.

When she potty trained, I sold the whole set on craigslist for about half of what I paid for them.  So it really did save a lot.

I never found the whole washing thing difficult or time consuming.  It was about an extra load every 2 days or so and it's not like you need to fold them.

If cost is the biggest issue, cloth saves more money the more kids you have.  It's marginal savings for only one kid.

Another recommendation for Motherease (my kids are now 14 and 16, so not even sure if they still exist!) We used them with our second (disposables for the first) and we loved them. The diapers are suitable from newborn to toddler.

Also: I am convinced that using cloth diapers caused our second to basically potty-train herself at about 18 months.

[merula]

I have two in cloth diapers. I wasn't originally for it, but I've come around. The cost savings are great, it really doesn't take that much more time, and I never have to worry about running out of diapers. My original objection was that it'd be "gross", but kids are gross just in general. In comparing notes with my disposable diapering friends, I don't think I have to deal with any more grossness than they do. Leaks haven't been a problem since we figured out how to make the adjustable diaper covers fit. Overnights are easier with cloth than disposables; I just add an extra diaper or pad to the cover if I think it's likely to be an issue.

My advice is very similar to what others have said. Buy just a few at first and see how it goes. Buy used and buy a few different types so you can see what you want. I'm heavily biased towards snaps as velcro takes more attention in the wash, and I like BumGenius and Charlie Banana. Charlie Banana fit my baby as soon as he got home from the hospital; birth weight 7lbs, 15oz. I folded the top over for a week or so until the cord stump dropped off. They still fit both kids (30lbs, 36in/22 lbs, 24in).

On the subject of time: cloth requires washing and drying, for me that's about 20 min of labor every two days (with a stash of 30 diapers and two kids). But remember that disposables require work too: clipping coupons, lugging boxes, unpacking and storing. Maybe it's not as much, but it deserves some consideration.

I know you said that the environmental aspect isn't a big deal for you. It wasn't for me, either, until I had some things pointed out to me. Like, disposables for one baby adds up to over ONE THOUSAND POUNDS of garbage per year. Disposable diapers make up 30% of non-biodegradable waste, and we don't actually know how long it'll take them to decompose. (250-500 years seems to be the best guess.)

[waltworks]

We get the target diapers. If you buy a lot at a time, they're about 10 cents each. A bit more for the bigger sizes. Our kids go through about 4-5 each per day. So maybe a buck a day in costs. Target ships them for free (just get a Target debit or credit card, boom).

We did cloth for a year or so but it was taking a couple hours a week to deal with them. I'm not paying myself half of minimum wage to clean poop out of cloth diapers (I'm not disgusted by it, but hey, it's not my favorite thing either), and IMO (not a thread derail attempt) landfill space is the LAST thing you should be worried about as an environmentalist. The embodied energy in your car/driving your car even a little bit, heating your house, eating meat, etc are all probably a couple orders of magnitude worse for the environment than all the diapers your kids can soil. Honestly the energy and water it takes to wash/strip cloth diapers probably makes it a tossup anyway.

-W

[bogart]

... oh, I'll note, lots of people talking about the time involved in washing/drying.  I just threw our cloth diapers in with the rest of the laundry and washed everything (as I always have) on warm with some off-brand detergent (probably XTra).  No problems (obviously I did rinse poopy ones off first -- but that was approximately 1/day for my kid, YMMV).  Then I hung them out to dry.  It worked fine, and in that I was doing it anyway, no big deal (not much increase in total laundry load or effort).  I think we probably had 3 loads a week (total) when the kid was diapered, for 2 adults + the baby, compared to maybe 2 loads/week now.  I did use the liners inside the outers but did not stash the liners in the pocket (just laid them inside) and would typically get 2 changes out of 1 outer (just 1 per liner, of course).  For our household/baby, that all worked fine. 

I've since learned that many households wash the diapers separately, possibly with special detergent.  For us, ignorance was bliss.

[MicroRN]

I'd say it depends on lifestyle and dedication to the idea.  I have a friend who totally cloth diapered.  Not a single disposable, ever.  She was a SAHM, they needed to save money, and it was really important to her.  She bought basic, inexpensive diapers second hand.  I actually loved cloth diapering, and did it for 2 years.  For one kid, I didn't find it difficult or overwhelming.  Once I went back to work, my husband was at sea, and I had 2 in cloth though, it was a different matter entirely.  I switched to disposables and didn't look back.  The Costco ones fit our kids well, much better than the Target ones, and are cheaper than brand name.

FWIW, we had very few overnight leaks with cloth.  Hemp or terry liners will absorb a lot of liquid.  Microfiber interiors tended to leak worse than any cotton ones.  We never had daycare issues because our childcare was family and then a nanny.  My sister used cloth too and her daycare had no problems with it.  I know other people have run into problems with daycares refusing.  Some even think it's against state regulations.         

[justajane]

I've since learned that many households wash the diapers separately, possibly with special detergent.  For us, ignorance was bliss.

I hear ya on this. The way people cloth diaper today is uber intensive, and I did it for my first. But then I started questioning the stripping and all that jazz. First off, the reason people have to strip diapers today is because of all the non-100% cotton diapers being used that require a special detergent (not true) and all these fancy liners. I think a lot of it is just marketing.

If you have the old fashioned cotton pre-folds, just bleach those suckers! Done and done. I guarantee this is better for the environment than using tons and tons of hot water to strip them.

I also wash my dirty diapers (sans poop) with the rest of my laundry. At first, I thought I was doing something nasty or terrible, but guess what? The rest of my clothes are just as clean and fresh smelling as they ever were. I don't ever put more than four or so prefolds in a load, but it has been liberating.

[FSL]

I don't have children yet, but I've looked into the cloth vs disposables cost. Where do you all find target diapers so cheap? When I look online, the bulk plus size 3 says $37.99 for 222 diapers, so about 19 cents each. Where are people seeing prices for 10 or 12 cents?

[justajane]

I don't have children yet, but I've looked into the cloth vs disposables cost. Where do you all find target diapers so cheap? When I look online, the bulk plus size 3 says $37.99 for 222 diapers, so about 19 cents each. Where are people seeing prices for 10 or 12 cents?

You have to buy multiple packs when they are on sale to get the gift cards back. Plus you have to use a Red Card.

But prices might vary regionally as well.

[eyePod]

We tried it with our daughter, but she was getting severe rashes that didn't occur with the disposable. If we have a boy next time, we might try them again.

If you're going to get them, the best bet is through one of the mommy facebook groups. I can find out what one my wife was in if you'd like. They get them shipped over from China in bulk (a bunch of moms all pile their money together) and then the mom who runs it ships them all out to each other mom/parent individually. HUGE savings and they're the same as the name brand without the logo.

PM me if you want the group name!

[mrsggrowsveg]

I work full time and 100% cloth diaper.

We bought some newborn cloth diapers new.  They were expensive and fit for about a month.  Looking back I should have definitely bought those used.  It is easy to find used nice newborn diapers, because they aren't used very long.  Some people do choose to go with disposables for newborns and that is a good idea also.

After the newborns, we switched to all in ones.  I bought a bunch of different brands.  My favorite were the most expensive Bum Genius All-in-ones.  I also really like the very cheap Alva Baby diapers.  I also purchased quite a few from Craigslist. 

We have been to two different daycares and they both allowed cloth diapers.  Each state has different health regulations.  They required that we supplied a wet bag and a large plastic tub to keep the wet bag in.  Once our son started solids, it got more difficult to cloth diaper at daycare.  They won't spray the diapers.  We started sending him with a roll of Viva paper towels.  They place one towel into the diaper and then easily lift the bm out.  This makes it really easy to wash the diapers at home.  Our first daycare required that we put plastic pants over the diapers.  That was a huge pain and caused many diaper rashes.

For night time, we got these really great thick fleece diapers from Craigslist.  If I put two liners in them, they don't leak at all.

Another money and diaper saving tip is to not buy too many diapers.  You really need to wash every two to three days to keep the diapers from getting stinky.  You also really start to save money if you can use them with more than one child.

[MJB MPLS]

Look for a service if there's one in your area. We pay $925 for a full year for twins. Works quite nicely - put out your bags and get clean replacements each Monday. Pretty straightforward to diaper up with the Velcro covers they also provide.

[waltworks]

Here was our calculation:

-Disposable diapers @ ~$0.10 each.
-5-10 diapers a day, ~50 a week.
-Weekly cost of ~$5.
-Annual cost of ~$250-300.
-Assume kid in diapers for 3 years or so, total cost $750-900.

-Cloth diapers about $100 initial costs (this is what we actually spent on them, buying used and being thrifty).
-About 1 extra laundry load/week.
-$2/load cost for electricity/gas/detergent.
-Replace 20% or so of the diapers/year due to various forms of wear and tear/loss.
-Total costs over 3 years of ~$500.
-And the kicker - 1 extra hour/week of effort.

So by my calculations, we would save, at best, $450 in exchange for something like 150 hours of labor. $3/hour is not even vaguely worth it to me. Paying for a diaper service removed the time problem but cost *more* than the disposables by quite a bit.

Have those folks who are doing cloth run the numbers? How much are you saving?

-W

[Gin1984]

Here was our calculation:

-Disposable diapers @ ~$0.10 each.
-5-10 diapers a day, ~50 a week.
-Weekly cost of ~$5.
-Annual cost of ~$250-300.
-Assume kid in diapers for 3 years or so, total cost $750-900.

-Cloth diapers about $100 initial costs (this is what we actually spent on them, buying used and being thrifty).
-About 1 extra laundry load/week.
-$2/load cost for electricity/gas/detergent.
-Replace 20% or so of the diapers/year due to various forms of wear and tear/loss.
-Total costs over 3 years of ~$500.
-And the kicker - 1 extra hour/week of effort.

So by my calculations, we would save, at best, $450 in exchange for something like 150 hours of labor. $3/hour is not even vaguely worth it to me. Paying for a diaper service removed the time problem but cost *more* than the disposables by quite a bit.

Have those folks who are doing cloth run the numbers? How much are you saving?

-W

Well I buy online, so the diapers come to my house.  I have not found .10 each around here or online.  We are able to stretch the cost of disposables from one month to two by cloth diapering at home.  This saves about $31/2 month so $15/month.  So yes, about $3-$4/hour savings.  Except it is just normal cleaning for us.  Would you not plow your driveway if someone would take $4 to plow it?  And it also saves us the time to find the deals. 

[justajane]

Here was our calculation:

-Disposable diapers @ ~$0.10 each.
-5-10 diapers a day, ~50 a week.
-Weekly cost of ~$5.
-Annual cost of ~$250-300.
-Assume kid in diapers for 3 years or so, total cost $750-900.

-Cloth diapers about $100 initial costs (this is what we actually spent on them, buying used and being thrifty).
-About 1 extra laundry load/week.
-$2/load cost for electricity/gas/detergent.
-Replace 20% or so of the diapers/year due to various forms of wear and tear/loss.
-Total costs over 3 years of ~$500.
-And the kicker - 1 extra hour/week of effort.

So by my calculations, we would save, at best, $450 in exchange for something like 150 hours of labor. $3/hour is not even vaguely worth it to me. Paying for a diaper service removed the time problem but cost *more* than the disposables by quite a bit.

Have those folks who are doing cloth run the numbers? How much are you saving?

-W

You are on the right track here, but my main comments are:
You won't be likely to find size 5 or up diapers for 10 cents each, and usually people use pull-ups near potty training, and those are closer to 20 cents each.

I'm not sure about the theory that cloth diapered kids potty train earlier. Mine never did. This might throw a wrinkle in your calculations.

Multiple kids will change the numbers quite a bit.

$2 a load sounds pretty high, but then again, one extra load of laundry a week sounds low. I would estimate it at 2 loads a week (that is, if you are grossed out by combining diapers with your regular laundry like some of us do). In that case, it's a wash (ha!).

I want to reiterate that for most cloth diaper users, it isn't just about money. I would never calculate my time that way. Plus I don't actually think it would take an extra hour of work per load. You don't sit and stare at the diapers rotating in the washer, do you? ;)

Ultimately I wanted to cloth diaper my first two babies. Now that I have a third kid, the desire has evaporated, so I have used lots and lots of disposables in his eight months of life. If you don't want to cloth diaper and are just doing it because your peer set says you should or you want to save money, it's probably not going to work out, because the cost savings are hard to calculate and possibly not that high.

[waltworks]

The extra time was assuming line-drying/hanging them all for each load. The dryer destroyed them and also costs a fair amount to run.

To clarify: We cloth diapered for about a year and that was my experience in terms of time/effort/cost. All those numbers are our actual numbers, not a hypothetical.

-W

[Gin1984]

Here was our calculation:

-Disposable diapers @ ~$0.10 each.
-5-10 diapers a day, ~50 a week.
-Weekly cost of ~$5.
-Annual cost of ~$250-300.
-Assume kid in diapers for 3 years or so, total cost $750-900.

-Cloth diapers about $100 initial costs (this is what we actually spent on them, buying used and being thrifty).
-About 1 extra laundry load/week.
-$2/load cost for electricity/gas/detergent.
-Replace 20% or so of the diapers/year due to various forms of wear and tear/loss.
-Total costs over 3 years of ~$500.
-And the kicker - 1 extra hour/week of effort.

So by my calculations, we would save, at best, $450 in exchange for something like 150 hours of labor. $3/hour is not even vaguely worth it to me. Paying for a diaper service removed the time problem but cost *more* than the disposables by quite a bit.

Have those folks who are doing cloth run the numbers? How much are you saving?

-W

You are on the right track here, but my main comments are:
You won't be likely to find size 5 or up diapers for 10 cents each, and usually people use pull-ups near potty training, and those are closer to 20 cents each.

I'm not sure about the theory that cloth diapered kids potty train earlier. Mine never did. This might throw a wrinkle in your calculations.

Multiple kids will change the numbers quite a bit.

$2 a load sounds pretty high, but then again, one extra load of laundry a week sounds low. I would estimate it at 2 loads a week (that is, if you are grossed out by combining diapers with your regular laundry like some of us do). In that case, it's a wash (ha!).

I want to reiterate that for most cloth diaper users, it isn't just about money. I would never calculate my time that way. Plus I don't actually think it would take an extra hour of work per load. You don't sit and stare at the diapers rotating in the washer, do you? ;)

Ultimately I wanted to cloth diaper my first two babies. Now that I have a third kid, the desire has evaporated, so I have used lots and lots of disposables in his eight months of life. If you don't want to cloth diaper and are just doing it because your peer set says you should or you want to save money, it's probably not going to work out, because the cost savings are hard to calculate and possibly not that high.

I just realized this "-Replace 20% or so of the diapers/year due to various forms of wear and tear/loss."  What did you DO?  We bought used and have used the diapers for two years and not needed to replace one yet. 

[waltworks]

Ours were secondhand and some were already pretty worn. Snaps pull out, velcro degrades and won't hold anymore, the waterproof liner gets a tear - they aren't indestructible. Also just plain lost a few (forgetfulness when traveling, windstorm when line drying, etc - the usual shit-happens stuff). Nothing lasts forever. We could have bought all new stuff I guess and had it last a bit longer. As I said, for us, in one year, about 20% (something like 6 or 7 of the ~40 we bought) of our cloth diapers were unusable or missing. That sort of implies a ~5 year lifetime which seems reasonable to me for a small cloth item that gets constantly pooped/peed in and washed.

I mean, it's a free country. Cloth is great if it makes you happy. But it's just not much of a $ savings if you look at the big picture.

Here's a fun laundry cost calculator: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/laundry.html

-W

[Le0]

We tried it with our daughter, but she was getting severe rashes that didn't occur with the disposable. If we have a boy next time, we might try them again.

If you're going to get them, the best bet is through one of the mommy facebook groups. I can find out what one my wife was in if you'd like. They get them shipped over from China in bulk (a bunch of moms all pile their money together) and then the mom who runs it ships them all out to each other mom/parent individually. HUGE savings and they're the same as the name brand without the logo.

PM me if you want the group name!

I have heard people say this before about rashes. Even my mother said she switched from cloth to disposable with my sister. But really what did people do 50... 100 years ago. Disposable diapers are fairly new. Did babies get rashes back then?

Is it the frequency of changes, type of fabric, the way we wash the diapers??? I am really curious.

[Gin1984]

We tried it with our daughter, but she was getting severe rashes that didn't occur with the disposable. If we have a boy next time, we might try them again.

If you're going to get them, the best bet is through one of the mommy facebook groups. I can find out what one my wife was in if you'd like. They get them shipped over from China in bulk (a bunch of moms all pile their money together) and then the mom who runs it ships them all out to each other mom/parent individually. HUGE savings and they're the same as the name brand without the logo.

PM me if you want the group name!

I have heard people say this before about rashes. Even my mother said she switched from cloth to disposable with my sister. But really what did people do 50... 100 years ago. Disposable diapers are fairly new. Did babies get rashes back then?

Is it the frequency of changes, type of fabric, the way we wash the diapers??? I am really curious.

Most cloth diapers let the child feel the liquid more than disposables.  That is the reason why kids with cloth, on average, potty train sooner, it is more uncomfortable.  And the solution is getting up and changing them more often.  We had the same issue and we either had to wake her up in the middle of night or put a disposable on at night. 

[merula]

Is it the frequency of changes, type of fabric, the way we wash the diapers??? I am really curious.

I'm pretty sure it's the plastic cover. It keeps the moisture from getting everywhere, but then that wetness just stays close to the baby's skin and causes rashes.

[waltworks]

I would guess that 100 years ago:
-People were in general less picky about odors and didn't feel the need to use waterproof diapers - ie, kid might stink more, but they're not sitting in their pee.
-Women stayed home full time with kids and could/did change more often, as frequently as needed.
-Kids had more rashes and cried more and things generally sucked more.

I mean, unless you're some sort of total technophobe or really loved the Ottoman empire, everything is better now than it was 100 years ago. Diapers probably aren't the top of anyone's list of things that got insanely awesome in the last 100 years, but maybe they should be. Wood pulp and a little bit of plastic is an amazing thing.

-W

We tried it with our daughter, but she was getting severe rashes that didn't occur with the disposable. If we have a boy next time, we might try them again.

If you're going to get them, the best bet is through one of the mommy facebook groups. I can find out what one my wife was in if you'd like. They get them shipped over from China in bulk (a bunch of moms all pile their money together) and then the mom who runs it ships them all out to each other mom/parent individually. HUGE savings and they're the same as the name brand without the logo.

PM me if you want the group name!

I have heard people say this before about rashes. Even my mother said she switched from cloth to disposable with my sister. But really what did people do 50... 100 years ago. Disposable diapers are fairly new. Did babies get rashes back then?

Is it the frequency of changes, type of fabric, the way we wash the diapers??? I am really curious.

[justajane]

On the contrary waltworks, I imagine that there was less diaper rash 100 years ago. Our pediatrician told us that when he travels to Africa for medical mission trips, diaper rash is unheard of, mainly because they use rags and whatever else they have handy for diapering. Disposables cause diaper rash more than cloth, because people tend to leave them on longer than cloth. But your point is taken that disposable diapers are liberating for the parent.

In our case the use of cotton prefolds reduced the amount of rash. In my experience the plastic or waterproof cover isn't what causes the diaper rash. It's leaving cloth on too long and the newer synthetic fabrics.

For just as many people that you find who claimed they switched to disposable b/c of rash you will find those who did the reverse. I imagine the source of the rash also determines whether cloth or disposable causes a rash. If it's yeast, cloth could be a problem, because you might not get out the yeast when you wash it, whereas a disposable is brand new every time.

[waltworks]

I'm guessing that's a "women stay home and watch kids full time" situation rather than the superiority of African rags - and in general, third world infants do worse on EVERY measure of health/outcomes than kids in developed countries so I'm not sure diaper rash is even on the radar - you're not going to get in to see a doctor if the other patients ahead in line are malnourished/have AIDS/etc. If medical missionaries are spending their time on diaper rash they're not going to the right places!

If you put in the time to change your little one constantly (and don't run into some kind of chemical allergy to whatever you're using to wash the diapers) then yes, I'd assume you can completely eliminate diaper rash, regardless of what type of diapers you use.

-W

On the contrary waltworks, I imagine that there was less diaper rash 100 years ago. Our pediatrician told us that when he travels to Africa for medical mission trips, diaper rash is unheard of, mainly because they use rags and whatever else they have handy for diapering. Disposables cause diaper rash more than cloth, because people tend to leave them on longer than cloth. But your point is taken that disposable diapers are liberating for the parent.

In our case the use of cotton prefolds reduced the amount of rash. In my experience the plastic or waterproof cover isn't what causes the diaper rash. It's leaving cloth on too long and the newer synthetic fabrics.

For just as many people that you find who claimed they switched to disposable b/c of rash you will find those who did the reverse. I imagine the source of the rash also determines whether cloth or disposable causes a rash. If it's yeast, cloth could be a problem, because you might not get out the yeast when you wash it, whereas a disposable is brand new every time.

[Le0]

If When you put in the time to change your little one constantly (and don't run into some kind of chemical allergy to whatever you're using to wash the diapers) then yes, I'd assume you can completely eliminate diaper rash, regardless of what type of diapers you use.

I fixed it to reflect what parents should be striving to always do.

[waltworks]

Yes, that's a better way to put it. My point was that neither is inherently superior in general for rash prevention, though overall we found that we had to do more changes with cloth (ie, you can wait until you get home in half an hour in a disposable, with cloth we'd need to change or it would be rash city). If your kiddo has a specific problem with a specific type of diaper, obviously that makes the choice easy.

-W

If When you put in the time to change your little one constantly (and don't run into some kind of chemical allergy to whatever you're using to wash the diapers) then yes, I'd assume you can completely eliminate diaper rash, regardless of what type of diapers you use.

I fixed it to reflect what parents should be striving to always do.

[Le0]

True.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Gin1984]

I'm guessing that's a "women stay home and watch kids full time" situation rather than the superiority of African rags - and in general, third world infants do worse on EVERY measure of health/outcomes than kids in developed countries so I'm not sure diaper rash is even on the radar - you're not going to get in to see a doctor if the other patients ahead in line are malnourished/have AIDS/etc. If medical missionaries are spending their time on diaper rash they're not going to the right places!

If you put in the time to change your little one constantly (and don't run into some kind of chemical allergy to whatever you're using to wash the diapers) then yes, I'd assume you can completely eliminate diaper rash, regardless of what type of diapers you use.

-W

On the contrary waltworks, I imagine that there was less diaper rash 100 years ago. Our pediatrician told us that when he travels to Africa for medical mission trips, diaper rash is unheard of, mainly because they use rags and whatever else they have handy for diapering. Disposables cause diaper rash more than cloth, because people tend to leave them on longer than cloth. But your point is taken that disposable diapers are liberating for the parent.

In our case the use of cotton prefolds reduced the amount of rash. In my experience the plastic or waterproof cover isn't what causes the diaper rash. It's leaving cloth on too long and the newer synthetic fabrics.

For just as many people that you find who claimed they switched to disposable b/c of rash you will find those who did the reverse. I imagine the source of the rash also determines whether cloth or disposable causes a rash. If it's yeast, cloth could be a problem, because you might not get out the yeast when you wash it, whereas a disposable is brand new every time.

We could not.  We were changing her every hour and waking her up in the middle of the night for changes.  Then we tried a disposable at night.  No more diaper rash.  We were going to the doctor, got referred to a ped dermatologist, everything.  Nothing worked completely.  But then having the disposable at night did and no middle of the night changes anymore so the kid is happier.  We have not had a rash since. 

[justajane]

Considering my pediatrician is about to transfer to a job working in infectious diseases in Africa, I highly doubt that he was solely focused on diaper rashes, but the thing is that people have amazing brains that enable them to notice one thing while they are working on another.

I would say that, yes, cloth is inherently better for diaper rash than disposables, in large part because it is a breathable fabric. Of course YMMV depending on the practices of the care giver and the allergies/sensitivities of the baby, but since MOST diaper rash is caused by the trapping in of moisture, then yes, you can make overarching conclusions based on inherent aspects of the material. 

But waltworks, we might disagree on the minutia (including the history of peoples' past tolerance of smells and the like), but we ultimately agree on the answer to the OP's question, namely that considering how people cloth diaper today, it is likely not worth the cost.

[waltworks]

Yes, your kid is much better off now than 100 years ago, or in Africa! :)

-W

I'm guessing that's a "women stay home and watch kids full time" situation rather than the superiority of African rags - and in general, third world infants do worse on EVERY measure of health/outcomes than kids in developed countries so I'm not sure diaper rash is even on the radar - you're not going to get in to see a doctor if the other patients ahead in line are malnourished/have AIDS/etc. If medical missionaries are spending their time on diaper rash they're not going to the right places!

If you put in the time to change your little one constantly (and don't run into some kind of chemical allergy to whatever you're using to wash the diapers) then yes, I'd assume you can completely eliminate diaper rash, regardless of what type of diapers you use.

-W

On the contrary waltworks, I imagine that there was less diaper rash 100 years ago. Our pediatrician told us that when he travels to Africa for medical mission trips, diaper rash is unheard of, mainly because they use rags and whatever else they have handy for diapering. Disposables cause diaper rash more than cloth, because people tend to leave them on longer than cloth. But your point is taken that disposable diapers are liberating for the parent.

In our case the use of cotton prefolds reduced the amount of rash. In my experience the plastic or waterproof cover isn't what causes the diaper rash. It's leaving cloth on too long and the newer synthetic fabrics.

For just as many people that you find who claimed they switched to disposable b/c of rash you will find those who did the reverse. I imagine the source of the rash also determines whether cloth or disposable causes a rash. If it's yeast, cloth could be a problem, because you might not get out the yeast when you wash it, whereas a disposable is brand new every time.

We could not.  We were changing her every hour and waking her up in the middle of the night for changes.  Then we tried a disposable at night.  No more diaper rash.  We were going to the doctor, got referred to a ped dermatologist, everything.  Nothing worked completely.  But then having the disposable at night did and no middle of the night changes anymore so the kid is happier.  We have not had a rash since.

[waltworks]

Yeah, I think we are derailing the thread. Both can work. Every situation is different. Pick based on what is best for your lifestyle/personal happiness, not cost, because the costs savings are negligible.

-W

Considering my pediatrician is about to transfer to a job working in infectious diseases in Africa, I highly doubt that he was solely focused on diaper rashes, but the thing is that people have amazing brains that enable them to notice one thing while they are working on another.

I would say that, yes, cloth is inherently better for diaper rash than disposables, in large part because it is a breathable fabric. Of course YMMV depending on the practices of the care giver and the allergies/sensitivities of the baby, but since MOST diaper rash is caused by the trapping in of moisture, then yes, you can make overarching conclusions based on inherent aspects of the material. 

But waltworks, we might disagree on the minutia (including the history of peoples' past tolerance of smells and the like), but we ultimately agree on the answer to the OP's question, namely that considering how people cloth diaper today, it is likely not worth the cost.

[ldmills112]

I'm really surprised at how many people are going with disposables. My husband and I both work full-time (and I also work part-time for the business we own), and we have cloth diapered our son since the beginning, including at daycare, overnight, and travel. I honestly have found it to be much less work than I expected. The laundry really doesn't take that long (especially compared to packing the kid up and making a trip to the store to buy diapers), and our routine isn't overly complicated.

Granted our son was pretty large when born, so he was able to go right into the one-size diapers. We actually only had problems with diaper rash when he was in the hospital in the disposables they provided. We find that coconut oil works better for him than any diaper rash cream, and a tub of that from Costco will probably last us through his diaper wearing stint.

I knew which diapers I wanted to use, and I bought all I needed at a 'seconds' sale when they were discontinuing some unpopular colors. Given the savings on the initial purchase, we broke even by the time he was 2 months old. Our water bill only went up about $5-7/month. And he's our first, so we'll be able to use these diapers for any subsequent children, with the only additional costs being perhaps some repair/replacement of the snaps, velcro, or elastic.

And my husband, who is typically very non-mustachian, says he'd choose the cloth even if it wasn't cheaper for one reason: no poop blowouts.