Cloth Diaper Review
Okay, it’s time for a review. First and foremost, let me
tell you cloth diapering is EASY. I hate cleaning up poop, but the reality is
that having a baby requires you to clean up poop, no matter if you use
disposable diapers or cloth. Our dogs poop has been much worse than the baby's.
Cloth diapering is really simple, its literally as easy as running a load of
laundry. I will also include a tip or two on how to save costs and bad smells.
We
were given a package of disposable diapers (36), and we bought 1 package of
disposable diapers (32). We were also just recently given another box of
disposable diapers from Samsclub (210). We choose to use cloth diapers early
on, and bought 20 diapers, and 30 diaper inserts (I will go into this a little
bit later, as these are NOT necessary since the diapers we bought each came
with 2 inserts).
We
opted to use disposable diapers for the first week, until the meconium
(tar poop) ran its course. We quickly used both of the smaller packages of
diapers within the first week. I guesstimate the cost of those 2 packages at
$20 each, totaling $40.
When
we ran out of the "free" diapers, we started using cloth.
We
bought BumGenius 4.0 snap cloth diapers. The
diaper works with babies from 7 -35 pounds. We familiarized ourselves with
the diapers before baby Judah's arrival, using a stuffed monkey for testing
purposes. It gave us a dry run (no pun intended) to get used to how they
worked. We purchased 20 diapers from Amazon at $18 ea. Some cost less becuase
of the color, but I checked this morning and they are all $17.95 ea no matter
the color. Our total cost was $359. Free shipping. Each BumGenius diaper comes
with 2 diaper inserts: a small size and a larger sized insert.
We
choose to use a different insert made organically of 55% hemp & 45% cotton.
We choose this because Hemp is the strongest fiber known to man, four times
more absorbent than cotton, and also possesses natural antifungal,
antibacterial properties. Sounds expensive, but they aren’t. Two hemp inserts
came in a package of two for $8, or $4 ea. We bought 30 inserts because diaper
inserts take longer to dry, no matter the material. So this investment cost us
$120. Free shipping.
Another
cost for cloth diapering is detergent. We have to use a special detergent
without fabric softener. Fabric softener applies a layer of film on materials,
making them "soft" to the touch. We don’t use much, it’s recommended
to use 1/4 the amount of a regular load. We use Dreft from Samsclub costing $25
for 110 regular loads. Side note: the diapers are still very soft after
multiple washes.
Liners
are next. You may wonder why you need a liner, and surely some opt out of using
them. A liner is a thin fabric that is laid on top of the diaper to "catch
the large stuff". Think of it like a SOFT 1 ply toilet paper that’s biodegradable.
There are 6 rolls in a package, 100 liners in a roll. $30 for the package.
These things will help the cloth diapers last longer, look cleaner.
:::TIP:::
Diaper bucket - DO NOT buy a special bucket to soak the diaper, its wasted
money. We use a 5 gallon bucket with an airtight lid. If you dont have one of
these laying around, they are easy to find for free if you are willing to stop
by BurgerKing, McD's or even a Coldstone creamery. Any restaurant that uses
pickles or frosting will have spare buckets. If you really want to make life
simple, you can buy a "Gamma" lid ($10 on Amazon I think) so the
bucket has a screw top lid.
Below
is a breakdown of our costs. It does not include the extra costs of running a
washing machine and dryer, but then those costs are small, comparable to trash
removal for disposable diapers, probably less.
Cloth
Diaper Expenses:
Diapers
- $359
Inserts
- $120
Soap-
$25
Liners
- $30
TOTAL: $534
Everyone
we know has told us how difficult it is to use cloth diapers; this may have
been true in their time but we have found it fairly easy. Here is our process:
Set
the bucket near your changing table, fill half way with cold water, and add a
little vinegar. Vinegar helps with both smell and preventing discoloration.
When
you remove the old diaper, toss it in the bucket. When the bucket gets full, or
you need more diapers, simply drain out the excess water and wash the load of
diapers & inserts.
When
the wash is done, toss everything into the dryer and dry with "air
only". If the inserts are still damp, remove the diapers and run the
inserts on a delicate dryer cycle.
That’s
it. Very simple.
While
many websites seem to suggest it costs thousands of dollars up front to use
cloth diapers, we have found a way to do it for under $600. If you decide to
use the inserts provided, its just over $400. Disposable diapers on the other
hand would cost about $160 for the first month, and probably another $160 for
the second month. Roughly $320 for the first two months and how long do babies
wear diapers?
In
conclusion, if you haven’t looked into cloth diapers and you have the time to
do a load of laundry every other day, it’s a sound financial decision that is
nowhere near as difficult as others may lead you to believe.
