www.incontinentsupport.org

I used to think that wearing cloth diapers was by far more economical than using disposable diapers. Now I am not too sure. Currently I buy a case of Abri-Form X-tra Plus diapers every twenty-eight days or so. I spend around fifty-six bucks each time. That adds up to about seven hundred dollars a year.

I would imagine at least a dozen cloth diapers, booster pads, pins, plastic or rubber pants, diaper pail, diaper bag, detergent, the cost of water and gas to heat the washer and the dryer. Figuring in the amount of time needed to devote to diaper laundry. GEEZ! are we better off wearing disposable diapers?

Your thoughts. :D

For the comfort,skin health and absorbency I'll stick to cloth.

Hi JRB,

If you turn the calendar back many years, I'd say cloth diapers were way ahead of disposable diapers in saving money. Disposable diapers were so bad that you went thru a lot of them and still had to deal with laundry from leaks and wet clothing and bedding and clean up of furniture and so on. While there were not any decent adult cloth diapers, you had to improvise but cloth was cheap to acquire.

The good disposable diapers we have today (Abena X-Plus and similar) have largely eliminated the leaks and offer extended wear time free of changing hassles.

These days good adult cloth diapers are readily available but high cost certainly can be a turn off for anyone wearing disposables who may be thinking about cloth diapering.

And laundry always has been a factor in cloth diapering. Most come to terms with the chore, a few never will and choose to stick with disposables.

As for the actual cost anylsis...I know it's been done and probably is on the web someplace....cost of water and detergent and energy for heating water, running the washer and drying.......and I'm sure it's substantial.

Most agree that cloth diapers rule the overnights for keeping pajamas and bedding dry. So a lot of folks use both; disposables by day and cloth by night, getting the best of both worlds: a diaper that provides good security and disappears under clothing for day time and secure cloth diapering to keep the bed dry overnight. Diaper laundry isn't as bad, often no more than twice a week.

My thoughts run along the lines of: It may be only slightly more economical....cost wise, for those of us wearing cloth 24/7 compared to wearing good disposables 24/7

I totally agree with Boomer that comfort and security keeps me in cloth diapers no matter what the cost comparison might be.

JoeK

JRB, It all comes down to what works best for each of us. We live in a world of disposable everything. It is easier to throw out papers and cans and plastic everything than to recycle, but many do recycle. I wear cloth diapers at night, and when I can in the day. When I do my normal wash - every 3-4 days - I just throw in the 4-6 cloth diapers with the whites. Night diapers require no diaper pail - wear the wet diapers into the shower each morning remove them and lay them on the shower floor - shower, then ring out the diaper(s) and throw in laundry basket. Wash the plastic pants in the shower too and hang to dry. Just wearing at night saves you 30 diapers a month (365 a year). I am not pushing cloth dipaers, I too prefer the comfort and absorbancy of cloth, but also understand the ease of using disposable diapers. My point i guess is cloth diapers are really not alll the work people make them out to be - although if they were the only diapers I wore it might be a lot more work. Cost wise cloth are cheaper. Definately. But quality of life is also a big factor. Go with what makes you most comfortable - God knows we have enough to deal with and worry about being incontinent, plus the rest of lifes' ordeals. Papa

I think cloth by far cost less in the long run over disposable. You have the initial investment in diapers, plastic pants, and the other stuff, but washing each weak doesn't cost that much. I have a low water use washer, and it spins dry so good, the diapers dry very fast in my dryer.
Just my thoughts on the subject! ..................Paul Martin

I have brought some of this up with my wife. Not as far as using cloth diapers but using cloth bed chux. She is still at the point that everything disposable is better because I can take it out to the trash right away to keep smell down. She spent many years working in Nursing Homes and Rehab hospitals, she can't stand the smell of urine any more. So until I can prove a huge cost savings and figure out how to deal with the wet items, I think disposibles will all I will be using for a long time.