Cloth Diapers vs Disposables and Cost Part 2

First off their are so many diapers to chose from. Most stores also have their own store brand. Diapers DO go on sale and their is coupons. For this example I chose the top three most popular that every store in my city carried, Pampers, Huggies and Luvs. Then I chose the cheapest store brand which was Wal-marts Parents Choice. To keep this even I am using all Wal-mart prices, keep in mind that the totals may vary child to child and depending if you catch sales and or use coupons.

Huggies $8.97
Pampers $8.97
Luvs $6.97
Parent's Choice $5.97

I am going to use an average 8 per day for 2 years. Then factor in 6 month use of pull-ups. I am averaging 40 diapers per package, even though the bigger the size the less diapers in a package, and 26 pull-ups per package. Many children are not even potty-trained by 2 1/2, so these totals are less then what would be for most families.

Huggies- 8 (8 per day)x 30=240/40=6 packages of diapers per month. 6 x 8.97=53.82 x 24= $1,291.68+ ( 8x30=240/26=9.23 round to 9 packages of pull-ups 9x 8.97=80.73 x 6= $484.38) For a grand total of $1,776.06.

Pampers happen to be the same price at Wal-mart so the above figures apply here as well for the same grand total of $1,776.06.

Luvs- $6.97 a package. $6.97 x 6= 41.84 x 24= 1003.68 + 484.38 (Pull-ups)= A grand total of $1,488.06.

Parent's Choice- $5.97 x 6=35.82 x 24=859.68 + 484.38 (Pull-ups)= Grand total of $1,344.06.

One of my children was a late trainer and a night wetter so that child wore pull-ups for an additional 6 months ($484.38), that child also continued to wear night time pull-ups for an additional 2 years at 1 pull up a night= $276.36. I personally used Luvs, because I felt the generic brands carried more defective diapers per bag and many times were out of the size I needed.

So, for my first child our minimum ( I say minimum because there were times we went through more than 8 a day) diaper cost was: $2,248.80.

Even if I spent $500 on cloth diapers and another $500 on the added utilities expense. I still would save $1,248.80.

Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable and Cost Part 1

Never in my wildest dreams did I think of all my posts that this one would be the hardest. After all I've been buying diapers for a long time. It seems I need to do more research, I have run into a couple factors I wasn't expecting. After all I want to be a realistic as possible and honestly different brands can cost differently. Here is what I'm working on.

1) Diapers used per day (it's less when they are older).
2) Diapers per package vs cost (some places sell bargain boxes).
3) Different brands cost differently.
4) Some people don't have a choice because of the limited stores in their area.
5) The cost of pull-ups, if used.
6) How long does it take for the average child to be potty trained?

I will search and be back!

Cloth Diapers and Wasted Electricity.

When is comes to cloth diapers and waste, I was reminded, what about the electricity, used to power the washer and dryer? I would be using more of it, if I choose to use cloth diapers. Now I am not a mathematician nor due I understand electrical stuff very well, but I sought out the information, that in hopes will answer this question. I have found a very simple formula to figure Daily Kilowatt Hour Consumption (KWH) that formula can be found and the watts an appliance use can be found here.
To find the KWH simply plug in the numbers to the following formula.
Watt x Hours used per day/1000= Daily Kilowatt Hour Consumption.
I learned a clothes washer uses 350-500 watts per hour (I always use the highest number) I decided to use 2 hours as a cycle time. So...
500 x 2 hrs. per. day/1000= .1 KWH. In the previous blog on water waste I used 3 loads a week I will use that number here again. 1 x 3 loads per week x 4 weeks per month= 12 KW per month.
Using that same formula I plugged in the energy used if you have an electric dryer, as I have. A clothes Dryer uses 1800-5000 watts. I used 2 hours as drying time, and 3 loads per week. 5000 x 2 hr. per. day/1000= 10 KWH x 3 loads per wk. x 4 weeks a month= 120 KW per month.

To put this in perspective I figured how much electricity is wasted from leaving one flat screen on all night while you sleep. A Flat screen uses 120 watts. I am using 8 hours to represent a full night's sleep. So...
120x8 hours per day= 960/1000= .96 KWH x 7days per week= 6.72 x 4 weeks per month= 26.88 KW per month.

I have decided when using cloth diapers, I will air dry them. Outside in warm weather and inside in cool weather. So that will save my 120 KW per month on drying. On the energy used on the washer, I would use less then some one uses sleeping with the T.V. on. So you can see, people can choose to simply just live their lives differently and use close to the same amount of electricity.
Many Appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched "off." These "phantom loads" occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. Most phantom loads will increase the appliance's energy consumption a few watt-hours. These loads can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.
So I conclude that if one sat down and figured out all the things we do to use electricity, using cloth diapers in reality uses a very small amount. Disposable diapers, which are made in factory's and then sold in stores, probably use a lot more. However I don't know what a diaper making machine is called, and thus couldn't find the watts used.

Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers and Waste

One of the biggest reasons cited for the use of reusable a.k.a cloth diapers is the environmental one. Personally this is one of my BIGGEST reasons.
Disposable diapers are destructive to the environment on so many levels. One they fill the land fills, it takes an estimated 500 years for diapers to decompose. An average child uses an average of 5,000 diapers in first 24 months. So a typical family of 2 children will send on average 10,000 diapers to the landfill, adds up when you think about it. "Americans throw away enough disposable diapers each year to stretch from the moon and back at least 7 times" ~Julia Butterfly Hill. The second biggest reason of which I didn't know until I began my research is ground water contamination. Much of out water comes from underground. The sky rains and the ground soaks it up, then we pump it up from underground reservoirs. Did you know it is against the law to dump human waste in landfills for that very reason? Did you also know that, that particular law isn't enforced when it comes to diapers? Run off from the landfill and it's millions of diapers busy taking 500 years to decompose could infest our water with polio, hepatitis and dysentery to name a few.
Cloth diapers don't fill landfills, they are made of natural cloths that don't take 500 years to decompose. part of washing a cloth diaper is dumping the waste into the toilet where it is then taken to a sewage plant and treated.
A recent factor brought to light, and used in many discussions I have personally had, is the water wasted in washing all those cloth diapers. There are so many ways to dispute this, however I picked one.
A typical top lading, non-conserving washer uses 40-45 gallons of water per load( According to the Consumer report and California Energy Commission Consumer Energy Center). I'll go with 45. If you wash diapers every other day that is 3 loads a week. 45 x 3= 135 gallons a week x 4 weeks a month= 540 gallons of water a month used to wash cloth diapers. Compared to say some on who waters their lawn 30 minutes a day 7 days a week. A Garden Hose without shutoff nozzle can pour 530 gallons water in a hour. Yard watering by hand is typically 9 gallons per minute. So 9 gallons x 30 minutes = 270 x 7 days= 1890 x 4 weeks= 7560 gallons a month. Obviously, using cloth diapers uses way less water then many other things we do in life. For a list on water saving ideas and to find out where does all our water go click here.
My personal opinion is that the water I 'waste' to help prevent groundwater contamination and save 5,000+ diapers from going to the landfill, is better than water wasted for green lawns and vanity.

Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables

It wasn't until really the past fifty years there was even a choice, between cloth or disposable diapers. Disposable diapers became readily available in the 40's, yet were still a luxury many could not afford. In 1942, unbleached creped cellulose tissue was first used. In 1946, Marion Donovan invented "the boater" a waterproof covering for cloth diapers. The 60's and 70's saw major development in disposable diapers. Diaper History shows in the 1990's cloth reemerged from the awareness of the environmental issues concerning disposable diapers. History shows every culture using some form or another of a diaper. Technology and more resources have just improved on what mothers have always known, you need to keep that end covered!

I am not some poor farm wife, nor a wife of a millionaire. I am just a normal run of the mill housewife. I have used disposable diapers on my first two and am choosing to use cloth on my not yet third. In making this transition I have in countered many cultural and social obstacles. My goal is to do a series of blogs depicting my journey from plastic to cloth in hopes of educating others out there. In no means to I wish to hurt any feelings or condemn others' choices, I simply want to share the knowledge I have gained that have influenced my personal decision. Look forward to a series of blogs regarding the whys and hows of cloth diapering.

Two's

Two's the second time around, are the same as the first time. This time I know what to expect, what works and what doesn't. It still is hard to see your baby cry and get in trouble.

Jasey, has fully embraced her two year old self. Everyday we here "I do", "My turn" and "How about now?" at first it was cute and endearing. I patiently let her put her shoes on, I carefully let her have a turn brushing her own teeth, I smiled and marveled at how I was teaching her patience when she would ask and I would tell her not now and she would wait. In the past couple weeks it has all changed. She still says all the before mentioned, but now likes to let out a blood curdling scream at anything but her own way. Today we were walking through a parking lot, the rule is if you walk you have to hold mommy's hand. She didn't want to, I simply could not let her run through the parking lot so i grabbed her and said, "If you choose not to hold mommy's hand I will have to carry you. The big cars and trucks cannot see you Jasey, and I don't want you to get hurt." This was met with a blood curdling "NO!!!!!" I ignored her tantrum and picked her up, unable to leave because I was picking up her brother, we walked into his class and soon her tears were all forgotten.

On the better side of two's, she is copying everything I do, she even pretends to straighten her hair and has several times gotten in my make-up. Every week she seems to be learning new words or phrases. She pretends to shiver and says "I freezin" when she's cold. Clasps her hands under her chin and says "Too scared".

I know all of this is her learning to identify and express her emotions. Part of me is loving this new stage and the other part is sad that we are suddenly seeming no longer babyish.