I feel that it is appropriate for my first blog back from maternity leave to be on a subject I am now extremely well acquainted with: diapers! Based on some rudimentary calculations, it seems with my time away I have changed approximately 2,825 diapers. Something to add to the ol’ resume!
Questions around cloth diapering come up all the time. Many wonder:
My cloth diaper bum getting ready to crawl!
- Is the up front cost worth it?
- Is it complicated?
- How to use them when you leave the house?
- Does the laundry cut into my sleeping time?
- Will I have to touch poop?
I chose to use cloth diapers for from this potty training guide, they are; environmental, convenience, health, and financial reasons. In a nutshell, I love them, it’s so easy, and I would never turn back! I will post answers to some of these other cloth diapering questions in the future, but to start I thought it would be interesting to actually do a cost breakdown specifically for Manitobans.
For the purposes of this blog I am going to compare the purchase of new cloth diapers vs disposable diapers (the cheapest ones) over a two year period. While many of us may wish that we were done with diapers after two years, this isn’t usually the case! Also this does not show the savings for a second (or third) child, which is where the use of cloth diapers really benefits you financially.
Just because I am looking at the financial piece, I don’t want it to be lost how much of an environmental impact you are making when you choose how to diaper your child. One disposable diaper takes 450 years to degrade in the landfill, so if you think about the 3000-4000 diapers you are contributing per child, it really adds up. Choosing biodegradable disposables means the diapers will usually not have fragrances, use chlorine bleach or petroleum based lotions. However most still use sodium polyacrylate, a moisture absorbing gel which was removed from tampons to reduce the incidence of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Biodegradable diapers are also said to degrade within 1-2 years in the landfill. Watch the blog for a more detailed post on the environmental impacts of diapers, and if you have any questions, please comment below.
Financial Analysis
Let’s get right into it then. I have made some assumptions in order to do the calculations, which can all be found below. I have posted the results up top for those that just want the quick and dirty answers.
Overall, cloth diapering provides a financial savings of $330 over two years, if you purchase everything new.
A few ways to increase your savings include:
- Not buying everything new. One of my friends bought the majority of her diapers on Kijiji and has just purchased supplemental items (additional inserts, wipes) for a grand total of $250, and a two year savings of $796!
- Have more kids! You can dramatically increase your savings by having more kids. Using cloth diapers for 2 kids, 2 years each means a savings of $1371.20.
- Get people to buy your diapers for you. Instead of getting 30 newborn outfits you will never use, or an overload of toys, you can actually register to receive cloth diapers for your baby shower. This is a great way to get items you really need from people who really want to support you. Savings up to as much as $720!
- Buy less. If you opt to leave out the additional items I purchased (listed below), you can save $230.
Cloth Diapers – Purchasing New
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
| Diaper Materials | $720.88 | – |
| Electricity | $30.23 | $30.23 |
| Water | $36.01 | $36.01 |
| Detergent | $65.24 | $65.24 |
| Totals: | $852.36 | $131.48 |
Disposable Diapers – Purchasing in Bulk (Kirkland – Costco)
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
| Diapers | $769 | $400 |
| Wipes | $80 | $60 |
| Totals: | $849 | $460 |
My little laundry helper taking a break to play peek-a-boo!
It is pretty clear that cloth diapering offers great financial savings, which is compounded by additional years of use and additional children. If you already had a little one who is currently using disposable diapers, the benefit is still there financially to make the switch today if you are planning on having another child.
Calculations
I will be upfront that the information on disposable diapers was quite difficult to find, so if you have any additional information please send it my way. The cloth diaper numbers are based on my own personal experience and items I have in my collection that I feel are sufficient to last 2-3 days between laundry loads.
Cloth Diaper Calculations
New Reusable Diaper Costs = $720.88
- Hemp One Size Diaper Package = $407.95
– 10 One size Covers
– 24 Hemp Inserts
– 24 Hemp Wipes
– 1 Zippered Wet Bag
– 1 Pail Liner
– 1 Roll Flushable Liners
– 2 – 2 layer hemp boosters
– 2 – 3 layer hemp boosters
Add ons (personal choice) = $230.00
- 5 additional covers: $20*5 = $100
- 6 additional hemp inserts: $8*6 = $48
- 1 zippered wet bag: $14
- 1 pail liner: $18
- Diaper sprayer toilet attachment: $50
$407.95+ 230 = 637.95 + tax = $720.88
Based on:
- AMP Made in Manitoba Diapers
- AMP Hemp One-Size Duo Package
- Items I personally felt were necessary to add on:
- I found I needed additional covers and inserts, otherwise I would be doing more laundry than every 2.5 days.
- I bought additional pail liner and zippered wet bag because life and diapers still continue when you are doing laundry.
- Diaper sprayer attachment, because…well, poop!
Electricity = $30.23/year
- Washing Machine = 0.6377 kWh per load
- Dryer = 2.168 kWh per load
- Current Electricity Rate in Manitoba = $0.07381/kWh
- 1 diaper load every 2.5 days
Calculation: 365/2.5*(.6377+2.168)*0.07381=$30.23
Based on:
- Current Manitoba Hydro Electricity Rates
- NRCAN Energy Cost Calculator
- Clothes Washer – Mid-Range High Efficiency
- Clothes Dryer – Mid-Range High Efficiency
- Washing/Drying one load of diapers every 2-3 days (2.5).
Water = $36.01/year
- Washing Machine full load = 67.945L of water
- Current water and sewage rate in Winnipeg = $3.63/m3
- Conversion Rate for 1m3 (1 cubic metre)=1000L (1000 litres)
- 1 diaper load every 2.5 days
Calculation: 365 days/2.5*67.945*3.63/1000=$36.01
Based on:
- Current City of Winnipeg Water + Sewage Rates
- Clothes Washer – Mid-Range High Efficiency (Assumed a full load, even though water for diapers is probably half of a load).
- Clothes Dryer – Mid-Range High Efficiency
- Washing/Drying one load of diapers every 2-3 days (2.5).
Detergent = $65.24
- 365/2.5 = 146 loads
- 3 Bottles of 50 load Method Laundry Detergent @ $16.99 + tax = $65.24
Based on:
- Washing/Drying one load of diapers every 2-3 days (2.5).
- Method Detergent – 50 Loads @ 16.99 per bottle.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
| Diaper Materials | $720.88 | – |
| Electricity | $30.23 | $30.23 |
| Water | $36.01 | $36.01 |
| Detergent | $65.24 | $65.24 |
| Totals: | $852.36 | $131.48 |
Disposable Diaper Calculations
I had to calculate these costs a bit differently due to lack of information. What I have done is taken three examples from reliable sources and taken the average.
Diaper + Wipes costs based on:
- Estimated costs provided by a Manitoban friend who purchases diapers and wipes from Costco. Year one $60/month for 300 diapers from Costco. $20 for 3 months of wipes*4 = $800. Year 2 $30/month for 300 diapers. $20 for 5 months wipes. = $420
- Estimated cost from The Simple Dollar Canadian blog analysis = Year one = $858.83 Year 2 = $495.42
- Estimated cost from Baby Centre Canada for year one $72/month on diapers, $2/month on wipes = $888. No information for year 2.
- Note – this analysis does not include any other items you may need for disposables, like a diaper genie. So be sure to add those if you plan on using them.
Diaper use estimates range from 50-70 diapers per week in year one and 30-50 per week in year 2. This depends on your child and how often you change them too. For the purposes of a simple analysis I have taken the average of three examples and costs of diaper use. Not included is the third year of diapers, which depending on when your child is potty trained would probably come in between $200-$400.
Disposable diapers come in different sizes and quantities. I have used an assumption that frugal Manitobans are going to purchase the largest quantity for the lowest price through Costco. If you are not doing this and are buying environmentally conscious disposable diapers, please share your costs in the comments below as I would LOVE to incorporate those.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | |
| Diapers | $769 | $400 |
| Wipes | $80 | $60 |
| Totals: | $849 | $460 |
I have thought of purchasing reusable diapers after spending a lot of money on disposable diapers. My baby girl usually used up 44 pieces of diapers for only two weeks and one pack of diapers already cost Php 300. So for a month, I spend Php 1,200. Do you have some recommendations where I can buy reusable diapers?
Hey Aika! As mentioned in the blog post, AMP is locally made and has their own store dedicated to reusable diapers. This is their website: https://www.ampdiaperstore.com/
In addition, Generation Green in the Exchange carries some options!
Seriously I was so sceptical about reusable diapers. Before my second daughter was born I got 2 free diapers to try. It was not enough , but I found it was so easy. I ordered 11 more from “alva baby” since they have the most reasonable priced diapers. With 5 layer microfibre and bamboo inserts. Honestly I love it . It is so easy. Some people don’t understand why I would do that. Like my mom 🙂 she thinks I’m going back in time and not moving forward.
My daughter is 7 months now. So far so good and I really love it.
Do you think I will need extra inserts later on?
Thank you
Hi Leva! Thanks for your comment and glad to hear it works for you. Our parents also had a bit of trouble adjusting to the different diaper, but once they figured out how to fold the inserts and get them on it was no problem. We have the toilet diaper sprayer which makes the #2’s easy to clean. I can’t really say if you will need more because I have about 40 inserts I think and 15 covers which get me through two days before a laundry load. I definitely found as our daughters bladder has grown we have had to add some absorbency boosters! She is 17 months now and we have started the potty training!
Thanks for a great article, and providing locally based cost calculations!
At first I intuitively felt that reusables must be (significantly) more environmentally friendly than disposables, but as I did some research, I found a number of places that suggest that there is actually much less difference in environmental impact between reusables and disposables than one might expect. There were a couple of articles on Grist:
http://grist.org/article/the-great-diaper-debate/
http://grist.org/article/wee-wee-wee-all-the-way-home/
Most of the information is based on a life cycle assessment report from the UK: http://www.ahpma.co.uk/docs/LCA.pdf
There are a number of variables that are a bit different here in Manitoba, Canada, but the articles and report are certainly thought provoking!
It would be great to read an article about the cost/environmental factors involved with locally available biodegradable or eco-friendlier disposable options 🙂
Thanks for sharing these links Kisti! You are absolutely right a post looking at those factors is something we should work on! I actually heard a podcast on the weekend that touched on the environmental impact of cloth diapers the other day and was saying that disposables use less water and resources to create are therefore less energy intensive. That is such a short sighted view, considering cloth diapers can be used and maintain their value and can be passed on over and over – and then will easily degrade in a landfill vs disposables which don’t degrade ever, can only be used once, and use some pretty serious chemicals to create!
Good food for thought and definitely inspiring my next research project! Maybe we can do it together!
Did you try to calculate the differences in parental work time between cloth and disposable? I assume there would be some time savings using disposables (less laundry time). I’m wondering if people use disposables mainly because they don’t have to get their hands dirty, or to save time, or because day cares prefer it?
My other question is whether kids/parents go through more cloth diapers per day or week than disposables. It seems like modern disposables are very good at wicking away the pee and allowing the kid to wear the diaper for a longer time, compared to cloth that starts to droop quickly and the child has to be changed or they will get a rash. It seems like the disposable technology improved a lot between when I had kids and when I had grandkids.
Wow, you hit a lot of great points here! Let me try to get to them.
I had not tried to calculate it, but can estimate the time I spend is maybe 5-10 minutes on diapers every 2 days. I have trained my 2 year old to help me put them in the dryer and away in her drawer, which is nice to teach her how to help out around the house!
When making this post I found we fit in the estimate range of diapers per day, though that really depends on your kid. Some are just heavy wetters! Disposable diaper technology is really great though and you can add boosters or use different diaper materials and thicknesses (hemp/bamboo) to make the diapers more absorbent. I use a triple hemp booster at night to get her through 12 hours, but find myself generally changing her every 1.5-2 hours. I don’t find her diapers ever droop though from wetness, and she has only had one mild diaper rash.
You are right, some people just don’t want to get their hands dirty, and certainly there is still a perception that using cloth means that your covered in poo and ironing sheets and using diaper pins…when that just isn’t the case. I have yet to touch any poo or pee, and actually think I have dealt with less then my friends with disposables because those diapers result in more blowouts up the back, where as cloth diapers are able to contain the mess. As for your day care question, from workers I have talked to (which is only a few) they have said it doesn’t make a difference to them one way or another as long as they have enough supplies and are shown how to use the reusable ones properly since they sometimes differ.
I cloth-diapered my five kids in the 1990s. It was pretty easy and I ended up starting a mail order cloth diaper business that not only made me a bit of money, but it also made all of my diaper-making expenses tax deductible!
Cate that is such an interesting evolution into a mom-preneur! Five kids in cloth diapers, wow, your laundry loads must have looked quite different from mine 🙂
Thanks for doing the cost analysis Shoni. We also purchased all our supplies through kijiji and saved hundreds of dollars and got great stuff. Another tip for saving money and the environment is making reusable cloth wipes from an old flannel shirt or piece of organic cotton. Cut pieces to a size you like and put them in an old recycled plastic container and pour the following mixture over them: 1cup water, 1 tbsp coconut or grapeseed oil, 1tbsp doctor bronnors soap. Make sure the mixture is mixed well (use hot water to melt coconut oil if that’s your oil of choice). The wipes are so much gentler on baby bums and they are easily washed with the diapers. They will fray a bit in first few washes but eventually get well worn! This saves us heaps of money and is gentle on our daughters bum. Hope this helps! Keep up the good work mama!
Thanks for the recipe Kelly! I am going to have to add that to the post. You make a good point that they do seem to be a lot more gentle on the baby, and also seems to be able to do a better cleaning job then disposable wipes.
We ended up just using a spray bottle (the one I got from the hospital) and put water and a tsp of Castile soap.
Hey Shoni, I love this! It will definitely help me with ‘persuading’ my partner to be more on board!!
Question- have you found that you need to use any type of water softener? A friend of mine says that apparently we have hard water in Winnipeg… And over time this can reduce the absorbency of cloth diapers. Thoughts??
Hey Lindsey! To answer your question, no we have not used any water softener. From what I know, we do not have hard water here in Winnipeg, so you should be fine. You should know that you cannot use dryer sheets or certain detergents as those can ruin the absorbency.
If it helps you partner, I have found we have had way less blow outs and poop up the back because of the way cloth diapers are designed. Maybe 1-2 times because we put the diaper on wrong.
Honestly its super easy and forgetting everything else, I would even do it for simplicity sake.
I used a mix of a dense cheesecloth and some layered terry cloth sculptured diapers 28 years ago then used them again four years later. The cheesecloth rinsed very easily however didn’t hold larger amounts of pee. Even then the awareness of how long it would sit in the landfills was known. Between the saving money and environmental reasons it made sense to me. However, when I started back to work it was only at home that we used cloth because most home daycares wouldn’t accept them. When it comes to potty training, cloth is the only way to go because, they actually feel the wetness. Later the cheesecloth made awesome rags for most cleaning jobs. Good luck new moms!
Wow, Sylvia that is so interesting because a lot of the materials have a similar fabric to what you were using. I guess the hemp and bamboo now are more absorbent, but the flushable liners are pretty much like a thin layer of cheese cloth!
You are my mommy hero, Shoni.
Ha! Thanks Mel, you are my life hero.
Have you heard if Charlie Banana disposable diapers? That’s what we got but haven’t started them yet because they are pretty big for a newborn… What disposable ones do you use? Also we bought flushable diaper liners. Called Bumpikins. What do you think about that. I am very intimidated by this process.
Hi Sarah! Unfortunately have not heard of Charlie Banana and will have to look it up. We have probably only used 10-15 disposables total in our whole 1st year. They were just Huggies brand because we received them as a gift. We only recently started to use the flushable liners because her #2’s are more solid instead of the milk mush when they are not eating any solid foods.
We got the AMP reusable diapers because they are a local company here in Winnipeg and we were also fortunate to receive them as a gift. Ours fit her at 7 pounds and we started the 3rd day after all the meconium (black) poop was gone.
Let me know what you are intimidated about I can always try to help you out. Feel free to send me a message as well so we can get into more details!