Is It Really Worth It?

The cost of diapers is usually a great concern for most parents. Cost estimates show that disposable diapers will run approximately $60 to $100 per month, using a diaper services will cost approximately $80 to $100 per month and laundering your own cloth diapers will cost slightly less at approximately $35 to $70 per month.

• The cost of disposable diapers varies due to the wide range of disposables on the market. Some name brands are very expensive, while some store branded disposables can be half the price of name brands.
• The cost of a diaper service mainly varies because of two factors. One factor being the amount of competition in your area (number of diaper service companies) and the second being the quality of diapers that you choose to use.
• The cost of laundering your own cloth diapers also varies because of many factors. One factor is the quality of the cloth diaper. Some parents will initially purchase very high quality cloth diapers which will last several years, while other parents might buy low quality diapers which only last for a short time. Another factor is the amount of laundering that is done for each load of dirty diapers. Some parents will only do a minimal amount of cleaning and sanitizing, while other parents will go through many steps to clean a load of dirty diapers. The more cleaning and sanitizing that is performed for each load of diapers the higher the cost. Other factors are your time to launder the diapers, cost of electricity, soap, water, and wear on your washing machine and dryer.

In general, if you compare the cost of the fancier high tech disposable diapers to the cost of laundering your own cloth diapers, you will save money by using either a cloth diapering service or cloth diapers and laundering them yourself.