When you add the added cost of water, the actual diapers themselves, the electricity to dry them, etc, do you cloth diapers will really save much money in the long run? I know it is better for the environment, and can help save male fertility, but I just have to wonder if it is really cost effective? Has anyone out there actually taken the time to see how much cheaper it is? Thanks for any help!
Well, I haven't heard about the male fertility and considering how many fatherless children are running around, I doubt if disposable diapers are really doing much to slow down sperm count. However, no, they don't, in my opinion. I don't think people add in the cost of time and rest into this cloth diaper movement. I can't imagine why any parent would really add that much more labor to their already busy day of taking care of a newborn.
HAH. Thank you for that. I also haven't heard of the male fertility issue. And to answer your question OP - no, cloth diapers are not more cost effective for one child, if you are willing to find and pay for diapers at less than retail price. They actually only become cost effective 3/4 of the way through a second child. Up front, cloth diapers are expensive. Then laundering them (considering time and cost) and upgrading for new sizes needs to considered. I've been able to successfully purchase Huggies and/or Pampers for no more than $0.10 a diaper using coupons and sales. I simply couldn't justify the "cost effectiveness" of cloth diapering. On the flip side, it is more environmentally friendly so I love everyone who does it.
This has always been a touchy subject but in my opinion cloth diapers are a lot of work for no reason. Cloth diapers are fine once in a while but all the time can be time consuming because of all the washing involved. I used to babysit a baby boy who wore cloth diapers and it was a lot to keep washing the diapers and changing also the inner pad of the diaper. Regular diapers seem to be the best choice for me but to each his own.
I never had the time to mess with cloth dipares. Although sometimes I feel like I'm using them now the way my toddler pees through her panties. I think save new parents a lot of headache just to use paper diapers. I have heard of delivery services where they will wash your diapers for you but I think there petty expensive.
It is not cheaper, but for some babies it is better on their bums. Now if you are desperate to save money on diapers or be more environmentally conscientious... here are a few links that explain about Potty Training from aka Diaperless Babies. Log In Log In Log In Log In Believe me...you save a boatload of money, it only takes a little bit of extra time in your day, and both you and your baby will be better off for it. Hope that helps!
I don't think they would really be worth it if it's just one child but if it's more than one, I don't see why not. My sister makes her own diapers and she has a lot of kids.. Nine with another on the way, obviously some are older than others, but still.
I live in the UK and to be honest, no I don't think they do. They are expensive to buy in the first place and need replacing fairly regularly. You can pay a serrvice to collect wash and return the diapers for you, but this is a further expense. Also, I don't think they make that much difference to the environment. When you think of the cleaning products and energy used to clean them, they make thier own mark on the environment, just not filling a landfill.
I think they are cheaper in long run, but I agree that it can be really time consuming to wash them. I started to use cloth diapers for my second child. We did buy a dozen of cloth diapers, though the start up cost was expensive (we bought it during promotion), we didn't buy any other disposable diapers ever since then, and we are using those cloth diapers for my third child now. I didn't calculate how much cheaper it is to use cloth diapers, but as I used mostly disposable diapers for my first child, I can tell it's much more expensive using disposable diapers.
It just sounds like so much extra work. If I were a parent (which I'm not) - but if I was, I would probably just go with the cheapest brand of disposable diapers, and if the little tabs didn't stick very well, I'd just use hospital tape to help secure them better. That's the only problem I think we'd run into, would be that a cheaper/discount diaper (like maybe from a dollar store, etc.) might not stick together with the securing-tabs as well as the more expensive brands, but like I said, there's always a way around it. Just use some good tape over the tabs that CANNOT be removed by the little one (choking hazard) - and that would be hospital tape. I use it to secure my screens during the summer so my cats can't bust through and run around on the roof. This tape is reliable stuff.
