Julie Moore is Co-founder & Director of Save Energy Save Money, Australia’s first energy and price comparison website. With over 10 years’ experience in the corporate world Julie ensures Save Energy Save Money provides you with the energy information you need to make informed decisions. Helping to contribute to a more sustainable Australia.
As a mother of 3 young children, nappies can be costly on both your hip pocket and the environment. I wanted to ensure that using cloth nappies were the best way to keep costs down and reduce my impact on the environment. According to Choice a typical child would go through around 6000 nappies before being toilet trained. That’s 18,000 nappies ending up in landfill just for my family alone!
To purchase these 6,000 nappies would set you back around $2,772.22 if the average price per nappy was 46 cents. The cost of buying 24 cloth nappies would cost $397.40 (different brands will vary in price, this costing exercise is based on the more budget end with Pea Pods brand) so far that’s a saving of $2,374.82. Which I think you will agree is a massive saving, keeping in mind these nappies can be used for your next child as well. I am now using mine on my third child so I can vouch that they do last the distance with the proper care!
This saving applies for nappies only – it doesn’t include wet wipes or any other accessories you may wish to purchase. While you will save money on cloth nappies themselves, they will require a little extra care and attention than disposable nappies. Namely you’ll need to wash and dry them.
Let’s explore the cost of washing and drying the cloth nappies to see what that equates to over a 3 year period. On an average day I go through around 6 cloth nappies; I don’t wash every nappy as they are soiled – I pop then in my nappy bucket and wash them all together once a day.
I use a hot wash on my nappies, 365 warm washes cost me $93 per year, the below example is from the www.saveenergysavemoney.com.au website where you can compare the annual running cost of electrical appliances.
Over a 3-year period it would cost you $279 on your energy bills. This brings your total savings to $2095.82.
Use your solar dryer and dry your nappies on the line, and harness the sun’s natural power. If you do have to use a clothes dryer – let’s say once a week – then it would cost you around $60 per year. Over a 3 year period it would cost you $180.
Your estimated water cost over the 3 years would be around $300 this would bring your total savings down to $1,615.82 this can be multiplied over multiple children; keep in mind you might only need to purchase one lot of nappies!
