Cloth Diaper Analysis
February 12, 2009 – 5:13 amI’ve been learning a lot about having kids lately, more than I care to admit actually. Here are a few of the scary stats I’ve come across:
- the average baby requires ~7,500 diaper changes before they are potty trained. That’s 15,000 total for those like me with twins on the way.
- The average family spends $12,000 in the first year a child is born. I’m not sure if that would be $24,000 for twins or if there are economies of scale, but either way I plan to be “below average” if average is $12,000.
There are dozens of cost comparisons out on the web, and my favorite thus far can be found here. What I would like to do, however, is use some quick and dirty math to see if cloth diapering will be a (potential) major source of cost savings. Although I’m all for doing a complicated analysis, usually if you need to include a ton of detail to figure out how to save money then the potential for saving must be limited. After all I’m looking for a BIG win here, otherwise it’s probably better to spend my time looking for ways to save money elsewhere.
Here’s the quick breakdown as I see it:
- Option 1: 100% disposable diapers. ~7,500 diapers per child. Average diaper cost is between $0.20 and $0.30 each. That equates to a total cost over 2-3 years (depending on potty training timing) of $1,500-$2,250/child [$3,000-$4,500 for twins]
- Option 2: use prefolds and diaper covers. This is the least expensive way to use cloth diapers unless you want to sew some diapers yourself. Here’s the cost breakdown:
- $1.00-$2.00/diaper. I’ll assume $2.00 each.
- Need ~24 diapers per child and 8 covers per child.
- Covers cost $8.00 to $12.00 each. I’ll assume $12.00 each.
- You’ll probably need to buy two different sets of diapers. One for newborns and a larger size when their 6-10 months old. The different sizes cost about the same, as do the different sizes of the covers.
- Energy costs for washing and drying one load every other day are probably $150/yr for 2.5 years (based on the high end of the estimate given here and here).
- Total Cost: $2 * 24 + $12 * 8 = $144 * 2 sizes + $375 = $663/child. [$1,326 for twins, or less if the energy costs don't need to double]
- Option 3: pocket diapers
- these types of diapers can be basic or fancy, and can cost quite a bit depending on the brand you choose. The ones I like best are made by Bum Genius and cost $18/diaper. They come in a single adjustable size, so there is no need to buy additional sizes in the future
- Like the previous option the number of diapers needed depends on how frequently you want to do the wash. The average kiddo will go through 10-12 diapers as a newborn for a month or two and then gradually drop down to 4-8 over the next two years.
- I’ll assume we purchase 12 pocket diapers per child.
- A one-size pocket diaper may be too big for a newborn, and especially for a twin newborn since they tend to be a little smaller initially. Therefore I’d also assume that we would use prefold diapers and covers for the first few months. This cost (from above) = $2 * 24 + $12 * 8 = $144
- With one load of laundry every day or so for 2.5years = ~$300 (this is in line with the energy estimates here)
- Total cost: $18 * 12 + $300 (prefolds for newborn) = $516/child.
So annually, for twins, the three options come down to:
- disposable: $3,000 to $4,500 total
- prefolds with diaper covers: $1,326 (you actually get more diapers given my choices on this option, which is why it’s more expensive than the pocket diaper option below)
- pocket diapers + prefolds for newborns: $1,032
And this analysis doesn’t include any savings that can be applied to future children. There are other levers to pull as well, including the number of diapers you purchase, how frequently you do laundry, and any accessories you desire or require (none of which were included above, like a pail for dirty diapers or disposable liners, additional inserts, etc).
After about 30 minutes of research it appears that the savings from using cloth diapers could be substantial. And beyond the money part of the equation there are other reasons to choose this route, which include:
- baby is less likely to get a diaper rash
- less trash and environmental impact (less landfill usage, more energy and water usage)
- potty training typically works at an earlier age when cloth diapers are used
If you’re willing to handle a little more work, it looksing like cloth diapering may be a good choice. For my wife and I, we’re still trying to decide but are leaning heavily towards the cloth choice. If the savings do materialize we could potentially use that $1000 to $2000 in cost savings for some other things. And with kids I’m sure there are a lot more “other things” that need buying. 
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3 Responses to “Cloth Diaper Analysis”
My oldest niece was in cloth diapers for the fist 9 months of her life. She always has a horrible rash. As soon as they switched to disposable, the rash went away. There are more important factors than money. (to some people I suppose)
By reddy on Feb 17, 2009
We used cloth diapers for our kids, years ago. (they’re 18 and 16 now) We did buy disposables for travel or days out of the house, but I liked the cloth better. You do not have to buy different sizes. It’s just a matter of how you fold them. We did have to buy larger plastic pants as the kids grew, but the diapers lasted the whole time.
Those same cloth diapers are still coming in handy all these years later – as rags.
By Anna on Feb 21, 2009