How did we calculate?
The initial investment into cloth diapers is perceptible. Are you afraid that when you include costs of washing, you don’t save that much in the end? Or you just want to know precisely, how much you save? Read on!
Disposables
Your newborn has to be changed 8-10 times a day, older babies usually need 6-7 changes a day. Less frequent changing is not recommended hygiene-wise. An average baby usually grows out of diapers at the age of 2 but still needs one diaper a night at least until the age of 2,5. Summed up, an average child uses about 4800 disposable diapers throughout the whole diaper period.
Average price for one disposable diaper is about 20 cents. The average cost for disposables for one child then makes circa 972€.
|
Baby’s age |
Changes a day |
Total changes during the set interval |
|
0-3m |
9x |
810 |
|
3-6m |
7x |
630 |
|
6-24m |
6x |
3240 |
|
24-30m (night diapering only) |
1x |
180 |
|
Total number of disposables |
|
4860 |
|
|
|
|
Cloth diapers
Initial investment into cloth diapers (used for the whole diaper period from birth to potty) is usually about 500€. For example with Bamboolik’s complete sets, you will get everything you need to use exclusively cloth diapers 24/7. The only additional cost would be the cost of washing.
What is the cost of one washing cycle, then?
Washing machine needs approximately 50 litres of water (more ecological washing machines might need less water but we recommend to use washing programmes with pre-wash for cloth diapers). Average price of water in Germanyis 4€ per m3. Cost of water for one washing cycle then makes 20 cents.
Then we need to add the cost of electricity. Washing machine in energetic class A+ (as only washing machines in class A+ may be marketed since 2013, December the 1st) needs 0,85 kWh for one washing cycle4). Average cost of electricity for households is nowadays about 23 cent/kWh. One washing cycle then costs you 18 cents for electricity.
Costs of detergent may vary a lot. You can wash your diapers in ecological detergent for about 15 cents per one washing cycle or you can choose a more costly detergent for more than 18 cents per cycle. Or, you can be super economical and make your own washing slime – approximately 1 cent per each washing cycle.
In general, one washing cycle costs you 50 cents, depending on your washing machine and your chosen detergent. On condition you wash your diapers every third day, the diapers will go through approximately 260 washing cycles. The cost for washing is then circa 130€ for two years of changing into cloth diapers.
|
Cost of one washing cycle |
|
Cost of energy |
Cost per washing cycle |
|
Water |
50 litres |
4€ / m3 |
20 cent |
|
Electricity |
0,85kWh |
27 cent/ kWh |
18 cent |
|
Detergent |
|
2-22€ |
15 cent |
|
Total |
|
|
53 cent |
The total sum for full cloth diapering for one child is approximately 630€ (initial cost of cloth diapers plus washing costs). Earlier on, we have calculated the costs spent on disposables for one child (972€). Can you think of a way to spend 342€? Surely you’ll come up with some ideas!
In addition, cloth diapers don’t mean throwing out money with each diaper change (because that’s what you do with disposables).
Another economical reason why to convert to cloth is using cloth diapers on your other children. You might need to renew a few pieces for a sibling (due to usual wear and tear, especially with membranes or night fitted diapers) but the renewal cost for every following child remains very low.
Are you interested in how much you save if you buy some of Bamboolik’s sets? We’ve got all economy thoroughly compared here. And in case you’re dazzled by all the numbers, contact us, we’d be happy to give advice!
Sources:
Electricity prices: www.enbw.com
Water prices: https://www.enbw.com/privatkunden/tarife-und-produkte/wasser/index.html und https://www.stuttgart.de/item/show/17184
Waste prices:https://www.stuttgart.de/item/show/17183
Power consumption in washing machines: https://www.stromverbrauchinfo.de/stromverbrauch-waschmaschinen.php