Cloth Vs Disposable

When Hubby and I first announced that we were expecting Little Lady, one of the first questions my Father-in-law asked was, will you use cloth nappies? Not the type of question that I was expecting since most people want to know things like; the due date, whether or not we were finding out the sex, our chosen hospital, what we were hoping for gender wise, how long I would continue working etc etc. However, it didn’t take much consideration before I answered his question with a resounding “No!”. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything worse than puddling around in my child’s poo and as far I was concerned cloth nappies were only going to add to the mountains of washing that invariably begin to pile up when a child enters the household. So, disposables it was.

However, after a few months of buying box after box of expensive disposables, as well as numerous bouts of nappy rash and constant leaking, I began to reconsider.

Cloth nappies have come a long way since I was a child. The “modern cloth nappy” is designed to be super absorbent, made with natural fibres, comes already assembled and fastened with either Velcro or press studs, can be simply tossed in the washing machine, no soaking required and is available in a range of cute colours and patterns. Gone are the days of nappy pins, plastic pants and folding, scrubbing and soaking. They are also, in my opinion, a great money saver.

I was horrified when I started to calculate how much of my monthly grocery budget was going on nappies, not to mention wipes. Of course it’s not strictly necessary to buy the most expensive disposables available. There are, after all a number of “budget friendly” brands out there. However, after trying nearly all of them, I came to the conclusion that, in the case of my daughter, the “budget friendly” options generally turned out to be simply, cheap. They leaked, ripped or disintegrated and were not suitable for more than 2 hours wear, and I felt that I was simply wasting my money because I was going through so many. So, when one of my friends started a business selling cloth nappies, I decided to try them out.

One modern cloth nappy will set you back on average, $25-$35. Most brands also offer packages where if you buy a certain amount at once, the price per nappy drops. If you are prepared to wash a load of nappies every day, then 12 should be enough. Little Lady has 18, which means that I can wash every second to third day. To buy 12 cloth nappies will cost you about $300.

 A box of Huggies disposables (the only brand that consistently works for Little Lady) will set you back about $30 if you buy them on special, which gives you about 100 nappies. This will last you 2-3 weeks depending on the age of your child and the number of nappies they go through each day. Going by these calculations, it will take you 10 boxes of disposable nappies to make up the cost of 12 cloth nappies. The average child will wear nappies, full time, until the age of about 2 ½. This works out to be about 70-80 boxes of disposable nappies, costing you 2-2.5 thousand dollars. For one child.

It’s a contentious issue, Disposable vs Cloth. Everyone has their own opinion on which is ‘better’ and which is cheaper. There is no denying that disposables are convenient and easy to use. And many mothers find that the cheaper disposables work just fine. Cloth nappies are cheaper to buy in the long run, can be reused for subsequent children, and are better for the environment, but they require more effort in terms of washing.

So, which is more frugal? Cloth nappies. The savings are not immediate, but they will build up over time, despite the cost of extra water for the washing. Even if I purchase a few extra cloth nappies in preparation for baby no. 2’s arrival next year, and purchase a box of disposables now and then for emergencies, holidays and long days out, I am still saving money in the long run.

I have to admit, I haven’t always been so dedicated with my cloth nappy use. There have been times when I simply couldn’t be bothered with the washing, and Little Lady would spend weeks in disposables. But, for the purposes of this experiment, I had to get serious again. I wash every second day in my energy efficient, water saving front loader washing machine, I hang my nappies on the line or clothes airer and they are dry the following day. I don’t use cloth nappies when we go away, but, if you are staying somewhere with a washing machine, there’s no reason why you can’t. When baby number two arrives I know I will be washing every day. But, I am happy to do this for the sake of saving money. Plus, in my opinion, there is nothing cuter than a cushy, cloth nappied bottom!

There are other ways to save money when it comes to nappy change time. I will be covering these in my next entry.