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I never thought I would be a cloth diaper mom. But then again, I never gave it much consideration. When I had my first baby three years ago, I worked nearly full time, so I was really busy. And I sure wasn’t going to ask my sitter to take the time to deal with dirty cloth diapers.
But things have changed. I now work part-time. I’ve had another baby. And something caught my eye online one day - a hybrid cloth diaper. It’s essentially a cloth diaper shell with disposable inserts. Hmmm.
But the disposable inserts are pricey, about $.40 per insert. Disposables are about $.19*. I want to help save the environment, but I don’t want to go in debt doing it. But as I researched this particular line of diapers, by GroVia (formerly GroBaby), I see there are many possibilities, and apparently cloth diapering has come a long way. I could use a diaper shell (the outer diaper part) with a cloth soaker (an insert that looks like a big cloth pad) while I’m with the baby. When the baby poops or pees you just take the soaker out and snap in a new one. You don’t even have to soak it. Just wash every 2 days. Then when the baby is at the sitter’s house she could use the disposable insert.
Sounds kinda simple, but the more I researched the more I realized there is to know about cloth diapering. Wet bags and dry pails, and using a hot rinse, then a cold rinse, and where do you rinse the poopy diapers? To me the best way to learn is to try it yourself. And so with a couple Gro Baby products I set out to see if I could really handle this cloth diapering thing.
The test
For GroVia Hybrid shells and organic soaker pads
The fit: Perfect. The diaper is a one-size-fits-all and has three rows of snaps on the front to adjust for different sizes. And very cute I may add. There are many other colors and prints available. It does look bigger than a disposable though. Her clothes were more snug with this diaper on.
Overnight: No leaks at all. During the day or overnight. The soaker has six layers of organic cotton and is super soft. And the newer soakers (under the name GroVia) have a waterproof backing. The GroBaby soakers come with a “booster,” which is an exra pad for overnight or for heavy wetters.
The poopy diaper: After washing in warm water, there was still a stain in the soaker. So I researched online how to get that out the natural way - and found others who said letting it dry in the sun would take the stain away. And it did work!
The gross factor: Rinsing poo off diapers is far from glamorous. But my husband said it best once when he had to deal with some bodily fluid I’m sure, “Being a parent is gross!” Yes, after three years of having a child and now having a second, I’m not afraid. Or grossed out. It’s all in a day’s work.
Other products by GroVia:
The All-in-one: This is a cloth diaper with a soaker attached. It fit well, didn’t leak and is also cute. You wash the whole thing, rather than changing an insert, which would mean more laundry. Also, it seems to take a really long time to dry. But if you want absorbant cloth, I suppose that is the price you pay.
GroVia BioSoaker: This is the disposable insert (made with biodegradable and compostable materials). It didn’t cause any leaks and was large enough to provide good coverage, but would take up less room than a normal diaper in your bag. But at $.40 per BioSoaker, I would only use this method occassionally or part-time.
BioDiaper: This is just like a normal diaper but way more biodegradable. Works great, but again, cost prohibitive to doing all the time. Depends on the size you get, but about $.48 per diaper.
The environment
There’s a debate about using cloth diapers vs. disposables. You can find various arguments to support either side online. Some say it’s really not as environmentally friendly as you think to use cloth — all that water used to wash them and the fuel and pollution of laundry service vehicles. But I wouldn’t use a laundry service. And beside, what about the pollution of the trucks that deliver disposables? I’ll be using my own washer, which is high efficiency, and uses less water by the way. And I can’t believe that would compare to the amount of disposables at the landfills and the years and years they will take to decompose. Anyway, after my research I do feel like I’m doing something good by switching. And saving a little money doesn’t hurt either.
* Price taken from Sam’s Club for Huggies, size 3, box of 204 for $37.98 on June 12, 2010.
The cost
My baby is nearly six months old at this point in time. So keep in mind that someone using cloth diapers at the very beginning would save a lot more money, especially considering that newborns go through 10-12 diapers per day.
The startup cost can be a little surprising at first. It’s easy to spend between $300 and $400. But when you do the math for disposables, you’ll learn you are saving money. I’ve figured I will be saving $435 with my switch. And this includes buying a box of dispsable inserts every other month and buying other cloth diapering accessories.
The cost
My baby is nearly 6 months old, so keep in mind that someone using cloth diapers at the very beginning would save a lot more money, especially considering that newborns go through 10-12 diapers per day.
Cost of disposables:
$.19 per diaper
6 diapers per day = $1.14
x 30 (for a month) = $34.20 monthly
1.5 years of diapering (considering my daughter potty trains at 2.5 years old) = $615.60
cost of Cloth diapering:
Biosoakers: $19.99 for 50 (need about 6 per week at my sitter’s or 24 per month) = $10 per month over 18 months = $180
Wet bag - $30 for large
Bum Genius diaper sprayer - $44.95
Shells/Soakers/Boosters package on sale- $97 (on sale)
Tiny Bubbles detergent (recommended)- $12
Extra soakers-$32
Enough for 12 diaper changes! (If I were starting this with a newborn I would buy the package that is twice as big for $304)
Total cost: $395.95
Savings = $219.65
Thinking about cloth?
If you are not sure about cloth diapers, many companies offer small “try it” packages, and one company even will let you try many different brands for a mostly refundable deposit for 21 days. Read more at jilliansdrawers.com
Erin Doucette is the presentation editor for KPC Media Group Inc., leading design and layout for several of its publications. She and her husband, Stephen, are parents to Ella, 3, and Eva, born in December 2009. Her blog can be read at fwfamily.com. She can be e-mailed at
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