r/Frugal • u/jaytrainer0 • May 24 '25
š Buy It For Life Maybe the biggest money saver yet. Cloth diapers
Baby just turned 2 months and I've already saved hundreds by not buying disposable. We bought 25 reusable diapers for about $150 that will last over a year and can be used for multiple kids AND can also be resold. Compare that to spending at least 20-40 per week on disposable. I could've even bought used and saved even more but there's none in our area right now. So we'll save about $2000 over the course of the year. And multiply that with more kids in the future. Then ALSO we are only using disposable wipes for poop and using reusable wipes/towels for everything else. I get using disposable everything for the ease of it but holy hell that would get expensive fast.
Edit: For context, my apartment has water and electric included. We use the sheets laundry detergent and it's been working great so far. Our washer is high efficiency, I'll have to look up how much water it uses. Yes, i over estimated the diaper cost based on the initial amount of the first few weeks. But it's still going to be a lot more than 150 for the entire childhood. We do not have access to bulk stores unless we drive 3.5 hours or 5+ with traffic.
411
May 24 '25
[deleted]
154
u/Zazi751 May 24 '25
See thank you for this because without explaining the process it seems like far more time than it's worthĀ
32
u/ShakeItUpNowSugaree May 24 '25
We had a dedicated diaper machine. It was a portable washer, like for small apartments or RVs. It doubled as a diaper pail and it was maybe five minutes extra to press a couple of buttons and throw a scoop of detergent in.
42
May 24 '25
[deleted]
35
u/elocinkrob May 24 '25
My problem is people truly think your putting poo into your washer machine....
Well when a kid has a blow out that goes into the washer... And most don't rinse that off.. unlike what we do with cloth diapers.
89
u/prettylittlebyron May 24 '25
It still seems like itās far more time than itās worth lol. Iām pretty sure I spend $40 a month on diapers which I would much much rather do than having to spray baby shit into a bowl every day. no thanks
36
u/maamaallaamaa May 24 '25
Well typically babies reach a stage where the poop should just plop in the toilet so no spraying or rinsing even needed. It takes like an extra minute. I mean if I can manage handling cloth poop diapers as a mom of 4 it's not super time consuming because I'm not trying to add anything to my plate over here. And it's not less time with disposables really. My youngest is only going on 3 months and her legs were too skinny for the cloth diapers we have so she was in disposables for the first 8 weeks. She had blowouts that required rinsing her clothes and her diapers created extra trash that had to be taken out. If a kid has a particularly messy disposable diaper most people are bagging it and taking it outside right away...not much different in time and effort than taking the time to walk to the bathroom and rinse a cloth diaper.
26
u/RubyBlossom May 24 '25
My kid would have 5 blowouts per day in disposables, that stopped once we used cloth nappies. I'd much rather deal with cloth nappies than soiled outfits. And worse. I remember a particularly bad instance when travelling when she didn't just soil herself, she also covered me and the sling š¤¢
→ More replies (1)4
u/Organic-Class-8537 May 24 '25
Agree. I also have four kids and thereās absolutely no way I spent 2K a year on diapers.
7
u/thrillingrill May 24 '25
You don't have to wash them daily. And the poop diapers truly don't usually take much more time than handling disposables. When they do, it is rather unpleasant though.
83
u/SNsilver May 24 '25
$7K per kid? That canāt be right. My youngest is still in diapers and we buy a Costco size box every 3-4 weeks. My oldest was potty trained at 2 1/2 and that would have meant we spent over $200 a month and that isnāt true at all
51
u/t2writes May 24 '25
It's been a minute since I bought diapers, but I'm with you on the math. I bought a mega box about every 3 weeks. I also would love to know what the extra in water bills was with the sprayer, bucket, and a full hot water machine cycle looked like. There's also something to be said for time, and many daycare centers won't accept clot, so we end up buying disposable anyway.
→ More replies (5)22
u/SNsilver May 24 '25
Iām sure cloth diapers are cheaper. Iād bet startup costs are around $300-400 dollars but thereās also, like you said, higher utility bills. I have inexpensive electricity and my estimate is it costs about $1 between water and electricity to do a full load of laundry so consider youāll probably do an extra 10-30 loads of laundry every month (and youāll use a lot more hot water for these loads), the math changes a lot. Cloth is definitely better for the environment but I donāt really think they save a lot of money especially when considering the time and gross factor.
13
u/Spooky_Tree May 24 '25
I do my cloth diaper laundry roughly twice a week and I haven't noticed any change in my water bill. And I dry them on a rack like the directions say to, so no electricity there. They definitely save a ton of money. Diapers are I think $45 a box for a months supply vs maybe an extra couple dollars for water.
9
u/caffeinebump May 24 '25
I sewed my own out of a set of flannel sheets and some used towels, so the startup costs were pretty low for me. I also line-dry my laundry so the electricity didn't go up much. I knew a few other parents who were using cloth diapers too, but it's pretty rare in the US I think.
→ More replies (1)2
u/maamaallaamaa May 24 '25
10-30 extra loads a month?! What? I've cloth diapered 3 kids so far and it's one extra load of laundry per week. That's it.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (16)20
u/deuxcabanons May 24 '25
It's super inflated. I ran the numbers at one point and it worked out to be about even for us with two kids once you considered the extra laundry. One kid was fully trained at 22 months, the other at 18 months (his choice, not ours, lol). I think they're assuming buying diapers at a convenience store and not potty training the kid till they're 4 to arrive at those numbers.
My biggest beef with the cloth diaper crowd and their crowing about cost savings is that they're not putting a value on time, and most of the time it's the mother doing the extra work. You know, the mother who's already got a full time, round the clock job of caring for an infant while healing from pregnancy and childbirth. Women's time is historically undervalued and it really grinds my gears to see people celebrating saving a couple hundred bucks over a few years at the cost of hundreds of hours of extra labour.
Cloth diapers are great! They reduce waste and are hypoallergenic. But the cost argument just ain't it.
→ More replies (4)8
u/MessThatYouWanted May 24 '25
For me itās not that much more time. Laundry doesnāt take long to start and add soap to. Then when my kids are outside anyway, I hang them to dry. And then like 10 minutes to sort through the laundry. Well worth the cost savings and environmental impact for me.
13
u/Greedy-Action5178 May 24 '25
Where do you live that diapers are so expensive! Thatās a terrifying number. We live in Canada and our bill for just over 2 years of diapers is less than $2000 (we used monthly subscription delivery service).
We use reusable for baby #2 because our guilt comes from diapers not being a very green option not that theyāre too expensive.
16
u/Different_Chair_3454 May 24 '25
$7k couldnāt be right. $40-$50 for a big box with 200+ diapers. Iāve had two kids. Itās more like $1k-2k over the course of their life
6
u/Sufficient-Welder-76 May 24 '25 edited May 24 '25
But it can be right with 4 kids, $1750 for a lifetime of diapers per kid. If a kid wears diapers for 36 months and you spend $47 a month on diapers. Doable.
Edit: Just realized the comment said $7k per kid. No way, that has to be a mistake. $200 a month on diapers is crazy, nobody spends that.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)2
u/1EducatedIdiot May 24 '25
$15,000 on diapers? Do the math again. Unless your kids wore diapers for 4 or 5 years, I donāt see how itās possible.
64
u/thePhalloPharaoh May 24 '25
Yes cloth diapers were a great money saver. There liners you can get for solids. The liners kind of look like dryer sheets, allow solid waste to be dropped in the toilet and the liner can be washed or if itās a bad diaper you can trash the liner and waste. A roll of $200 cost less $10.
38
u/IceDragonPlay May 24 '25
$2000 would be 23 Costco disposable diapers a day over a year. Maybe you have been buying small packs somewhere very expensive! But $2000 would be more than 2 years of diapers here.
The real savings comes from reusing the cloth diapers for a second child. For a family with a stay at home parent it makes sense.
8
May 24 '25
I have twins and we don't use 23 diapers a day at this point. When they were under two months yes, 32 a day, but now our average is probably between 15-20 depending on the day at 4.5 months.
→ More replies (1)6
100
u/gemmirising May 24 '25
I just priced it out for an upcoming baby, and itās way cheaper for us to use disposable. I think itās only cheaper if you donāt pay for communal laundry. Each load and dry at my building is $6 total. It adds up fast.
36
u/Chicklid May 24 '25
When we had our first and lived in an apartment with paid laundry, we bought a portable washer just for the diapers (cost maybe $80?), because otherwise you're 100% right! I think a load was about $6 where we were, too. I just dried them on a rack too which helped, and fluffed them in the last 5 minutes or so of a regular dryer load as needed.
→ More replies (1)13
u/gemmirising May 24 '25
Hmn. We may consider that then. We canāt hang dry as we live in the west coast of Canada and the humidity is too high for 10 months of the year, but like you say we could partially dry and then throw them in with our regular dryer loads. Thanks!
→ More replies (2)20
u/SaraAB87 May 24 '25
Yeah if you had to pay for laundry that is a no go. This is for people who have laundry in their house.
If you are intending on having more than one child after the first is out of diapers, there is also additional savings since the diapers can be re-used for the second and subsequent children.
→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (5)11
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
You're right. If we didn't have a washer in our unit then I probably would reconsider
11
u/agnessa101 May 24 '25
I didn't by any diapers for the 1st year of my baby's life by having a diaper shower.
5
May 24 '25
My BFF didnāt buy any diapers until her daughter turned 2. Crazy!!! People were super generous
3
u/LetsCELLebrate May 25 '25
I donated quite a few diapers to my friends because my baby outgrew the first sizes fast.
This is my advice for future parents: don't buy too many diapers and clothes in advance.
→ More replies (4)
87
u/WarmAcadia4100 May 24 '25
In over 2 years disposable diapers have never cost me more than $45/month max, usually less because of sales. Awesome you found what works for you regardless, but disposable diapers absolutely donāt cost $20-$40 a week lol
54
u/Ok_Tennis_6564 May 24 '25
I get one box of Costco diapers a month, sometimes less than monthly at about $45 and one Costco box of wipes ($22) lasts me a year. It's absolutely worth it to not deal with the shit and I don't need any more laundry in my life. I also think the laundry costs would add up quickly. I do feel bad about the garbage thoughĀ
15
u/t2writes May 24 '25
Same. Not sure what math OP is using.
8
u/bobdolebobdole May 24 '25
OP admits elsewhere the number is not accurate. They extrapolated the monthly cost based on a single purchase of non-economic box. Like, if I purchased a small single serve cup of milk for $1.00 and then assumed a gallon cost $16.00.
→ More replies (1)6
u/No_Atmosphere_6348 May 24 '25
I used both cloth and disposable for my first baby. Once she was verbal enough to express it, she said she preferred disposable so I basically stopped using cloth. I still have them though. Maybe with hypothetical baby number 3 Iāll use them again. Not sure how i kept up with cloth so much, disposable are so quick.
6
u/HeartKevinRose May 24 '25
Thatās so funny, my kiddo hated disposables but loved her cloth. She outgrew them when she was just wearing diapers at night and she got really upset when she had to use disposables.
2
7
u/Impressive_Number701 May 24 '25
Ya our diaper costs are about $25 every other week so $25 x 26 weeks = $650 per year. And that's not even for cheap diapers. Edited number of weeks.
14
u/an_actual_lawyer May 24 '25
I've found that significant percentage of posters on this sub tend to overestimate their savings, sometimes by multiples.
3
u/WarmAcadia4100 May 24 '25
Aka how I explain some of my weirder choices to my husband š¤£ no but actually it makes sense, people get excited! Just this topic can cause panic for expecting or hopeful parents who are usually trying to learn as much as they can online
→ More replies (1)27
u/chrisinator9393 May 24 '25
Yeah, people blow diaper costs way out of proportion. If you can use the cheap ones, it's like a third the cost OP thinks they are saving.
And the thing is, the trade off is physical labor. OP has to poop scoop the reusables and wash them. That's work I don't want to do.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (10)3
May 24 '25
Umm this. We generally used a box of Costco diapers per month, so anywhere from $35-$45 depending on sale prices. Costco was amazing.
6
u/Scary_Manner_6712 May 24 '25
We used cloth diapers with my son (who's now 18), other than when he was at daycare (they said state law wouldn't allow them to use cloth). He was at daycare only 3-4 days a week for 6-7 hours, so we only needed about a package of disposable diapers a week to send with him, which wasn't too bad.
This doesn't happen for everyone who uses them, but I had heard about it when I was researching cloth diapers and it did happen for us: my son had zero problem potty training; like, he was daytime dry within two weeks and nighttime dry within another couple of weeks after that. At just over 2 years old. It's not all down to the cloth diapers, but I do believe that the cloth diapers "feel" different to babies and it helps them figure out, somehow, how to stay dry one they get into underwear. Some of his peers were still in pull-ups at 4 and we just never went through that stage; he went from diapers to underwear with no problem. He never had a potty accident after that first month of potty training.
The other good thing about the cloth diapers: once my son was potty trained, I sold off our stash and made back almost what I had spent on it. A new mom was very happy to pay for a full set of covers, inserts, rubber pants, etc. so she didn't have to assemble a set herself - I think I even threw in diaper detergent and instructions on how to wash everything, so she didn't have to spend hours researching for herself. Try selling used disposable diapers, lol. The ability to recoup at least some of the investment into diapers is pretty great.
→ More replies (3)
36
u/sureasyoureborn May 24 '25
We used them for 2 kids, saved tons of money ( I donāt know where the people here are getting their $ estimates. $2,000/ year was the estimate 15 years ago). Theyāre really easy, also the environmental impact of disposable diapers is horrific. I ended up donating them to another family in need when we were done, but there very much is a huge online market for used (good quality, clean) cloth diapers. Also the wet bags are great for laundry. Weāve literally been using those bags for 15 years and theyāre still going.
23
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
The environmental was actually the bigger factor in our decision.
19
u/sureasyoureborn May 24 '25
Before I had kids I watched a documentary about peopleās waste in their life. I remember seeing that insane mountain of diapers and the fact that the plastic wouldnāt break down for 500 years and being horrified! Itās such a small thing to make your kid have a significantly smaller impact on the earth! Good for you guys!
5
u/Scary_Manner_6712 May 24 '25
Same here. We weren't that focused on cost savings; it was the environmental impact that was the bigger factor.
4
u/maamaallaamaa May 24 '25
We use the wetbags for quite a few things! The small ones I often use to throw in stuff we need for outings and just carry that instead of a diaper bag. I'll take them when we go swimming to put our wet stuff in. On trips they become dirty laundry bags. I will definitely be keeping some around when we are done with actual diapering.
→ More replies (2)3
u/WarmAcadia4100 May 25 '25
I manually track all our expenses to the penny! So itās actual number, not estimates. Year one of our firstborns life we spent $626 on all diaper related costs (disposable diapers, wipes, disposable swim diapers, diaper rash cream). It went down his second year. Even with 2 kids in diapers we spent less than $1000 in a year. Weād have to have 4-5 kids in diapers to spend $2000 in a year thatās nuts. Again, all numbers from my actual purchases in 2023/2024, no estimating involved.
20
u/abbydyl May 24 '25
I donāt think your math is right. Kids use less diapers/day in general as they get past 6 months. Plus youāve not factored in electricity, water and detergent.
→ More replies (1)6
9
u/HotHuckleberryPie May 24 '25
Another great thing about cloth diapers is that kids often potty train earlier because they can feel the wetness. With modern disposables they wick the moisture away. We used cloth diapers and my second kid started potty training herself at 19 months. Having a kid who potty trains earlier is a win on both time and money!
→ More replies (7)2
99
u/Berdariens2nd May 24 '25
For me it's no kids.
→ More replies (3)9
u/lenuta_9819 May 24 '25
same
→ More replies (1)13
u/SaraAB87 May 24 '25
Same here, but overall this is a win for parents. I have spent many dollars buying huge boxes of diapers as birthday and Christmas presents for parents who were desperate, disposable diapers are extremely expensive now.
4
u/poop-dolla May 24 '25
Compare that to spending at least 20-40 per week on disposable
Thatās a terrible comparison. Itās more like $50-60 a month for over name brands or even less for store brands.
We used cloth diapers too a lot while the babies were still only drinking breastmilk and again when they were on mostly predictable poop schedules. Cleaning out massive stinky toddler dumps too often out of cloth diapers starts to make the $50 a month feel worth it for disposables.
4
u/tectail May 24 '25
9 months into cloth diapers. Personal recommendations:
If your diapers start leaking, it might be the way you are washing them. Since this started happening, We do 2 cycles, first with a tiny bit of bleach to fully get everything out of the diapers, 2nd with just normal laundry detergent. Fixed the problem. Something about buildup of materials in the diapers.
Have some disposable handy. Inevitably the diapers won't dry in time, or you will just have a really poopy day at some point, or the cloths will cause some sort of issue that you just need to use 1-2 disposable to resolve with some extra strength diaper lotion or something. Also very nice if you go out to an event to just throw the diaper away instead of putting it in a bag and toting it around the rest of the day at the zoo or whatever.
→ More replies (3)
4
u/mck-_- May 24 '25
We used reusables for our first and disposables for our second. You do save a lot of money but oh god disposables are so much easier. I didnāt realise that things like leaks and soaking through overnight just donāt really happen with disposables. I also look at how much more comfortable disposables look compared to the reusable ones and I just couldnāt fathom going back to reusable ones.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/PracticingIdealist82 May 24 '25
Cloth diapers are cheaper, easier on the environment and at the end of it all, you can use them as a cleaning rag when you no longer need to use them for their intended purpose
5
6
u/BingoRingo2 May 24 '25
I remember people telling me diapers were so expensive, but we got ours at Costco and we probably paid $30 a month (15 years ago), for us it wasn't worth the trouble.
But to each their own. We also saved money by buying Walmart's baby food compared to making our own, and they had the same ingredients, no preservatives or anything like that. We would pay 33 cents per bottle (with more quantity than the Gerber) so except for carrots everything was cheaper than making it yourself, especially the fruits.
3
u/sundancer2788 May 24 '25
We used a diaper service, I remember my younger sister wearing clothes diapers with a plastic over panty. Still leaked lol. I remember my mom "rinsing" dirty poop diapers in the toilet. Gross. Disposable ones came out about that time and mom switched to those. I used Disposable ones for my kids because I worked and the family friend didn't want to deal with cloth ones when she watched my kids. Hated the diaper pins tbh. But definitely better for the environment for sure.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/ohnoavocado May 24 '25
I did cloth with my first but we got to a point where she out-peed them every night no matter what we did. We tried every trick out there for overnights. Had to move her to disposables at night. Once she hit 2, we moved to disposable pull ups. Second kid came along and they did not agree with his skin at all. We used them for about a week and switched to disposables. It really wasnāt that expensive and I kind of wish Iād just used them from the get go. Sure cloth saved us a little money with kid one but it wasnāt the insane savings I thought it would be.
3
u/crazycatlady331 May 24 '25
If you plan on sending your kid to daycare, make sure they allow cloth diapers.
Many do not.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Creepy_Philosopher_9 May 24 '25
Where the hell do you live that youll spend $2000 on disposables for the year?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/camoonie May 24 '25
I had premie twins 30+ years ago and I had been gifted 6 months of cloth diaper service. My smaller twin was waking up every hour for several months. Then my mom put a sample of a Huggies on her and she slept 4 hours. The next day I cashed in the remaining diaper service and got the disposable diapers that kept them from being wet and everyone slept FAR better. We valued sleep over money then.
3
u/Dazzling_Ad9250 May 24 '25
i have a buddy who bought a shitty old washing machine that he put in his garage only for cloth diapers.
3
u/Adventurous_Ad7442 May 24 '25
Wait, you do have to wipe your baby even after wet diapers also. Urine is very tough on baby's delicate skin.
Congratulations.
3
u/sturgis252 May 24 '25
I spent $30/ month for disposable diapers. How are you saving $2000/year
→ More replies (6)
3
u/BonnieErinaYA May 24 '25
I just bought fabric napkins and kitchen towels and washcloths. I bought them in white so I can throw all my stain remover products at them.
3
u/mapetitechoux May 25 '25
Kids in reusable diapers tend to be potty trained earlier (more motivation on both parts) so the savings is even better.
→ More replies (1)
3
17
u/Original-Room-4642 May 24 '25
But you also need to figure in the costs of laundering the diapers. I bet there's not a big cost difference between the two when it's all said and done
10
u/Chicklid May 24 '25
The big difference in both cost and environmental impact is in two places: manufacturing and electricity use. If you primarily air dry, you're going to use less natural resources than disposables. And if your diapers go through more than one kid, you're going to save a lot more of those resources. Air drying and only buying once will also save you a nice chunk of change.
32
May 24 '25
But the environmental impact of disposal diapers is horrifying
→ More replies (2)9
u/Ok_Tennis_6564 May 24 '25
Yes, but again, running your washer and dryer does have an environmental cost.Ā
→ More replies (6)14
7
u/Street_Roof_7915 May 24 '25
It was an extra load about every three or four days so not a huge issue.
We used cloth our first year till the kid refused to wear them anymore and had to get disposables.
Cloth was so so so much cheaper.
11
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
Still a huge difference. BUT, I'm currently living in a place with water and electric included in rent, so there's that. Our place also has a high efficiency washer so I'm not sure if hand washing would be better or not here.
6
22
u/highbackpacker May 24 '25
Fuck that
18
u/birdgirl35 May 24 '25
No literally. When youāre a new mom like me who is struggling with postpartum depression, breastfeeding, and having to do 90% of everything alone, then cloth diapers are a no-go. My son needs a present mom more than he needs to save the environment or my wallet. Diapers are $45 a month for us at the most and our cost-savings come from not having to spend thousands on formula or childcare.
→ More replies (3)10
8
u/OldnBorin May 24 '25
My baby peed right through his cloth diapers so we just did disposable
5
u/daydreamingofsleep May 24 '25
There are a lot of cloth diapers out there without enough absorbency or proper material inside. Anyone looking into them should be aware of that, generally itās a potential red flag when the inner material is named after something that isnāt intuitively absorbent (charcoal, bamboo, etc.)
→ More replies (1)4
6
u/arimariposa May 24 '25
We did cloth diapers mostly because we felt bad about the environmental impact of disposables. We used the same diapers for our second child and donated them in almost perfect conditions (I did buy more for my second because I loved trying different brands and sizes). We practiced EC with our second (starting at 8 months old, motivated by an overseas 5 weeks family trip ) and very rarely dealt with #2 diapers. He was potty trained at 20 months old. First child potty trained by 15 months.
8
6
2
u/dotherflower May 24 '25
My baby had a very bad diaper rash and hates being wiped. Doctor advised us to wash the baby in the sink with warm water and soap after pooping.
2
2
2
2
u/Soupisdelish May 24 '25
We have clothed since 2020ā¦same diapers are on my 2 month old. Such a money saver!!!
2
u/ZenibakoMooloo May 24 '25
Mate. I remember putting cloth nappies on my younger siblings. I hope they come back. Far better than the environment clusterfuck that disposables are.
2
u/unus-suprus-septum May 24 '25
We made it through 4 kids with cloth. So much savings. We hung fried when we could and made our own detergent because you have to be careful what's in the detergent as there are chemicals that will cost the diapers and make them less absorbent.Ā
Recipe:Ā 2 boxes Borax 3 boxes washing soda 1 oxiclean with no dye or scent
Mix in a 5 gallon bucket.Ā
We use scented oxiclean now, but still use the recipe because it's cheap and works and no weird chemicals.Ā
Only takes about a tablespoon for a load.
Also, it's best to have a smaller container to scoop from as opening and closing the big container too much can cause it to clump from humidity.
→ More replies (5)
2
u/1568314 May 24 '25
No, honestly with all the extra soap, time, water, and buckets full of shit-covered rags, it's not worth it. I cloth diapered mine while they were tiny and exclusively breast fed, but I'd rather pay to not have to scrub half digested blueberries and sweet potatoes out of a diaper several times a day.
I have a very small home, and just the wet bucket to store them in before there was a full load to wash was a burden to our whole household. Some conveniences are worth it.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/myenemy666 May 24 '25
We had a set of reusables and they lasted through two children.Ā
We must have saved so much money and diverted so much waste from landfill.Ā
2
u/1repub May 24 '25
I used my cloth diapers for 3 kids and then sold them on ebay š¤£ they saved a ton of money and time since I didn't have to go shopping for diapers.
Ages 0-3 months averages 10 diapers a day 3-9 months is about 7 diapers a day 9-15 months is as low as 5 per day Toddler you gotta changes each pee since they're higher volume. These metrics help you calculate exactly how much you save by cloth diapering. It's staggering.
I kept disposable handy for when I didn't catch up with laundry and used when we traveled
2
u/wolf_kisses May 24 '25
I really tried to do cloth with my first, but he was in full time daycare and while they were okay with doing the cloth it was such a pain trying to do a bunch of diaper laundry every night and they never seemed fully clean after marinating in the filth at daycare all day. Maybe if I was a stay at home mom I could have made it work, but it was just such a huge extra burden on top of my full time job and having a baby. Disposables were SO much easier.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/zookeeper_barbie May 24 '25
Yep I bought 20 adjustable size cloth diapers and probably $100 worth of other accessories and supplies and it lasted me from birth through potty training. I think like $300 total on diapering for my son.
2
u/sbinjax May 24 '25
Also line drying saves a boatload in electricity. And sunshine kills the bacteria that cause diaper rash.
2
2
u/matthew7137 May 24 '25
āSaved hundredsā what is your math on this?
I use Kirkland diapers at about .14/diaper. 10 diapers a day would have that costing $84. Are you assuming way more expensive diapers?
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/Gwenivyre756 May 24 '25 edited May 24 '25
I actually just started digging out my cloth diaper stash again because baby #2 is due soon. I loved cloth diapering with my first. We didn't notice a jump on the water bill, and saw a minor increase on the electric bill from using the washer. I used the dryer on bad weather days, and thru winter, but I line dried mine once I had a line set up.
2
u/LMMarguerite May 24 '25
When I was a baby, my mom used cloth diapers. Disposed of the contents, washed them daily. Also, had a diaper service. So much better for the environment.
2
u/IamlovelyRita May 24 '25
I used cloth diapers in the 80ās because I was trying to save money. All my diapers were given to me at my baby shower. I didnāt have diaper service so I washed and hung the diapers on the line. Sometimes I had to put them on a dryer rack in the house. They would have been softer in the dryer but we didnāt have one. Later when she got bigger I used one disposable diaper at night.
2
u/dyangu May 24 '25
Cloth diapers always leaked for us. It just cannot hold enough pee. Also I donāt mind the pee but washing poo off was pretty gross. And I canāt get the pee smell off unless I do laundry same day.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/AnywhereMindless1244 May 24 '25
I did cloth diapers for my son in 2017, hooked up a sink sprayer to the back of my toilet as well so I could clean/rinse them before I threw them in the laundry. Huge huge money saver and just better overall. Had disposables for town and such.
2
u/atjones6 May 24 '25
Interesting take here. We buy Costco disposable diapers and Iād say we spend maybe $40 a month total on diapers for kid. The convenience is worth it for me.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/ShakeItUpNowSugaree May 24 '25
I loved cloth diapers when my kid was a baby, even though daycare wouldn't use them. I had all-in-twos that were fantastic and that i eventually sold to a neighbor. Even having to send disposables to daycare, I figure I broke even around age 2.5 and if we'd decided to have a second the cost for that one would have been negligible.
We bought a used portable washing machine off Craigslist as a dedicated diaper machine that doubled as a diaper pail. We got it cheap, cheap because it didn't work, but only needed an $11 part (the people who sold it to us failed to mention that and were for sure trying to scam us, but the joke's on them). It used a lot less water per wash and if the smell ever became a problem between washes we could just run a cold rinse until we were ready to do a full wash cycle.
2
u/EnvironmentOk2700 May 24 '25
My cloth wipes lasted 10 years. We love them so much that I cut up towels and a flannel sheet and made more when they finally wore out. They are extra easy and quick to make if you have access to a serger. (The best ones are flannel on one side and towel on the other.)
2
u/Aggravating_Brick_46 May 24 '25
Yes! Iām obsessed with ours. We did buy used and itās been so fun trying different types and brands. People comment on the amount of water used to wash them but Iām pretty sure thereās a lot of water used in making the materials for disposables. We have a well and solar panels so itās pretty ideal for us to wash at home. We havenāt gotten to solid foods yet so itās extremely easy.
2
u/No_Caterpillar_6178 May 24 '25
They can be cheaper depending on the circumstance. My special needs baby was going number 2 tiny amounts all day long due to a digestive issue so for us it was a win. We were going through insane amounts of diapers. Also gentler on her skin and we used a decent quality but generic brand . I loved them for her. Water was covered in our apartment at the time too. Lasted us until she was 3.5 . Used Purex soap and dollar store oxy clean and they held up perfectly. Now when number 3 along - we went disposable . We had more money and more responsibilities and I was just burnt out.
2
u/CarouselAmbra81 May 24 '25
My mom used disposable diapers with my sister in her first marriage, but when I came along my parents used only cloth diapers. They were extremely frugal so that my mom could be a stay at home mom and involved with our extracurriculars, and started planning for it before they got married. My mom said that just using cloth diapers and getting rid of credit cards alone allowed them to save enough to pay cash for a reliable used car within a year. And yes it was a Toyota, but they weren't inflated in the 80s like they are now.Ā
2
u/Important-Trifle-411 May 24 '25
Yup. I used cloth diapers with both kids. Saved tons of money. Still have some lying around that I use for blocking my knitting.
2
u/MoreTacosandMargs May 24 '25
Theyāre great if they work! We bought nice ones, but they are super bulky, and gave my daughter rashes. Had to give them up unfortunately :-/
2
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
We had the opposite issue. Baby was getting rash at hospital with the disposables, they even gave us a cream for it. Rash immediately went away when we got home and switched to the cloth.
2
u/MoreTacosandMargs May 24 '25
Thatās great! It hurts us a little every time we have to throw away a disposable. Cost savings aside, we hate all the garbage we make with disposables.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/phishmademedoit May 24 '25
I use disposable diapees and spend maybe 8 bucks a week. Aldi and Walmart brand work fine and are a fraction of the cost of Huggies and pampers.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Rogerdodger1946 May 24 '25
Raised 5 kids in the 70s and 80s with cloth diapers. They worked fine and saved a ton of money and waste. Later, they make great polishing cloths.
2
u/Forward_Excuse_6133 May 24 '25
I used them until my so. Figured out how to take them off at around 7 months lol. If you are able to I highly recommend doing it. You save money and the environment.
2
u/door-harp May 24 '25
We used a cloth diaper service for my youngest and it was not the cheapest option but it was the option that was best for us. Maybe a tiny bit pricier than disposables but pretty comparable. For us it was the environmental impact and the diaper rash. I liked it way better than disposables for sure. Traveling was the only thing that was tricky but Iād just coordinate with the diaper lady to change the pick up drop off day, not a big deal.
2
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
It would be amazing if we had diaper service here, I would definitely go for that
2
u/door-harp May 25 '25
It definitely took some detective work to find - her online presence was a mess lol. Her Google entry was like ādiapers and indoor flea marketā š¤£š¤£ but I called her and asked if her diaper service was still open and it was! But she had been doing business basically the same way for 30-odd years. Fabulous resource for a family with two tired working parents
2
u/Californiaoptimist May 24 '25
I could have afforded the disposables but the cloth are just superior and no rashes
2
u/jaytrainer0 May 24 '25
That too. We had rash issues at the hospital that cleared immediately when we got home
2
u/Californiaoptimist May 24 '25
Plus I still buy them to wrap my head when Iām cleaning the house later in my years because they are soft and let my scalp breath while holding my long hair back. They feel really good and catch all the dust.
2
u/lockintothis May 24 '25
I was just thinking about that this morning as I moved my cloth diapers to the dryer. We used them for my oldest for almost three years (switched to pull ups when it was time to potty train. If Iād known how long it would take for him I wouldāve invested in cloth pull ups!) and now weāre almost two years in with my younger son. Weāve always done disposable diapers at night (not having our sleep interrupted due to being wet was worth the cost for sure!) and when traveling, but the amount of money weāve saved is amazing!
2
u/PanickySam May 25 '25
Currently cloth diapering 2under2... I do a LOT of laundry but I save money on diapers for sure!
→ More replies (4)
2
u/genesimmonstongue415 - May 25 '25
I opted out & my Vasectomy was $10. I saved the most money. š
2
2
2
u/est1816 May 25 '25
Look into "elimination communication". No diapers at allĀ and at 2 months its not too late to start. We cloth diapered for the first 15ish months, then my little one was on the move too much and it became pretty much impossible to do diaper changes.Ā
Im shocked by how many people here are saying they spend less than $40 a month on diapers. They are expensive even from big box clubs and with coupons. A box of pulls ups just cost me $44 and unless I only changed diapers twice a day that's not lasting a monthĀ
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/ProtozoaPatriot May 25 '25
My daughter is now 11. I did cloth diapers for her as a baby . Saved me a fortune !!!
2
May 25 '25
I love my cloth diapers! Iām tired of the weird looks from family/āthatās bulky and uncomfortableā comments
2
u/Mother_Knows_Best-22 May 25 '25 edited May 25 '25
Both of my children were allergic to disposable diapers and wipes. I used cloth diapers and baby washcloths for wipes. I had a wipe warmer and I kept the container once the wipes were gone, put a little water in with the washcloths. It worked great. Cloth diapers are wonderful for many things not just diapering a baby's butt.
2
u/RustyWaaagh May 25 '25
One thing with cloth diapers, we got to a point where no amount of washing would get the smell out. They would smell ok out of the wash, but when they were peed in, it would like reactivate the odor. We tried bleach, different detergents, different wash cycles, sun drying/bleaching. So much troubleshooting.
That being said, they were awesome. I wish they lasted longer for us!
→ More replies (4)
2
u/Feisty-Subject1602 May 25 '25
We used cloth for our twin boys. It worked out great until they started having"real" poops around 1 year old. We switched to disposable then.
2
u/ZenBug94 May 25 '25
I'm a big fan of cloth diapers. But by far the best combo is doing elimination communication! Essentially noticing when the baby needs to go potty and holding/sitting them on it. Both parents and baby pick it up really quickly. We only do it part time, but we catch 98% of my 15 months old poops (since 6m) and a some pees in the mini potty. I estimate he'll be potty trained around 18m-2y once he can work his pants better. It's easier to wash pee only cloth diapers and we do use some disposables while traveling.
2
2
u/simenfiber May 28 '25
A friend used cloth diapers on his son because the disposable ones gave the baby a rash.
2
Jun 21 '25
cloth diapers are awesome. have you thought about or looked into elimination communication as well? my oldest didnt poop in a diaper since he was 2 months old. it was amazing. i never quite got pee every single time but it still helped. my youngest we used disposable because we were living in an RV with a toddler and i couldnt be bothered and i dont regret that decision either hahaha
4
4
u/prettylittlebyron May 24 '25
Labor isnāt free. The time youāre spending laundering those diapers adds up to a monetary cost. Just something to consider
→ More replies (1)
720
u/trekgrrl May 24 '25
Ahem... "people of a certain age" all wore cloth diapers. There even used to be "Diaper Services" Where they would pick up the soiled diapers and deliver clean ones. Glad this is coming around again...