Can't decide if cd will be cheaper if washing in a laundry mat

[maciascl]

I need some help deciding if it will be cheaper to cd or paper diaper this time around.

I have newborn, small & prefold cloth diapers. I will need to buy 4 or so covers so that will be about $50. I then have to pay $1.25 to wash & $1.00 to dry every load. That also means I can't do a pre rinse & can only run the drier 1 time. I know the diapers will still be wet when I take them out & will hopefully have a place to hang them to finish drying as long as it isn't raining. Maybe once a month I'll do a double wash to make sure I don't get a lot of build up.

As for paper diapers I can get the store brand for about $13.50 a box. I amnot sure how many are in a newborn/size 2 box, but I now there are 84 in a size 4 box. So maybe 110ish in a size 1 box??

What do you think?

[aikigypsy]

You don't say how many NB, small, and prefold diapers you have, which will make a difference in your calculations.

If you're driving to and from the laundromat, you will be able to pre-rinse at home in a bucket, large sink, or bathtub and take them to the laudromat wet. You can also bring them home wet and line-dry, weather permitting.

Figure out the per-use cost of the disposables (maybe 10-15 cents each?) and then the cost per wash divided by number of diapers, and you have a rough estimate. I wouldn't worry too much about the up-front cost of the covers, because those are re-useable and re-sellable unless they're completely worn out. Also, you don't have to commit to one system only. You can use disposables some of the time and cloth some of the time, so it's not an either-or.

[cristeen]

If you've already got the diapers, then that's not even a question for me. You can always get yourself down to the local Goodwill and pick up a few wool sweaters for cheap butt sweaters, save some more money that way.

How often are you going to have to wash dipes? Every other day? Every 3rd day? Every day? How much is a day's worth of sposies going to cost? At $2.50/load, how many sposies does that buy? And don't forget to factor in the increase in cost per dipe as the size of the babe increases.

[MoonStarFalling]

We had to switch to using laundry mats. Paying 2.25 a load is cheaper than a lot of the places I've seen so that's great. I broke even buying/washing dipes vs buying sposies. I had to keep in mind that there are many other benefits to cloth besides saving a buck. I would wash them out by hand a couple times and only take them to the laundry mat once a week if possible. You can dry them indoors if it's raining. Or you can get a cheap counter top washer.